More UK buses and coaches are expected to operate on Christmas Day than at any time since figures were first collected five years ago.
Industry body Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) estimates that the number of bus riders will reach 100,000 on December 25 this year.
In 2019, this figure was 60,000 and last year it steadily increased to 87,000.
CPT said bus operators are responding to growing demand, which comes amid a decline in car ownership among youth.
Alison Edwards, director of policy and external relations at CPT, said buses and coaches are the country’s most popular form of public transport.
“Commercial operators are stepping up and running services wherever they see demand on Christmas Day,” he said.
“Although many of us may be on our feet for much of the day, there are plenty of people who want to get around – to visit extended family, go to work, visit friends in hospital or just get some fresh air. To breathe.”
Edwards said we should also remember that “a fifth of UK households do not have access to a car”.
Long-distance coach operator National Express is expected to run 340 journeys connecting 95 destinations, with the season expected to be extremely light this year. FlixBus is scheduled to run services connecting 70 destinations.
Other operators with Christmas Day services include:
Brighton & Hove Buses, including the Coaster route along the Downs between Brighton and Eastbourne.
Lothian Buses in Edinburgh, which will run 11 routes including city sightseeing tours.
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Stagecoach, on behalf of Merseytravel, will run free services on 10 routes in Liverpool.
Seven routes will operate in Portsmouth and five routes on the Isle of Wight.
The number of Christmas Day buses is increasing but there will be no local services for people in most places including London and Newcastle. Britain’s passenger rail network will also be completely closed.
Department for Transport figures show that 22% of households in England did not have access to a car or van in 2023.
Separate figures show that 29% of people aged 17 to 20 held a full driving license last year. This is down from 37% five years ago.
A survey of people in that age group suggested that the most common reasons for not learning to drive were the cost of lessons (38%), insurance (29%) and buying a car (28%).