Stagecoach East reveals improved Bedfordshire reliability and passenger numbers

For each route that it runs, Stagecoach East tracks the number of miles that its bus actually travel along their routes, compared with the number of miles they are scheduled to run. In the year to date, Stagecoach East completed 98.89% of its scheduled miles; up from 98.4% in 2023.

The top five performing routes in Bedfordshire were the Service 41, which ran 99.81% of its scheduled miles, the MK1 which ran 99.5% and the 9A, which ran 99.44%..

Meanwhile, so far in 2024, the operator has carried 15,426,183 passengers, an increase of 15.5% on the same period in 2023.

The news comes just days after the operator was named as a finalist in the “Large Operator of the Year” category at the Route One Awards – one of the most prestigious awards schemes in the UK’s public transport industry.

David Boden, Business Development Director of Stagecoach East, said: “We have worked very hard, and an entire operator, to improve our reliability year-on-year – everything from boosting the number of drivers we employ to investing in new equipment to make our vehicles more reliable.

"It has been a huge effort, so I am delighted for our customers that these results are coming through, and it is obviously very pleasing to see local people responding to this effort by getting on board the bus more and more.

“That said, we never want to stand still, and will push to improve in our mission to bring local communities together.”