December 23 2024

  • More and more local buses are running on December 25th
  • Long distance coaches run 365 days a year linking towns, cities and airports across the UK
  • Falling car ownership among young people fuels travel demand

The number of people catching a local bus this Christmas Day is likely to hit 100,000 as more operators lay on services to fulfil demand for travel.

Although many of us are happy to stay at home on December 25th, demand for public transport is fuelled by key workers who need to get to their jobs and by people travelling to visit friends and family. According to ONS statistics, 22% of UK households have no access to a car.

All the major long-distance coach operators are running extensive services on Christmas Day to help connect families and friends. National Express expects to run 340 journeys connecting 95 destinations on Christmas Day, while a majority of FlixBus’s services, linking 70 destinations, will be operating.

And although no local buses operate in London on Christmas Day, the picture is different in many other towns and cities. For example:

  • Lothian Buses in Edinburgh runs 11 routes on Christmas Day, including its city sightseeing tour
  • Stagecoach will run free Christmas Day services on 10 routes in Liverpool on behalf of Merseytravel
  • Brighton & Hove Buses will run five routes this year, including its ‘Coaster’ route along the Downs between Brighton and Eastbourne
  • In Portsmouth, First Solent and Stagecoach will operate a total of seven routes on a special Christmas timetable
  • Passengers on the Isle of Wight will be able to travel on five routes operated by Southern Vectis

Passenger numbers on local buses across Britain have grown steadily from 60,000 on Christmas Day in 2019 to 87,000 on Christmas Day last year. With additional services running this year, numbers are likely to hit six figures.

Alison Edwards, Director of Policy and External Relations at the CPT: “Buses and coaches are Britain’s most popular form of public transport. Where they see demand on Christmas Day, commercial operators are stepping up and running services.

“Although many of us may be putting our feet up for the day, there are plenty of people who want to get around – to visit extended family, to get to work, to visit friends in hospital or simply to get a breath of fresh air. And it’s worth remembering that a fifth of UK households have no access to a car.”