Britain’s Most Used Public Transport System — But Where Is the Safety Data?

Buses are the most widely used form of public transport in Britain.

Every day, millions of passengers rely on bus services to get to work, school, hospital appointments and essential services. For many communities — particularly outside major cities — buses are the only form of public transport available.

Successive governments have recognised the importance of buses to the national transport system. Policies such as the National Bus Strategy, Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), franchising powers under the Bus Services Act, and ongoing bus reform programmes all emphasise the role buses must play in reducing congestion, supporting economic growth and delivering more sustainable travel.

But there is a fundamental question that receives far less attention.

Where is the national safety data for the bus industry?

How Other Transport Modes Handle Safety Data

In other parts of the transport system, safety data and safety investigation are treated as central pillars of governance.

In aviation, safety incidents are recorded, analysed and investigated through a combination of regulatory reporting and independent investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

In rail, safety reporting and national safety analysis are supported by organisations such as the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), with publicly accessible reports identifying trends, systemic risks and recommendations for improvement.

In maritime transport, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) performs a similar role, publishing detailed reports that examine accidents, identify causal factors and recommend safety improvements across the sector.

These organisations exist for a simple reason:

transport systems become safer when incidents are analysed systematically and lessons are shared widely.

The Bus Sector: A Fragmented Picture

When it comes to buses, the picture is very different.

There is no single national dataset that captures the full range of safety incidents across the bus sector.

Instead, relevant information is spread across multiple organisations and systems.

For example:

• Police collision statistics record road traffic incidents, but they do not capture many operational safety events such as passenger falls or near-miss incidents.

• Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) enforcement data focuses on regulatory compliance rather than safety trends across the entire network.

• Traffic Commissioners oversee operator licensing and disciplinary action but do not maintain a national dataset analysing safety incidents across the industry.

• Operators maintain internal safety reporting systems, yet this data is typically not published publicly and is rarely aggregated at a national level.

• Insurance claims data may capture accident information but remains commercially confidential and fragmented across insurers.

The result is a patchwork of partial information.

No single organisation is responsible for assembling a comprehensive national picture of bus safety incidents.

Why This Matters

Without consistent national data, it becomes difficult to answer basic questions about safety performance across the bus network.

For example:

• How many safety-related incidents occur across the UK bus sector each year?

• Are certain types of incidents increasing or decreasing?

• Are particular operational risks emerging in specific environments?

• How do safety outcomes vary between regions or operating models?

• What lessons can be shared across the industry to prevent recurrence?

In sectors such as aviation and rail, these questions can be answered because safety data is collected systematically and analysed centrally.

In the bus sector, the picture is far less clear.

Reforming Buses Without Reforming Safety Governance

This gap becomes even more significant in the context of ongoing bus reform.

Across England, local transport authorities and Combined Authorities are increasingly taking responsibility for shaping bus networks through franchising powers, enhanced partnerships and new governance structures.

Large public investments are being made to improve services and redesign networks.

Freedom of Information responses linked to bus reform programmes show extensive workstreams focused on issues such as:

• commercial models

• procurement strategies

• network design

• governance frameworks

• stakeholder engagement

These initiatives are reshaping how bus services are delivered.

But far less attention appears to be given to how safety data will be collected, analysed and shared across the sector as these reforms take place.

If buses are to become the backbone of a modern public transport system, the governance structures that underpin safety must evolve alongside operational reform.

Lessons From Other Transport Modes

The reason aviation, rail and maritime safety frameworks place such strong emphasis on data and investigation is simple.

Safety improvements depend on learning from incidents.

Independent accident investigation bodies such as the AAIB, RAIB and MAIB do not exist to assign blame.

They exist to identify systemic factors and ensure that lessons are shared widely across the industry.

Their reports frequently lead to:

• changes in operational procedures

• improvements in vehicle or infrastructure design

• regulatory reforms

• industry-wide safety recommendations

Without comparable structures and datasets, the bus sector risks missing opportunities to identify and address systemic risks.

A Question Worth Asking

Buses play a central role in Britain’s transport system.

They carry millions of passengers every day.

They are increasingly central to government policy on decarbonisation, accessibility and local mobility.

Yet compared with other transport modes, the safety governance framework for buses remains less developed.

That raises a simple question.

If buses are the most widely used form of public transport in Britain, why is there no comprehensive national dataset analysing bus safety incidents across the network?

A Conversation That Needs To Happen

Improving safety is not simply about enforcing regulations or responding to individual incidents.

It requires a system that captures data, analyses trends and shares lessons across the entire industry.

As bus reform continues and public investment in bus services increases, the opportunity exists to strengthen the safety governance framework that sits behind the sector.

That conversation may include:

• establishing consistent national safety reporting standards

• improving transparency around safety data

• strengthening mechanisms for cross-industry safety learning

• exploring whether independent accident investigation structures should exist for the bus sector

These questions deserve serious consideration as the future of Britain’s bus network is shaped.

Because a modern public transport system should not only deliver reliable services.

It should also ensure that the systems responsible for learning from safety incidents are strong, transparent and fit for the future.

About the Author

Lee Odams is a UK bus driver with nearly two decades of frontline experience and an active campaigner on public transport policy, safety governance and passenger accessibility.

He regularly engages with government consultations, submits Freedom of Information requests relating to transport policy, and contributes to discussions around bus reform, safety transparency and the future of public transport in Britain.

Bus Safety

Bus Reform

Bus Franchising

Public Transport

Transport Policy

Transport Governance

Safety Data

Bus Workers