Deprived areas hit hardest by changes in access to bus services during the pandemic

Public transport was severely impacted during COVID-19 as people’s daily mobility patterns changed. This led to a substantial drop in demand as many workers were instructed to work from home and social distancing measures were introduced on existing services. Department for Transport statistics show a decline from 91 to 26 million passenger journeys on local bus services for 2019/20 to 2020/21 for Wales: albeit with hints of a recovery in later quarters. This led to a total withdrawal of some routes as operators adjusted their networks, and a reduced frequency of service on others, in response to the declining passenger numbers.

This research investigates evidence for spatial disparities within this nationwide narrative, thereby adding to previous research that has investigated the role of changing levels of public transport services pre-pandemic on access to library, health and social care, banking, and sporting facilities for those groups who lack access to private transport. Under-pinning such research is the need for measures that permit spatial and temporal analysis of access to essential services via a range of travel modes using sophisticated GIS networking tools.