Survey reveals Nottinghamshire bus passengers are happiest in Britain

Passengers were overwhelmingly supportive of the punctuality, cleanliness, information availability, and the helpfulness of bus drivers.

Overall customer satisfaction was 93 per cent, among the 1,200 people asked throughout the county.

That was the highest satisfaction of any local authority in the country, out of the 24 areas which took part in the survey.

Three of the main bus operators in Nottinghamshire also ranked in the top four nationwide, out of 64 providers.

Nottingham City Transport scored the second-highest customer satisfaction in the country, Stagecoach East Midlands came third and Trentbarton came fourth.

However just 70 percent of the bus passengers asked said they thought buses in Nottinghamshire provided good value for money.

The figures were revealed in the annual Bus Passenger Survey, which the county council contributes to.

Every year, it asks 40,000 passengers across the country for their views on the buses.

Findings of the survey were presented at a county council meeting today.

Coun John Knight, county councillor for Kirkby North, said: “First of all congratulations, because any public service which gets 93 percent customer satisfaction is very impressive.

“But I think where it falls down is on value for money.”

Coun Knight added that it was becoming more frequent for drivers not to be able to give change, and that they would offer a credit note to the value of the change they couldn’t give.

He said: “The onus ought to be on the company to carry change.

“I know they can give you a credit note, but no-one ever uses them.”

Coun David Martin, county councillor for Selston, said: “ I have been asked why the Robin Hood Card (which provides cheaper travel for young people in Nottingham City) can’t be expanded across the county.

“For young people to be able to travel down to the city where the buses, trams and everything else takes effect would be a real advantage.”

Council officers said they would be conducting a full review of bus services later in the year, and delivering better value for money would be one of the areas that would be considered.