Bus travel IS booming! More than 150,000 additional passengers in the county

Latest passenger figures show that Lincolnshire County Council has hit the jackpot working with brilliant bus providers across the county.

Lincolnshire County Council’s bus improvement plans have been a roaring success with thousands more passengers a WEEK now using local bus services across the county. 

Funding for the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), made available through LCC, has seen a huge increase in the number of services, the times they run and the number of people using them. 

In some areas bus use has seen a massive 118% daily increase in user numbers and a huge 72% uplift a week in the number of people making bus travel part of their week.  

In figures now available, Sleaford Town service has had a boost of 47% when comparing week-for-week in 2023 to 2024. That means an additional 17,000 passengers now getting about en masse instead of using more polluting means of private transport. 

Boston to Lincoln’s Saturday service has an average increase on the daily passenger figures of 112% which equates to an extra 5000 people using the one-day-a-week service since June.  

Another town service, this time in Gainsborough, has seen a 72% increase in use when comparing the same period in 2023 to this year. That’s 1025 more passengers per week taking up the service and bringing a potential boost to local business as a result. 

Both Skegness and Grantham town services are also seeing hundreds more passengers every week. When comparing the same period this year to last, Skegness averaged an extra 725 passengers a week, Grantham is up to an additional 700 more on average every seven days, also.  

Increasing Stamford Town Service from four journeys a day three days a week, to an hourly service six days a week, has boosted numbers by 118% daily for Stamford residents and there’s a 45% increase in average passenger numbers travelling on the Mablethorpe to Skegness summer service, year-on-year. 

In Lincoln itself, the number of people using the evening services continues to grow. In the first six weeks of the service being brought back earlier this year, an average of 650 people jumped onboard to travel in the evening hours and later. That number has now risen to 950 passengers, on average, every week. 

While the bus services have been a huge success across the county so far, LCC’s on-demand Callconnect bus service has also seen a massive number of people taking up what’s on offer.  

The £2 single-journey fare cap LCC introduced this summer has already had 77,500 customers enjoying the convenience of Callconnect to get around Lincolnshire.   

Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for Transport at LCC said: “These passenger numbers are terrific and show just how successful our work with local bus providers has been so far with 150,000 additional passengers confirmed to have travelled in the county. 

“We have worked closely with local bus companies, using funding for the Bus Service Improvement Plan to increase the right services in the right areas and even bring some older, discontinued services back. 

“As soon as we started this work, we saw people returning to bus use right across Lincolnshire on the improved services. Because of that support from local communities, we were encouraged to continue our work further with more funding, and the results are speaking for themselves. 

“I’d like to thank everyone who has used the new services, the increased services or took a £2 fare cap journey on the Callconnect service.  

“Your support really matters and by using this transport in the way you have, you’re showing that Lincolnshire’s buses are once again providing even more of an essential transport link right across our area.”

By the numbers – how the Lincolnshire buses boom is happening 

• Gainsborough Town service – average increase of 72% when comparing week in 2024 vs 2023 which equates to 1025 additional passengers per week 
• Skegness town service – average increase of 37% when comparing week in 2024 vs 2023 that’s an average of 725 additional passengers per week 
• Grantham town service – average increase of 23% when comparing week in 2024 vs 2023 sees an average 700 more passengers per week 
• Stamford Town Service – average increase of 118% when comparing average daily passenger numbers before BSIP work. The service averaged 80 passengers per week up until June and is now averaging more than 200 
• Sleaford Town service – average increase of 47% when comparing week in 2024 vs 2023. Since June the service has carried an additional 17,000 passengers 
• Mablethorpe – Skegness summer service – average passenger increase of 45% when comparing week in 2024 vs 2023 
• Boston – Lincoln (Saturday service) – average increase 112% which means nearly 5000 extra passengers on the one-day-a-week service. 
• Lincoln evening services – last six weeks of operation averaging 950 passengers per week – (the first six weeks when service started in April averaged 650 per week) 
• 77,500 – the number of £2 fare cap journeys on Callconnect from September 2023 to September 2024 

For more information about bus information, Callconnect or journey planning go tolincsbus.info