Public transport in the UK - statistics & facts
The public transportation network in the United Kingdom comprises a series of heavy rail, light rail, and bus services that connects millions every day. For instance, National Rail reported more than 1.6 billion passenger journeys per year in 2024. On the financial side, public sector spending on transport amounted to roughly 27 billion British pounds in 2022/23 for railways, around 58 percent of total public expenditure on transport. By comparison, the overall share of transport public expenditure on local public transit was 10.6 percent that same year, at around 493 billion pounds. In 2022, the average weekly household spent on transport services was 12.8 British pounds, with people aged 30 to 49 year-old spending the most.
In the financial year 2023/24, TfL reported almost 3.6 billion passenger journeys, an increase from the previous year but still not at the levels reported before the pandemic, when the number of trips scratched the four billion threshold. London buses were TfL’s most used public transit mode in 2023/24, taking care of approximately 53 percent of the total journeys. The Tube was the second most used mode of the network, with 1.2 billion trips. During the same year, TfL’s passenger income amounted to over five billion British pounds, London Underground’s fares being the greatest contributor with 2.5 billion British pounds.
Passengers are feeling this squeeze on bus services. Bus service provision in Great Britain has been decreasing, particularly in areas outside of London. Meanwhile, bus fares have been rising well above the consumer price index for all items. Both of these trends had been ongoing before the pandemic, but while political intervention slowed increases in bus travel cost in 2023, bus service provision in vehicle miles declined by 4.4 percent between 2022 and 2023 and remained at nearly the same level into 2024.
Transport for London
From the famous red double-deckers to the Tube, public transportation plays a vital role in the British capital. Transport for London (TfL) is the local government body in charge of most of the capital's extensive public transit network. Created in 2000 as a predecessor of the organization London Regional Transport, TfL is responsible for the underground system, the Dockland’s Light Railway, buses, taxis, principal road routes, cycling provision, and river services. It also operates the London Overground and the newly inaugurated Elizabeth Line.In the financial year 2023/24, TfL reported almost 3.6 billion passenger journeys, an increase from the previous year but still not at the levels reported before the pandemic, when the number of trips scratched the four billion threshold. London buses were TfL’s most used public transit mode in 2023/24, taking care of approximately 53 percent of the total journeys. The Tube was the second most used mode of the network, with 1.2 billion trips. During the same year, TfL’s passenger income amounted to over five billion British pounds, London Underground’s fares being the greatest contributor with 2.5 billion British pounds.
Local bus travel in crisis
As in the capital, bus passenger numbers across the country collapsed amid travel restriction during the COVID-19 pandemic and while passengers began returning in 2021/22, passenger numbers were still at only 84 percent of pre-pandemic figures as of 2023/24, severely impacting passenger revenue. However, operating costs for local bus services have been increasing recently, climbing from 3.9 billion British pounds in the 2018/19 financial year to nearly 4.2 billion in 2023/24.Passengers are feeling this squeeze on bus services. Bus service provision in Great Britain has been decreasing, particularly in areas outside of London. Meanwhile, bus fares have been rising well above the consumer price index for all items. Both of these trends had been ongoing before the pandemic, but while political intervention slowed increases in bus travel cost in 2023, bus service provision in vehicle miles declined by 4.4 percent between 2022 and 2023 and remained at nearly the same level into 2024.
