Bus passenger journeys in Nottingham are showing no sign of returning to pre-Covid levels as more people choose to work from home and study online long-term.
David Astill, managing director of Nottingham City Transport (NCT), says the smaller number of passenger journeys by bus have reached a “new normal” following the pandemic.
Between April 2018 and March 2019, before the pandemic, NCT’s buses carried 49.1m passengers, compared to 48.8m the year before.
Passenger journeys now sit at around 45m per year, averaging 94 per cent of pre-Covid levels, according to the latest figures.
During a Nottingham City Council Companies Governance Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday (April 1), Cllr Linda Woodings (Lab), chair, asked Mr Astill how services had changed pre and post-Covid.
The committee was told passenger numbers had been increasing over the past four years, but had started to “trail off”.
“People are not commuting to work five days a week in the numbers they used to, and whilst the peaks have returned they have not returned to the same level,” Mr Astill said.
“Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are noticeably the busiest days, which suggests people are working at home on Mondays and Fridays.
“There has been a big change in the student market, probably the most interesting of all. Students are not going to lectures on campus five days a week.
“It is very noticeable in the morning peak that we used to have to get students to campus by 9am.
“We think that is probably the new normal.”
NCT was established as an arms-length Nottingham City Council company in 1986, and through this arrangement the authority receives a small dividend.
The company is not profit-driven, and typically aims for a margin between five and eight per cent each year, with much of this going back into services.
It has been in public ownership for almost 128 years, longer than most bus companies across the country, and was named UK Bus Operator of the Year for a record-breaking sixth time in February.
Cllr Neghat Khan (Lab), leader of the council and member of the committee, asked Mr Astill if an increase to the Government’s bus fare cap had proven problematic for recovering passenger numbers.
The £3 fare cap replaced the previous £2 cap from January 1 this year.
Mr Astill added: “When that came in at £2 we did not detect any noticeable increase in patronage, and I am pleased to say with the fare going back up to £3 we have not noticed any noticeable drop off.
“I think overall the impact has been neutral.”
