Scottish Government

5. Data from other sources

5.1 National Concessionary Fare scheme cards - number issued by local authority( Table 32)

A National Concessionary Fares scheme which allows elderly and disabled people free travel on all scheduled bus services in Scotland (with no geographical or peak-time restriction) was introduced on 1st April 2006. Table 32 shows the number of passes issued since that date (as at 31st January 2007) by LA and RTP area. Almost a million (978,815) cards had been issued, with the largest number being issued in Glasgow City (107,167). Table 32 also shows the population in each LA that are aged 60 and over, and therefore the vast majority of the eligible population. The number of cards issued represents 88% of the 60+ population in Scotland as a whole, and ranges from 71% in Dumfries and Galloway to 97% for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

5.2 Bus Punctuality Survey

The first national survey of bus punctuality was carried out in 2005 by Bus Compliance Operators ( BCOs) who work for the Vehicle and Operator Standards Agency ( VOSA). It took place in a range of areas across GB outwith London. DfT published the results in "Bus Punctuality Statistics GB: 2005".

Punctuality is judged by the actual times that buses set off from bus stops. For "non-frequent" services (i.e. those services with 5 or fewer buses per hour), these departure times are compared with scheduled departure times. If a bus departs between 1 minute early and 5 minutes late, then it is deemed to be "on time". Punctuality for non-frequent services varied considerably between the three types of bus stop: the Start Timing Points (often at bus stations), Intermediate Timing Points (important stops along the route for which the operator must provide scheduled departure times when registering the route) and other bus stops. The percentages "on time" were lower in Scotland than in GB (outwith London) as a whole.

Percentage of "non-frequent" buses which were "on time" (for the purposes of the survey) by type of stop: 2005

For "frequent" services (6 or more buses per hour), punctuality is measured by reference to the "Excess Waiting Time". This is the estimated average extra waiting time borne by passengers over and above the waiting time that might be expected if all the buses on the route ran exactly on time (rather than between 1 minute early and 5 minutes late). It was higher in Scotland than in GB (outwith London) as a whole.

Excess waiting time for "frequent" buses by type of stop: 2005

Survey methodology: BCOs were asked to observe buses at selected locations throughout GB outwith London in March and April 2005. These were originally chosen from a list of sites used to monitor traffic levels, on the basis of criteria such as the expected number of buses per day, the type of area, the geographical distribution of sites, and the wish to cover all bus stations in each area. Care was taken to avoid making observations during the Easter school holiday period. BCOs recorded the route numbers, direction and times of departure for all buses passing each site on a weekday, either in the morning (08:00 till 10:30) or the afternoon (3.00 till 5.30) of one day. The data provided to DfT included both the scheduled times (as shown in the timetables, or estimated where a scheduled time was not published) plus an indication of the average time between the start of the bus route and the point at which it was surveyed. For GB as a whole, 21,979 observations were recorded at 265 sites. The median number of observations per shift was 71. 52 of the sites and 6,066 of the observations were in Scotland. Further information about the sampling method and calculation of Excess Waiting Time is available in "Bus Punctuality Statistics GB: 2005".