Inflation in both maintenance-related and staffing drove a 4% overall year-on-year increase in costs for bus operators, according to the latest edition of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Cost Monitor.
A slight decrease in fuel costs failed to offset other inflationary pressures over the 12 months to February.
The sixth edition of the twice-yearly report collated costs data from 52 operators responsible for more than 17,000 peak vehicles and 67% of bus mileage operated in Great Britain.
Rising prices for parts, repairs, and servicing resulted in an 8.6% rise in engineering costs for operators.
Meanwhile, the challenges of driver retention led to a 6.6% increase in labour costs.
Fuel-driven running costs fell by 0.4% over the year, while insurance (-3.1%) and overheads (-7.1%) also saw a drop.
Depreciation and leasing costs rose by 5.0% as operators invested more heavily in newer vehicles.
Regional variations were seen, with Welsh operators experiencing a 5.8% overall increase in costs. A 30.2% increase in overheads – compared to -7.1% across the country – substantially contributed to this.
The English metropolitan areas were hit by a rise of just 2.1%.
Insurance-related costs varied particularly widely according to geography – up by 27.3% in Wales and down by 21.8% in London.
CPT Operations Director Keith McNally says: “While a 4% increase may sound modest, it represents a significant ongoing burden on operators who are already running services on tight margins.
“Labour and engineering costs together represent around 65% of total costs and there were notable increases in these areas.
“With the fare cap reimbursement allocations and local funding settlements under review, it’s critical that policy decisions reflect the real, rising cost of keeping Britain’s bus networks moving.
“Stability and certainty in funding will be key to protecting routes, supporting jobs, and delivering the green transport future we all want to see.”
| % changes | English Mets | English Shires | Scotland | Wales | GB o/s London | London | All GB |
| Running Costs | -2.3% | 1.5% | -5.3% | -9.5% | -1.1% | 2.4% | -0.4% |
| Dep’n & Leasing | 4.4% | 3.7% | 5.3% | -5.8% | 3.9% | 10.1% | 5.0% |
| Labour | 6.6% | 9.3% | 3.8% | 2.9% | 7.2% | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| Engineering | 0.0% | 16.5% | 2.3% | -15.3% | 8.2% | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| Semi-Var. Costs | 0.0% | 5.3% | 0.9% | 159.9% | 8.3% | -37.2% | -4.0% |
| Claims/Insurance | 26.1% | -14.9% | 25.5% | 27.3% | 4.2% | -21.8% | -3.1% |
| Overheads | -12.4% | -11.9% | 17.0% | 30.2% | -6.6% | -13.9% | -7.1% |
| Overall | 2.1% | 4.4% | 3.2% | 5.8% | 3.7% | 4.4% | 4.0% |
