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Bus Services: Greater Manchester

Asked by Jim McMahonLabour (Co-op)Department for TransportTabled Answered 17 November 2025UIN 88296

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people travelled by bus in Greater Manchester for each year from 2010 to date; and what assessment has her Department made of trends in the level of bus travel during the current spending period.

Answered by Simon Lightwood

The Department does not hold data on the number of people that travelled by bus in Greater Manchester.

The Department does publish statistics on the number of bus journeys in Greater Manchester in the Annual Bus Statistics. These are available in Table BUS01e: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#local-bus-passenger-journeys-bus01.

The Government knows that local bus services are not delivering for all in many areas of the country, and we are committed to improving services and growing usage. That is why we have introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders to enable them to deliver better bus services that meet the needs of their communities. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been allocated £66.4 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services and connectivity across the area.

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