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Overview
The statistical report, which is published by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), presents statistics on public transport operated by Translink, the main public transport provider in Northern Ireland, bringing together information on public transport journeys, vehicles and staff.
The statistics on public transport are used for a range of purposes, for example to enable evidence-based decision making, such as that around the development and review of policies; to monitor changes over time; and to support the independent and transparent monitoring of the DfI’s Public Service Agreement with Translink.
Why we did this review
A subset of these statistics were previously published within the Northern Ireland Transport Statistics accredited official statistics report. However, following user feedback, the public transport statistics have been developed into their own standalone report. As such, they must be reassessed against the Code of Practice for Statistics before they can be considered for accreditation again. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) NI requested that we conduct such an assessment, the findings of which are detailed in this report.
Highlighted findings
The positive and collaborative relationship between the Analysis. Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) in DfI and the data supplier Translink has helped both in maintaining appropriate knowledge of operational context and data collection methods.
Users expressed confidence in the quality of the statistics, which are supported by the published background and quality reports.
ASRB has effectively engaged with its user base, responding to queries and incorporating user feedback into the Public Transport Statistics Northern Ireland
ASRB should make improvements to its website to improve ease of access to the range of statistics on the topic of transport in NI and provide a clearer framework for users to navigate to related statistical releases.
The insight that ASRB provides in the statistical report could be enhanced further to aid interpretation of the statistics in a broader policy environment.
Our judgement
We have set out two requirements that we judge ASRB needs to meet for these statistics to become accredited official statistics. These focus on improving ease of access to the statistics for users on DfI’s website and adding further context to the statistical report to strengthen the narrative and enhance the value of the statistics for users.
Next steps
ASRB has committed to set out an action plan on how it plans to address the requirements, providing OSR with an update in mid-July. ASRB has committed to aim to meet these requirements as part of the next release of data in September 2025.
Related links
We are trialling new ways to make our judgements in OSR clearer and more transparent. This new overview page, at the start of reports and compliance checks, is part of this. We welcome your feedback – please email regulation@statistics.gov.uk.