Why passenger transport?

The passenger transport sector delivers crucial services around the UK. From the elderly lady who relies on her community transport minibus to take her to the hospital each month, to the city commuter who takes the tube every day to get to and from work; passenger transport can have an impact on everyone’s lives.

Did you know? In 2007/08 more than 7715 million journeys were made in Great Britain by bus, rail, light rail and air.


Passenger transport covers a range of industries and a wide assortment of occupations. There are people employed to keep trains and planes clean and others employed to drive them. People are employed to plan schedules and others make sure passenger transport vehicles work and move well. And without any one of these people, the sector would not function properly.

Did you know? There are over 660000 people working in passenger transport in the UK.


Passenger transport is a service industry – customer service is key to success. Part of the successful service is about delivering what passengers want – this means that much of the sector's work is non-stop to meet customer demand. Trains, planes, buses and coaches run from early morning to late at night, and even overnight in some cases, and taxis and driving instructors organise their working hours according to the demand of their clients. This means that the sector is a flexible employer, with staff required to work shifts, allowing people to work around other needs and commitments, such as families or studying.

Delivering a good service involves many different skills – from the engineering required to make sure everything runs safely and efficiently to the ability to follow schedules and make detailed plans.

Did you know? One of the most common skill gaps in passenger transport is the ability to speak a foreign language. This skill is important as the UK becomes increasingly multinational and also with the Olympics on its way to London in 2012.


Find out more about the main areas of work within passenger transport by looking at the areas of work in passenger transport.

Use our career opportunities section to look at job profiles.