Bus journeys on Christmas Day expected to reach highest level in a decade

Industry body the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which made the forecast, said several operators are running more services on December 25 this year.

It attributed this to a rise in demand because of factors such as more than a million people working on Christmas Day, fewer young people having cars, and changes in family structures.

The CPT said the number of Christmas Day local bus journeys has grown from 60,000 in 2019 to 87,000 in 2023 and slightly more than 100,000 in 2024.

It expects the trend to continue this year, hitting the highest level in at least 10 years.

Carousel Buses in Buckinghamshire is running Christmas Day services for the first time, running eight routes in the High Wycombe, Maidenhead and Windsor area.

Metrobus, which serves East and West Sussex, Surrey and Kent, will add buses between Crawley bus station and Redhill to its Christmas Day operation.

Brighton and Hove Buses, which has run a handful of Christmas Day buses in recent years, will operate between Brighton and Lewes this year.

Edinburgh's Lothian Buses always runs a relatively comprehensive network on Christmas Day.

Liverpool City Region mayoralty is again funding a network of free local bus services on Christmas Day, running between approximately noon and 6pm to mainly serve hospitals.

By contrast, Britain's rail network shuts down every Christmas Day.

This will force many people to rely on coaches for long-distance travel.

National Express will run 355 services on Christmas Day, with bookings up 50% compared with a year ago.

More than 200 FlixBus services will run on December 25.

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CPT director of policy and external relations Alison Edwards said: "It's a myth that the country grinds to a halt on Christmas Day.

"Each year, more local buses run - we expect well over 100,000 people to catch the bus on December 25.

"Bus and coach operators are stepping up services in response to demand for travel on Christmas Day.

"Fewer young people own cars, and lots of people want to get around - whether it's to go to a pub or restaurant, visit relatives or enjoy the great outdoors."

Department for Transport figures show 22% of households in England in 2024 had no access to a car or van, rising to 40% of those in the lowest fifth for income.

Separate statistics reveal just 29% of people aged 17-20 held a full driving licence last year, down from 35% in 2019.

A DfT survey of people in that age range suggested the most common reasons for not learning to drive are the costs of lessons (38%), insurance (29%) and purchasing a car (28%).

An estimated 1.1 million people worked on Christmas Day in 2018, according to the most recent Office for National Statistics figures not affected by the coronavirus pandemic.