More great news for bus travel in Warwickshire.
Warwickshire County Council is very pleased with the results of the 2025-26 ‘Your Bus Journey’ survey, conducted by independent watchdog Transport Focus, which revealed a 93% overall passenger satisfaction rating.
This is the first year Warwickshire has been included in the prestigious annual survey, which gathered data over a 12-month period between February 2025 and January 2026. The 93% rating places Warwickshire as the highest-rated local authority area in the country, significantly outperforming the English average of 85%.
The survey, which captured the views of 1,000 passengers through on-board interviews and at-stop surveys at key hubs such as Leamington Parade and Nuneaton Bus Station, provides a detailed benchmark for the Warwickshire Bus Enhanced Partnership (EP).
Mark Ryder, Warwickshire County Council's Executive Director for Communities, said: "Considering this is the first year that the bus passenger survey has been conducted in Warwickshire, we are delighted with these results, which confirm that our commitment towards providing a high-quality bus network for Warwickshire is delivering for our residents.
“Buses are the backbone of our communities, connecting people to work, education, and essential services while reducing congestion and supporting our environmental goals. We will use this detailed insight to ensure we continue to provide an accessible, reliable, and affordable service for everyone in Warwickshire.
“It’s great to see that responses came from across Warwickshire, which will help steer the ongoing investment towards improving the bus network, and is testament to the hard work of our officers and our partners at the Warwickshire Bus Enhanced Partnership.”
Collaborative success
The move to use Transport Focus’s rigorous independent data was initiated by Stagecoach Midlands through the Enhanced Partnership. By transitioning away from more general highways surveys, the Council and operators—including Stagecoach Midlands, National Express Coventry, Arriva Midlands, Diamond Buses, and Flexibus - now have access to more detailed data on overall passenger experience to drive further improvements, including enhanced bus information, customer care and driver training.
Ongoing Delivery of Improvements to Bus Travel
The positive responses received through the bus passenger survey bodes very well in line with ongoing delivery of improvements to the Warwickshire bus network.
Warwickshire County Council is in the process of delivering enhancements to the Warwickshire bus network which it is implementing through partnership working with bus operators in tandem with the current two-year (2025-26 and 2026-27) Warwickshire Bus Service Improvement Delivery Plan Programme, funded by the sum of £13.149 million allocated to the County Council by the Department for Transport.
The measures being delivered include maintaining and improving key bus services, improvements to bus stops (including new bus shelters), further Real Time Information digital displays at key bus stops across the county, bus priority measures on the highway to reduce journey times, further marketing campaigns promoting bus travel to the community, enhanced bus information at bus stops on key corridors and a new smartcard enabling seamless multi-bus operator travel on key corridors.
In addition, National Express Coventry and Stagecoach Midlands have allocated funding towards enhancing their bus fleet to zero emission all-electric specification with support from the Department for Transport and the County Council, with electric buses now making up over 50% of the overall bus fleet in Warwickshire.
It is likely that the County Council will receive further external funding from the Department for Transport towards improving the Warwickshire bus network between the period 2026-2030 by way of delivering further measures in the Warwickshire Bus Service Improvement Plan.
Louise Collins, Director at independent watchdog Transport Focus said: “Warwickshire’s impressive 93% satisfaction rating reflects a bus network that is genuinely delivering for passengers.
“This shows what can be achieved when councils and operators work closely together.
“We’re pleased to see such strong results in this first year in the survey and look forward to supporting Warwickshire as it continues to build on this success.”
More information about buses in Warwickshire can be found online: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/buses