Hull bus operator, Stagecoach East Midlands, has revealed its latest reliability figures, showing that it operated well over 99% of the miles it was scheduled to operate over the past year.
Stagecoach routinely records the actual number of miles that it runs, and where it cannot run them because of factors such as congestion, diversions, or driver illness. It has found that, over the past 12 months, it ran 99.56% of the miles it was timetabled to run.
This means that it was unable to operate only one in every 225 scheduled trips.
Moreover, nearly half of this very small amount of mileage lost was due to factors outside of the operator’s control, like congestion and road diversions. Also, 99.56% reliability is a 1.8% improvement on this time last year.
Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “These figures are a huge credit to every one of our colleagues, who put in a tremendous effort, day in day out, to make sure that we offer a reliable service.
“We know that people rely on our services for important life events, like getting to work and attending hospital appointments, so it is crucial that we get it right. I am very proud to say that the fact is that the figures prove you can rely on us time and time again.
“In a busy and sometimes crowded region, like ours, there will always be issues around congestion and road use, so it is particularly important that we do our bit to provide a reliable service.”
The figures have been released during Catch the Bus Month, where the campaign group, Bus Users UK, has highlighted the impact that buses have on local communities. At a time when ever more local people are concerned about their environmental impact, it was found that, if everyone switched just one car journey a month to bus, there would be a billion fewer car journeys and a saving of 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. A fully loaded double-decker bus can take 75 cars off the road.
In fact, a brand new diesel car with a single occupant can emit more nitrogen oxides than a new bus carrying 50 or more passengers.
— Local buses provide a great value, and reliable, way to get about. To plan your journey, buy before you board and track your bus, you can download the Stagecoach Bus App from www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/stagecoachbusapp.