Britain's bus route coverage now lowest in 28 years (Feb 2018)

[whole diary]

[Tim]

You make good points regarding the disadvantaged in society, but unfortunately the numbers of special needs passengers, many of whom occupy multiple seats, are leaving less and less room for ordinary fare payers.
Seating capacity has already been reduced by adding wheelchair provision and baby buggy space.

Not many rural routes have a problem with overfull buses. 

[broadgage]

The 28 bus between Taunton and Minehead is often, by common sense standards, overfull.
There might in fact be room remaining in theory, but it would be a very brave passenger indeed whom suggested that children should stand, babies should be held in the mothers lap, and that even special needs passengers should occupy but a single seat.

In practice, one wheel chair user with carers/helpers, and a few oversize baby carriages, and half a dozen elderly customers with shopping trolleys mean that the bus is full. Despite probably only carrying a dozen or so fare paying passengers.

[grahame]

You make good points regarding the disadvantaged in society, but unfortunately the numbers of special needs passengers, many of whom occupy multiple seats, are leaving less and less room for ordinary fare payers.
Seating capacity has already been reduced by adding wheelchair provision and baby buggy space.

Not many rural routes have a problem with overfull buses. 

It's often VERY spiky.  Wiltshire experience is that there may be 5 buses a day but a single service - the first one after 09:30 - takes most of the traffic.  A rail quote from my inbox this a.m. - "Counts a few years ago showed that nearly 70% of all daily footfall from there was trying to cram onto the 08:07" and that's for a station with around 10 services each way per day.   So there is the perception of overcrowding - 7 out of 10 will tell you services are stuffed to the gunwales, when in reality 9 out of 10 are carrying fresh air.

Looking back up thread and the bus from Butlins to Taunton, I suspect that it's the 08:55 and 09:55 off Minehead that are busy, and the 10:55 though to the 17:55 may have plenty of space on them.

Noting the follow up while I was writing - what is the general loading across the who service, broadgage - do you have numbers from right though the day?

[grahame]

Looking back up thread and the bus from Butlins to Taunton, I suspect that it's the 08:55 and 09:55 off Minehead that are busy, and the 10:55 though to the 17:55 may have plenty of space on them.

Sorry - quoted Saturday times there.  I suspect the 09:30 and 10:00 off Minehead are busiest in Monday to Friday, with a rapid drop off on the half hourly service thereafter.