You’re probably certain that your bus operator is the worst. It’s only natural; when you’re sitting on an uncomfortable blue plastic rod on a rainy Sunday waiting for a bus that’s ten minutes late, then twenty, then after half an hour it falls off the electronic timetable, either having never existed in the first place or having been banished from this dimension by the local wizard, the only logical conclusion is that you have the worst luck of anyone ever and no one else knows pain quite like this.
Only one operator, however, can claim that sought-after title of ‘worst in England’ – and today, that debate has been settled. Transport watchdog the Transport Focus (TTF) polled thousands of people across the country and now the results are in.
The worst bus operator in the country is.. Arriva in West Yorkshire! Congratulations, Arriva. With a pretty rough passenger satisfaction rate of 66 percent, one in three people who set foot on your busses are apparently unhappy to be there. For perspective, on average across the country 80 percent of people are happy with their bus services.
The stats also showed that people who have to travel in built up, metropolitan areas were generally less satisfied than those in rural towns. According to TTF, this can be explained by the fact that we don’t like being forced into potential social situations we didn’t sign up for.
‘Urban metropolitan services are the most likely to be affected by crowding… Passengers who sat next to someone they didn’t know are significantly less satisfied than those who didn’t,’ said TTF.
Good to know we all feel the same way about sharing our space that we deserve in public areas everyone is equally entitled to.
Stagecoach in Portsmouth had the highest rates of customer satisfaction, with 91 percent of passengers reporting that they were content with their journey. Well done, Stagecoach. Gold star for you. Everyone else, go back to the depot and think about what you’ve done.
Trains, planes, and automobiles
There’s more going on in the world of British transport than you might expect. Did you see that the UK’s officially a very safe place to drive in? Or that Leeds and Bradford might soon be connected by a multi-billion pound tramway? In less fun news, the worst UK airports for delays were revealed.
Did you see that two UK cities are officially the cheapest in the world for expats?
Plus: All the winners of the British Pie Awards 2024.
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