Lothian Buses tops poll on value for money

Lothian Buses has come out on top of a national survey of bus passengers on whether they feel they are getting value for money.

Lothian Buses has topped a UK survey for customer satisfaction. Picture: Greg Macvean

83 per cent of customers in the Lothians said the publicly-owned firm was giving them value for money, according to the survey by watchdog Passenger Focus.

The figure is even better compared with some of the dismal scores handed out to firms elsewhere in the UK, with just 37 per cent of passengers on Southern Vectis services on the Isle of Wight and 38 per cent of Arriva customers in Kent reporting they were happy with their service.

Arriva in Medway on 44 per cent, First Bus in north-east Scotland on 46 per cent, and First Bus in Tayside and Central Scotland on 47 per cent were also among the low-scoring firms on value for money.

47,000 passengers were surveyed across the UK, including in four areas of Scotland.

Passenger Focus passenger director David Sidebottom said: “Passengers tell us that value for money is key to their satisfaction with a service, along with being able to get decent information and a friendly, helpful driver.

“Nationally there is still room for improvement, with a wide range of value-for-money scores across the country.

“We call on operators to look at their colleagues with better scores to learn from them and make a difference to their passengers.”