Car drivers won't use buses, says study

The 97% of motorists who said they wouldn’t even consider taking a bus to work dropped to 87% if it were provided free of charge. Were the bus to stop near their home and workplace, though, the refuseniks drop to 52%, with 48% saying they ‘might’ consider it. A near-door-to-door service for most commuters would require more buses but unfortunately, with bus use having fallen by 12%, fleet sizes have been reduced by 15% and staff by 8%

This is in stark contrast to rail use, which continues to discombobulate the transport industry with increased usage and passenger numbers well in excess of that anticipated for new services, e.g. Edinburgh-Bathgate, Stirling-Alloa and Edinburgh-Tweedbank. Nobody has seriously suggested that all these extra passengers are erstwhile bus users; it is clear that many are those who used to travel the same routes by car.

It is more evidence that those who claim that the problem St Andrews faces can be solved by simply providing more buses are mistaken.

The full article can be found at:

https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/local-transport-today/news/50007/most-car-commuters-unwilling-to-switch-to-bus-travel-study-reveals