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https://github.com/bbc-data-unit/buses-lost

Britain's bus coverage hits 28-year low
https://github.com/bbc-data-unit/buses-lost

buses dft shareddataunit transport

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Britain's bus coverage hits 28-year low

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# Britain's bus coverage hits 28-year low



![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/276E/production/_100049001_london_bus_large-nc.png)



On 16 February 2018, the Shared Data Unit [revealed](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42749973) Britain's bus network had shrunk to levels last seen in the late 1980s.



Rising car use and cuts to public funding were blamed by commentators for a loss of 134 million miles of coverage over the past decade alone.



The BBC’s analysis however challenged the previous consensus rural areas were worst hit.



We showed bus coverage in metropolitan areas had dropped by a tenth since 2013-14 while rural areas had seen bus routes cut by 7.8%.



The Shared Data Hub makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:



* Manchester Evening News: [Bus services are being cut across Greater Manchester - and on the doomed number 88 you can see the very real human impact](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/bus-services-being-cut-across-14296465)

* Liverpool Echo: [Merseyside bus miles fall - but transport bosses vow to get people back](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseyside-bus-miles-fall-transport-14296519)

* Shropshire Star: [Revealed: Number of buses falls by a quarter in Shropshire](https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/bridgnorth/2018/02/16/dramatic-bus-route-drop-in-shropshire/#B9XG8bILxDv44eZj.99)

* Southern Daily Echo: [New figures show commercial bus services on rise but subsidised services in decline](http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/15998768.Commercial_buses_on_increase_but_subsidised_journeys_fall/)

* ITV Wales: [Wales sees biggest fall in distance travelled by buses](https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2018-02-16/wales-sees-biggest-fall-in-distance-travelled-by-buses/)

* Scotland: The National (a column): [Here’s how we’ll create a Scottish bus revolution](http://www.thenational.scot/news/15998029.Here___s_how_we___ll_create_a_Scottish_bus_revolution/)

* Lancashire Telegraph: [Bus journeys: Almost 5 million miles lost from Lancashire](http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/15998134.Bus_journeys__Almost_5_million_miles_lost_from_Lancashire/)

* Dorset Echo: ["If buses aren't there, people can't use them": Passenger numbers drop to new low in Dorset](http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/15998144.if-buses-arent-there-people-cant-use-them-passenger-numbers-drop-to-new-low-in-dorset/)

* Bracknell: In Your Area: [Bracknell sees biggest fall in bus mileage in the country](https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/bracknell-sees-biggest-fall-in-bus-mileage-in-the-country/)

* Lancashire Post: [Special investigation: 4.5 million miles of bus routes cut](https://www.lep.co.uk/news/transport/special-investigation-4-5-million-miles-of-bus-routes-cut-1-9019440)

* 2BR Lancashire: [Millions of bus miles lost in Lancashire](https://www.2br.co.uk/news/local-news/2505803/millions-of-bus-miles-lost-in-lancashire/)

* The Bolton News: [Bus network shrinks by 7.8 million miles — that's 312 trips around the equator!](http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/15998819.Bus_network_shrinks_by_7_8_million_miles_____that__39_s_312_trips_around_the_equator_/)

* Swindon Advertiser: [More than a million miles down thanks to route cuts, new figures show](http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/15998836.More_than_a_million_miles_down_thanks_to_route_cuts__new_figures_show/)

* Bradford: Telegraph & Argus: [West Yorkshire's bus network shrinks by more than nine per cent in four years](http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/15997973.West_Yorkshire_s_bus_network_shrinks_by_more_than_nine_per_cent_in_four_years/)

* Lincolnshire Live: [Miles covered by buses in Lincolnshire drop by nearly quarter in three years](https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/buses-necessity-miles-covered-drop-1222036)

* Wigan Today: [Investigation reveals number of Wigan bus miles covered is at lowest for 28 years](https://www.wigantoday.net/news/transport/investigation-reveals-number-of-wigan-bus-miles-covered-is-at-lowest-for-28-years-1-9019857)

* Blackpool: The Gazette: [Budget cuts are shrinking our bus services](https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/budget-cuts-are-shrinking-our-bus-services-1-9019874)

* Norfolk: Eastern Daily Press: [Number of Norfolk bus passengers drops by several million within three years](http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/millions-fewer-bus-journeys-in-norfolk-suffolk-cambridgeshire-1-5396920)

* Gloucestershire Live: [Millions of miles of bus services have been lost in Gloucestershire](https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/millions-miles-bus-services-been-1220461)

* Stray FM: [Communities step in as bus miles tumble in North Yorkshire](https://www.strayfm.com/news/local-news/2505337/communities-step-in-as-bus-miles-tumble-in-north-yorkshire/)

* Bob FM: [Hertfordshire transport bosses urged to consider vulnerable people when making cuts to bus routes](http://www.bobfm.co.uk/news/local-news/hertfordshire-transport-bosses-urged-to-consider-vulnerable-people-when-making-cuts-to-bus-routes/)

* Mix 96: [Bus numbers UP in Bucks, defying national trend.](https://www.mix96.co.uk/news/local/2505594/bus-numbers-up-in-bucks-defying-national-trend/)

* Devon Live: [Almost 10 per cent drop in number of passengers using buses in Devon](https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/almost-10-per-cent-drop-1222647)

* Portsmouth: The News: [Bus travellers are being ‘abandoned’ by cuts to routes](https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/bus-travellers-are-being-abandoned-by-cuts-to-routes-1-8382020)

* Birmingham Live: [Revealed: The million-mile impact of Birmingham's axed bus routes](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/revealed-million-mile-impact-birminghams-14293402)

* Transport Network: [Bus travel falls by 20% in Wales](https://transport-network.co.uk/Bus-travel-falls-by-20-in-Wales/14826)

* Coventry Telegraph: [This is the million-mile impact of the Midlands' axed bus routes](https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/million-mile-impact-midlands-axed-14307450)

* Lynn News: [Big fall revealed in Norfolk bus route coverage](https://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/big-fall-revealed-in-norfolk-bus-route-coverage-1-8384977)

* Wiltshire: Gazette & Herald: [A million miles have vanished from our bus routes](http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/16038542.A_million_miles_have_vanished_from_our_bus_routes/)

* Northumberland Gazette: [Drastic decrease in bus miles in Northumberland](https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/drastic-decrease-in-bus-miles-in-northumberland-1-9030008)

* St Helens Star: [More than six million bus miles lost in City region since 2013 as national figures hit 28-year low](http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/16049395.More_than_six_million_bus_miles_lost_in_City_region_since_2013_as_national_figures_hit_28_year_low/)

* Non partner coverage: [Wiltshire bus services ‘lose 1.1 million miles in four years’](http://www.whitehorsenews.co.uk/blog/2018/02/27/wiltshire-bus-services-lose-1-1-million-miles-in-four-years/)

* BBC Wales Online: [Distance covered by local buses drops by 20% in 10 years](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-42990217)

* BBC Scotland Online: [Figures show decline in bus usage in Scotland](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43225271)

* Slough & South Bucks Express: [Stats show bus passenger decline in Windsor and Slough](https://www.sloughexpress.co.uk/gallery/windsor/128008/stats-show-bus-passenger-decline-in-windsor-and-slough.html)

* The story was also covered by: the BBC News Channel, BBC Breakfast television, BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show, BBC North West, CFM Radio in Carlisle, BBC Wiltshire, BBC Radio Lincolnshire, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Devon, BBC Newcastle, BBC Radio Cumbria, BBC Radio York, BBC Surrey, BBC Sussex, BBC Radio Gloucestershire, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC Tees, BBC Radio Nottingham



In August the story was mentioned in a [Guardian report](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/18/london-bus-cuts-to-hit-working-class-hardest-says-watchdog) on bus cuts in London.



## Get the data



* [The UK bus network](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tMtv6rXoCzqKUrE4QjqAYAMOY_vyoAMstYlqF8B9NSg/edit#gid=1620295777)



## Visualisation



* Flat map: Outside of London, English bus networks are mostly getting smaller (2014-14 to 2016-17) 

* Flat map: Bus networks are shrinking across most of Scotland (2015-16 vs 2005-06)

* Bar chart: Top ten hardest-hit areas in England

* Bar chart: Bus vehicle miles lost by English region

* Data pic: Key facts about Britain's bus network



In addition you can [see a treemap of the 2013-14 figures here](https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/114456/)



## Background and briefing



* [Project briefing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CEcTMcso5PpOwbEPRmVbpsiekearafw-zX4ctv-V-oA/edit#heading=h.z6ne0og04bp5)