Key points
Public Transport Vehicles
At the end of March 2024:
- there were 1,070 Ulsterbuses, 288 Metro buses and 34 Gliders in operation which were, on average, 9.4 years, 7.1 years, and 5.5 years old respectively.
- 44 Ulsterbuses and 103 Metro buses were zero emission vehicles,
accounting for 10.6% of all buses in operation.
- all 34 Gliders were diesel hybrid vehicles, accounting for 2.4% of all buses in operation.
- there were 164 rail carriages in operation, with an average age of 18 years.
Infographic
Introduction
This report presents statistics on public transport vehicles operated by Translink in Northern Ireland and is a sub-set of the statistics published in Public Transport Statistics NI. The Public Transport Statistics Northern Ireland 2023/24 publication is due for release in Autumn 2024 and will include information relating to public transport journeys, vehicle, and staff. The full suite of official statistics are not yet published as some of the Translink data are subject to external audit and are not yet available. Prior to the release of Public Transport Statistics Northern Ireland 2023/24, the complete set of statistics will also undergo further statistical quality assurance by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI).This is an ad hoc official statistics report produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, complying with the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value.
Uses of the data
These data have been published early to facilitate their inclusion in DfI strategic reports due to be published during summer 2024. This is in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics which allows publishing part of a publication early as an ad hoc release if the data are required for a public statement.
User information
Users should note that the latest full release of Public Transport Statistics NI is available on the DfI website. This was published alongside a Background Quality Report and a Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) and these reports remain relevant for this ad hoc release in relation to statistics on public transport vehicles. The 2023/24, report due to be published in Autumn 2024, will incorporate the statistics included in this report to provide easy access to the full suite of information for users.
Public Transport Vehicles
The number of vehicles reported in this statistical bulletin refer to active fleet i.e. they include “normal” and “special” fleet (main service and others), but do not include reserve fleet. The average age of vehicles can change due to the addition of new vehicles to the active fleet and the withdrawal and / or disposal of older vehicles during the year.
At the end of March 2024, there were 1,070 Ulsterbuses, 288 Metro buses and 34 Gliders in operation which were, on average, 9.4 years, 7.1 years and 5.5 years old respectively. There were also 164 rail carriages in operation, which were on average 18 years old.
Figure 1 Public Transport Vehicles: March 2020 to March 2024
Table 1 Public Transport Vehicle average age: March 2020 to March 2024
| Vehicle Age | March 2020 | March 2021 | March 2022 | March 2023 | March 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulsterbus | 10.4 | 10.1 | 9.4 | 8.9 | 9.4 |
| Metro | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.8 | 6.3 | 7.1 |
| Glider | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 5.5 |
| Rail Carriages | 16.0 | 17.0 | 18.0 | 17.0 | 18.0 |
At the end of March 2024, 10.6% of all buses in operation were zero emission vehicles; this included 44 (4.1%) of the 1,070 Ulsterbuses and 103 (35.8%) of the 288 Metro vehicles. The remaining 1,026 Ulsterbuses and 185 Metro vehicles were diesel fuel engines. Glider vehicles were introduced in September 2018 as a sustainable rapid transit system with all 34 vehicles (2.4% of all buses) operating as diesel hybrid.
Figure 2 Bus by fuel type: March 2020 to March 2024
User Guidance
General information
This is an ad hoc official statistics report produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI). It has been produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, complying with the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by email at: regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website. For full details on Public Transport statistics users should refer to the DfI website
Data Quality
The relevant sections of the Background Quality Report (BQR) inform users about the quality of the information upon which they may be drawing conclusions and making decisions.
A Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) report is also available. This contains information on the quality of the administrative data that is included in the ‘Public Transport Statistics Northern Ireland: Public Transport Vehicles’ report. It includes a quality assessment of the data on the Hexagon SQL database. This is an administrative data source which is used to produce the ‘Public Transport Statistics Northern Ireland: Public Transport Vehicles’ report. The assessment found that the level of risk of quality concerns in this source is low and that the public interest is low. More details can be found in the report.
Public Transport Vehicles
Fleet
The fleet numbers refer to active fleet i.e. they include “normal” and “special” fleet (main service and others), but do not include reserve fleet (i.e. Tour Coaches, Training Academy vehicles and any other vehicles that are not used for normal timetabled service work).
Average age of vehicles
The average age of buses in Table 1 can go down from one year to the next if new buses are purchased during the year.
The average age of rail carriages is provided to the nearest whole number.
Code of Practice
This report is published in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. It complies with the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value.
Rounding
Figures on the average age of buses have been rounded to 1 decimal place.
The average age of rail carriages is provided to the nearest whole number.
Revisions Policy
The data presented in this bulletin are revised by exception; therefore, any revisions to the figures in this report will typically be as a result of definitional changes or corrections to errors and the impact will be quantified where possible.
The Revisions and Errors Policy for statistics produced by DfI is available on the DfI Website.
Accessibility and format
Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. This publication is published in HTML format and every effort has been made to comply with the AA standard under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
If any document is not in a format that meets your needs, please contact ASRB with your requirements.
This statistical report and associated documents are available to download free of charge.
Acknowledgements
ASRB acknowledge the assistance received from colleagues in Translink and would like to thank them for their contributions to this publication.
Contact Information
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