As part of Mode Shift Month, we’re exploring what Mobility for Everyone means in practice — and the different ways people can make everyday journeys.

This September, we’re pleased to welcome Lydia Horbury, Chief Executive of Bus Users UK, to share her perspective on the important role buses play in connecting people and communities.

With Catch the Bus Month also taking place throughout September, Lydia shares how Bus Users UK’s Myth BUSting campaign is encouraging people to challenge some of the assumptions around bus travel and discover what buses can offer.

Guest blog from Lydia Horbury, Chief Executive, Bus Users UK

September is always an exciting month for those of us working to make sustainable travel easier, more accessible and more attractive. At Bus Users UK, September means one thing in particular: Catch the Bus Month.

This year we’re taking a playful approach with our Myth BUSting campaign, challenging some of the outdated perceptions around bus travel and encouraging people to discover what buses can actually offer.

Because if we’re serious about mode shift, we need to talk about buses.

The missing piece of the mode shift puzzle

When we talk about sustainable travel, we often talk about walking, wheeling and cycling. We talk about car sharing, active travel and creating healthier streets. All of that is incredibly important.

But for many people, particularly those travelling further, carrying shopping, travelling with children, living with a disability, or simply unable to walk or cycle for every journey, public transport is essential.

They connect villages with towns, suburbs with city centres and communities with jobs, education, healthcare, shops and each other. They can also provide that really important link between different modes of transport, making it possible for people to leave the car at home.

That’s why buses shouldn’t be seen as an alternative to active travel, or as a completely separate conversation.

They are part of the same picture.

Let’s bust some myths

One of the reasons we chose Myth BUSting as this year’s Catch the Bus Month theme is simple: perception matters.

People can have very fixed ideas about buses. Thinking they are dirty and polluting, expensive or only for people who don’t drive.

Some of those perceptions might come from experiences many years ago and some are simply myths.

Our job isn’t to pretend that every bus journey is perfect. As the passenger champion, we know there is still work to do to improve bus travel.

But we also know there are millions of good bus journeys happening every single day.

There are innovative operators, ambitious local authorities, new zero-emission buses, better passenger information, improved infrastructure and communities working incredibly hard to make their networks work for local people.

There’s a lot to celebrate.

Mode shift starts with confidence

One of the most powerful things we can do is to improve travel confidence. For someone who has always driven, getting on a bus for the first time may feel like a surprisingly big deal. Which stop do I use? Where do I buy my ticket? What about my wheelchair, bike or shopping?

These might sound like small questions, but if you don’t know the answers, they can become very real barriers, which is exactly why campaigns like Catch the Bus Month matter. They give people a reason to try something different, while giving the organisations behind the campaign a chance to provide information, encouragement and a bit of reassurance too.

And quite often, that first journey is all it takes, because once you realise you can make that journey by bus, the next one feels much easier.

Mobility for everyone means mobility for everyone

This year’s Mode Shift Month theme, Mobility for Everyone, is particularly important.

Buses are one of the most accessible forms of public transport and they are used by people at every stage of life. A six-year-old travelling to school, a young person getting to their first job, a parent travelling with a buggy, an older person visiting friends, or someone who cannot drive because of a disability. All of these people experience transport differently, but all need to be able to get where they need to go.

And there’s a lovely bit of history behind the word bus too. It comes from the Latin word omnibus, which literally means for all. I think that’s rather fitting.

So, what can we do?

There is a huge opportunity for everyone involved in sustainable travel to make buses part of the conversation this September.

Our Partner Pack is packed with ideas and campaign-ready graphics, posters and social media frames. All our assets are available in English and Welsh and can be customised to suit your brand. Join the movement and get your free Partner Pack here: https://bususers.org/ctbm-partner-pack-2026/

You can find all the events happening throughout the month, including in-person and online events, as well as some brilliant promotional offers, on our interactive map: https://bususers.org/catch-the-bus-month/

And if you want to see what difference choosing the bus could make to both the environment and your wallet, have a play with our Journey Calculator. Want to add the Journey Calculator to your own website or platform for free? Get in touch at [email protected] and we’ll tell you how.

And, of course, come and join the conversation. Tag @Bus Users UK and use #CTBM26 and #MDYB26.

Let’s get on board

At Bus Users UK, our ambition for Catch the Bus Month goes well beyond September. We want people to recognise the role buses play in tackling congestion, improving access to opportunity, supporting local economies, reducing emissions and connecting communities.