The factors influencing future concessionary bus patronage in Scotland and their implications for elsewhere

Recent changes in UK transport policy have seen the introduction of more generous concessionary travel for elderly people on local buses. However, the increase in patronage that these changes may bring masks another significant influence on elderly people’s bus use: changing car ownership. Using data from Scotland and the UK more generally, this paper provides an analysis of likely changes in bus use by elderly people over the next 13 years, showing that numbers of total trips would be likely to remain constant in the absence of scheme changes, in spite of a 19% increase in the total number of elderly people. The influence of such changes on the economics of bus operation more generally are then discussed