The head of First Bus in Bristol has welcomed figures which show bus travel in the city is booming.
Some 42.8 million local bus trips were taken across the city in the financial year 2018/19, according to data released by the Department for Transport this week.
That is up from 38.4 million in 2017/18.
At a time when its use is declining elsewhere it seems that Bristol is bucking the trend.
As recently as 2012/13 there were just 27.5 million local bus journeys a year in the city.
That number had swollen to 39.1 million journeys by 2016/17.
It then dropped back slightly in 2017/18 - but has now soared again.
Across England as a whole, use of local bus services fell in 2018/19 - with 4.32 billion trips taken during the financial year.
That was down from 4.35 billion in 2017/18, and as many as 4.61 billion at the start of the decade.
James Freeman, managing director of First West of England, said: “This is tremendous news for the city and reflects the continuing investment we are putting into ensuring we offer a reliable alternative to car travel.
“It also demonstrates a very real willingness on behalf of the public to get on public transport thereby helping to address the growing issue of congestion on the city’s roads.
“We’re continuing to invest significantly in our fleet to ensure we provide the best possible service for our customers and fulfil our commitment to Bristol’s ambition to be a Clean Air Zone by 2021.
"We already use almost 200 buses that were built to Euro VI standards and we’ve just starting to take delivery of the first of 77 new biogas buses which will be introduced on a range of major routes serving east Bristol.
“In addition, a further 200 buses are in the process of conversion to Euro VI compliance.
“I want to thank all our customers for their patronage in 2019 and look forward to welcoming even more on board in 2020.”
Separate DfT figures show that the bus remains the most important form of public transport for commuters in the South West.
Some five per cent of people usually take the bus to work, compared to two per cent who rail.
Thirteen per cent walk and four per cent use the bike - but 74 per cent commute by car.
Across England as a whole only 67 per cent of people use the car to get to work.
That figure is, however, skewed by London - the capital’s layout and efficient public transport options mean only 28 per cent of people there use the car to get to work.
It should also be taken into account the rural areas with limited bus services across the South West region.
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