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Updated 24 August 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/light-rail-and-tram-statistics-guidance/light-rail-and-tram-quality-report-2022
About the light rail and tram statistics
The light rail and tram annual statistical release is compiled from responses to the Light Rail and Tram Survey, which collects information on light rail and tram system use, infrastructure and revenue. A copy of the survey form is available.
The light rail and tram statistical release is produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics and were confirmed as National Statistics in February 2013. This report outlines some of the quality aspects of the data.
The survey covers urban systems which are primarily surface running. Questionnaires are sent to the following systems:
These systems are those which sit outside of the UK National Rail network but carry a large number of passengers on a daily basis in an urban setting. However, this should not be considered an exhaustive list of the light rail systems currently operating in the UK. There are many other such systems, including funiculars, airport transit systems, heritage, and tourist railways, which are not covered by these statistics.
Map 1: Location of each light rail and tram system in England, year ending March 2022
The survey first ran in its current format in 2010 and has been running on an annual basis since, although some data are available back to the 1980s. The data captured has remained largely unchanged, meaning that long-term trends can be monitored.
In 2022, returns were received from all of the systems, a response rate of 100%. The response rate has consistently been 100%, and the cooperation of the systems is greatly appreciated.
As the figures are provided by different operators, there are some differences in the methods used to count journeys or to estimate passenger or vehicle kilometres, which may affect comparisons between different systems.
The survey captures the number of passenger boardings, or journeys. This is not the same as the number of passengers as one passenger may make multiple trips.
While the survey captures the number of passenger boardings, it does not capture detailed information about the journeys, such as the origin and destination, or purpose of the journey. Some of this information can, however be obtained via analysis of the National Travel Survey. See the latest statistical release for more information.
The survey does not capture any details of the people using the system, such as their demographics, journey satisfaction, or the reasons behind their travel mode choice. Some of this information can be obtained from the National Travel Survey.
As National Statistics, light rail and tram statistics are produced to high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for statistics and many quality control measures are in place to ensure the integrity of the data.
Data collection is by an excel spreadsheet.
Validation checks are used to ensure that any year-on-year large changes are investigated.
Returns are validated by comparison with previous years and seeking explanation where differences are large or unexpected. This means that figures for each system should be broadly comparable over time.
The principles of “RAP” (reproducible analytical pipelines) are used to produce the publication tables.
In 2022, the response rate was 100%, consistent with previous years.
The survey reference period is the year ending March 2022, and the statistical release was published in August 2022.
Much of the data captured will be available from the individual systems’ management information systems. Although with a response rate of 100%, there are no sampling or coverage errors, there remains the possibility that the data captured is incorrect: the form may not be clear, the respondents may make an error when completing the form, or there may be errors in the underlying data. While our quality assurance procedures attempt to mitigate these errors, it does not remove the risk of them entirely. Information not available through management information systems, such as average journey length, will require the respondent to make assumptions.
Within the statistical release, other data sources have been used in addition to the light rail and tram survey to provide a more complete picture of the light rail and tram sector.
Transport for London (TfL) – publish DLR and London Underground performance data.
Office of Road and Rail (ORR) – ORR publish information on passenger injuries on trams, metros and other non-Network Rail networks in Great Britain. ORR statistics are National Statistics.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) – publish population and inflation statistics which are used to calculate journeys per head and adjusted revenue figures.
These statistics are collected to provide information on light rail and tram systems within England to monitor trends in passenger journeys, service provision and revenue. They help to provide a comprehensive picture of public transport use in Great Britain. Within DfT, they are used as background information in the development of light rail and tram policy, for ministerial briefing and to answer public enquiries. Outside DfT, known users include researchers, academics and Parliamentary groups with the main known use as context for reports related to light rail.
“Light rail” covers DLR, London Trams, Nottingham Express Transit, West Midlands Metro, Sheffield Supertram, Tyne and Wear Metro and Manchester Metrolink.
“Tram” covers Blackpool Tramway and Edinburgh Trams.
“Underground” covers London Underground and Glasgow Subway.
Concessionary journeys are those carried out by holders of a concessionary travel pass. These are issued by local authorities for use on buses as part of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme. Local authorities outside of London can offer free travel on light rail systems as a discretionary extra to this scheme. In London, this is a statutory requirement.
Every trip can consist of one or more stages. A new stage is defined when there is a change in the mode of transport.
Passenger kilometres divided by passenger boardings. This calculation reflects operators’ assumptions about average journey length, based on their own surveys and research.
Passenger journeys divided by the population in the respective Passenger Transport Executive or higher tier authority, using the Census data or mid-year population estimates produced by the Office of National Statistics.
Passenger kilometres divided by vehicle kilometres. This calculation reflects operators’ assumptions about average journey length, based on their own surveys and research.
Most operators report that their passenger journeys figures are derived from ticket data, either directly from ticket machines (Blackpool, Sheffield, Nottingham and West Midlands Metro) or based on ticket sales (Manchester Metrolink). However, for the London Tramlink passenger numbers are recorded by an on-tram passenger count system using infra-red door sensors, and DLR figures are based on automatic passenger counts at stations. Tyne and Wear Metro figures are based on surveys of 12,000 to 15,000 passengers every four weeks (which the operator reports as providing data accurate to +/- 1% on an annual basis).
Where figures are derived from ticket sales data, assumptions based on passenger surveys are made to estimate the number of journeys per ticket (for example, for season tickets).
For the systems that report using passenger counts from ticket machines, season ticket and pass holder boardings are captured by the pressing of a button on the machine. Only one operator makes an adjustment for under-recording, with the others reporting that they make no adjustment but estimate that the level of under-recording is small (less than 1%).
On occasion, operators may make adjustments to the methods used to estimate journeys. For example, Manchester reported using a revised methodology for concessionary journeys from 2010 to 2011, based on surveys carried out.
Whilst there are differences in the methods used by operators to compile the estimates of journeys and it is difficult to assess the impact of these precisely, data are validated by comparison to previous years and consequently, we believe that the broad trends shown are sufficiently robust for the uses of these statistics.
Concessionary journeys are those carried out by holders of a concessionary travel pass. These are issued by local authorities for use on buses as part of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS). In London, free travel on light rail systems is a statutory requirement. Local authorities outside of London can offer free travel on light rail systems as a discretionary extra to this scheme and all eight areas with light rail systems currently offer free off-peak travel to older and disabled residences in their local authority area. In order to qualify for a concessionary travel pass, a certain age or disability requirement has to be met as specified by the ENCTS. Some local authorities may also offer concessionary travel for young people.
Passenger kilometres travelled are calculated by multiplying the number of passenger journeys by an average journey length. Average journey lengths are estimated from passenger surveys. Typically, the same figure is used for a number of years, with periodic revisions for example associated with network changes. As a result, whilst the passenger kilometres figures should reflect broad trends sufficiently, year on year changes should be treated with caution.
Vehicle kilometres operated are derived from scheduled (timetabled) kilometres, deducting any known lost kilometres. Kilometres run on driver training or special excursions are not included. Given the nature of these systems (operating on a fixed route network) we consider these figures to be a reliable indication of levels and trends.
Note, however, that figures for Manchester Metrolink are provided on a different basis to other systems (as described in the footnote to the tables). Comparisons over time and with other systems should therefore be made with caution.
Revenue figures are taken from operators’ financial records. Total revenue includes on and off-vehicle fare receipts, concessionary fare reimbursement for both elderly and disabled and (where relevant) youth passengers, and any other payments from local transport authorities. Income from special excursions and other sources (e.g. retail and advertising), as well as Government support through the Light Rail Revenue Restart Grant (LRRRG), is not included in these figures.
Symbols used in the tables
[w] = data not available
The period covered by the 2021/22 release is less affected by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic than the previous release. This period was largely unaffected by restrictions or capacity limitations to allow for social distancing. Plan B restrictions introduced in response to the Omicron variant in December 2021 did not introduce further capacity restrictions, although the work from home advice issued by the Government did lead to an overall decline in patronage.
Some operators have provided data on patronage on a more frequent basis during the pandemic. This shows patronage relative to pre-pandemic levels. This is included in the release as a broad indicator of trends only, at national level.
Systems have recovered since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, with services returning to pre-pandemic frequencies on most systems. Systems where the data may be affected by other factors are listed below.
No services ran between 11 June and 14 June 2021, and 13 November and 14 December 2021, and 20 March and 8 June 2022 inclusive due to operational faults. Outside of these periods, there were also some reductions in the frequency of services due to these faults.
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