Cost index for passenger transport by bus

Name: Cost index for passenger transport by bus
Topic: Transport and tourism

Division for Energy, Environmental and Transport Statistics

National level only.

The statistics is released around 70 days after the end of the relevant quarter.

Not relevant.

Microdata

Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.

Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.

The statistics measure the cost development for scheduled bus transport in and outside urban and suburban areas and can be used by players within the bus transport market in connection with the conclusion of new contracts and regulation of contract amounts. A total index has been prepared for all costs in addition to all sub-costs. The index only measures changes in costs and not in productivity and profit margin at the bus companies.

The work to develop a cost index for buses started in 2012 on behalf of NHO Transport. A reference group was set up for the project with representatives both from the industry itself and transport users, to ensure that the development work took care of all relevant aspects of the cost picture.

In 2017 a revision of the cost structure started and it was decided to expand the index to include new fuel types. A reference group was once again established with representatives from the bus industry and important users of their services.

Beginning 1st quarter of 2018 the Cost index for passenger transport by bus includes buses powered by the following energy forms:

• Auto diesel
• Biogas
• HVO/BTL
• RME/B100
• Electricity

From the 2nd quarter of 2021, the index includes the cost development of buses driven by:

• Auto diesel
• Biogas
• HVO/BTL
• Electricity

Users and applications

The statistics are used by businesses when signing and amending prices in passenger bus transport contracts. The indices are also used in price negotiations between providers and users of passenger transport by bus.

With regard to the use of statistics for contract adjustment, it is important to emphasize that Statistics Norway is not responsible for either the users' decision to adjust contracts or the choice of index.

Equal treatment of users:

No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users

Coherence with other statistics:

The cost index for buses is built according to the same template as:

Cost index for goods and lorries: describes the development in the cost level for lorry transport.l

Cost index for inland shipping: describes the price development for the input factors in the cost level of inland shipping.

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

Not relevant.

The cost index for passenger transport by bus includes the industry subgroup 49.311. Bus transport in urban and suburban areas and the industry subgroup 49.391 Bus transport outside urban and suburban areas of the Standard Industrial Classification (SN2007) of Statistics Norway. The index does not include chartered buses and sightseeing tours by bus.

The data source is mainly register based and most of the data is generated from Statistics Norway’s own registers. Supplementary data is also obtained from registers outside Statistics Norway. In addition, prices for buses, biodiesel and gas are collected directly by quarterly questionnaire.

The data utilized in developing the cost index for passenger transport by bus and their respective sources are listed as follows:

A. External data sources

1. Bus producers/Suppliers – Depreciation costs are calculated based on bus prices
2. Gas and biodiesel prices are collected from suppliers to the Norwegian market
3. Interest rate is calculated based on 3-month Nibor collected from https://www.referanserenter.no/ and the banks' marginloan margin
4. Prices for the five power regions are obtained from Nord Pool.

B. Data from Statistic Norway’s registers

1. Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• Auto diesel index
• Repair and maintenance costs for buses
• Products for the maintenance and repair of homes and holiday homes
• Services for maintenance and repair of housing and holiday homes
• Insurance connected with dwelling
• Post, telecommunication and print materials
• House rent
• Electricity including grid rent costs
• CPI total index

2. KOSTRA –Municipal services

• Water supply
• Sewerage services
• Waste removal services

3. Producer price indices for services

• Price index for Legal activities
• Price index for accounting and auditing services
• Price index Business consulting services

4. Cost index for freight transport by road

• Tire costs
• Insurance of transport equipment (insurance of buses)

5. Electricity prices

• Electricity prices are collected from Statistics Norway's statistics about electricity prices.

6. Labor cost index

• Wage costs for both administrative workers and drivers are obtained from Statistics Norway’s Labor cost index.

Based on the above mentioned sources several cost groups are calculated.

Labor costs

• Based on salary, irregular and regular supplement, overtime, holiday pay, pensions, social security and other overheads
• Per hour paid
• Both full-time and part-time employees
• Includes all enterprises in the bus industries, both private and public sector

Auto diesel costs

• are based on the actual pump prices obtained from a selection of retailers located around Norway and it is compiled every month by Statistics Norway for use in the Consumer Price Index.

Biogas costs

• are based on data from suppliers to the Norwegian market.

HVO/BTL

• costs are based on data from suppliers to the Norwegian market.

Electricity

• costs are based on quarterly electricity price statistics which include information about average electricity prices for households, services and manufacturing in addition to the wholesale market collected by Statistics Norway.

Repair and maintenance costs includes three cost components: Repair and maintenance of bus (workshop costs, cleaning, etc.), tire costs and insurance costs

• Repair and maintenance of bus is based on the price index for maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment which is compiled every month by Statistics Norway for use in the Consumer Price Index. This index measures the overall growth in repair shop costs (parts and man-hour rates) at auto repair shops all over Norway.
• Tire costs are based on reported prices from the six major tire brand retailers in Norway. It is derived from the cost index for freight road transport.
• Insurance costs are based on reports from the three insurers with the largest market share in the industry. Insurance costs are derived from cost index for freight road transport.

Administrative costs

• include costs related to repair and maintenance of buildings, insurance (buildings), sanitation, water and wastewater, accounting, auditing, consulting, office expenses, rental facilities, and light and heat. The various sub-indices are based on data that is already collected by Statistics Norway.

Depreciation costs

• are based on the price development of new buses from five market-dominating suppliers. The amortization period is 10 years with a residual value of 0 percent

Including 4th quarter 2021 real interest rates costs were based on 3-month Nibor plus the loan margin, which was inflation-adjusted with a five-year average of CPI-ATE (CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products). Beginning 1st quarter 2022 3-month Nibor plus the loan margin is used.

Collection of data

Data is collected by electronic reporting and file extraction via Altinn. The respondents receive a request for reporting at the end of the counting period (every quarter) and have a deadline of approximately 17 days to report. The companies must report all values ​​in full NOK 1,000.

Collected data is recorded manually. In the data registration routine, simple mathematical and logical registration controls have been prepared.

Editing

Control of price data takes place during compilation. Major deviations between periods are confirmed with the statistics producer for the internal price measurements and with the respondent for the form collection.

Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data.

Calculations

The calculation of the indices takes place over three stages:

1. First, price indices (price ratios) are calculated for representative goods that make up the cost components in each individual cost group.
2. The component indices are then weighted together to form cost indices for each of the cost groups.
3. The cost indices are then weighted together to form a total index.

The index's reference period is 4th quarter 2021 (4th quarter 2021 =100).

The elementary indices are calculated as a geometric mean of the price ratios in the cost group. With 9 fuel types and 6 cost groups, we have 54 elementary indices. Aggregation to sub-indices and total index for the industry is carried out using a Laspeyre's method.

Laspeyres price index: an index calculation method where the base period weights are kept constant. Statistics Norway operates with a variant of the Laspeyres index designated as L-type index. This variation means that the base price changes (eg. Quarterly) while the weights are often held for more than one year.

Cost component: the main cost elements (cost components) in the bus industry.

Cost group: is a higher grouping of cost components. The Cost index for passenger transport by bus is divided into six cost groups (categories): labor costs (direct and indirect costs for all employees in the bus industry), fuel costs, depreciation, real interest rates, repair and maintenance costs, and administrative costs.

Base Price: a previous period that current prices are compared against.

Base year: also called index reference period, the year the index is set to 100.

Elementary Group: the lowest grouping in index calculation hierarchy. An elementary index shows a relative price change compared to a previous reference price (base price).

Jevons index: refers to the way we calculate / aggregate price relatives (price ratios) at the lowest level (elementary group) in index calculation. A Jevons index is a geometric mean of price ratios.

Weight: shows the cost ratio for a cost component, cost group or an industry in a given index. Weight ratio is used as a measure of the importance of a cost component and determines how much it should count in an index.

The Index calculation consists of several steps:

1. Determining weights

2. Collecting prices

3. Calculating elementary indices

4. Aggregation based on fuel, costs, or total index

Beginning 1st quarter of 2018 the following cost distribution is implemented (per cent):

• Labour 58.99
• Fuel 11.11
• Repair and maintenance 10.39
  • Tire costs 0,97
  • Insurance costs for buses 0.61
  • Repair and maintenance 8.81

• Administration 8.25
  • Other administration 2.68
  • Insurance premium, building 0.11
  • Office expenses 0.60
  • Rent of building 2.76
  • Light and heating 0.46
  • Accounting, auditing and consulting 0.73
  • Renovation, water and drainage 0.18
  • Repair and maintenance of buildings 0.74

• Depreciation 10.29
• Real interest rates 0.96

From the 1st quarter of 2022, the weights are calculated by a price adjustment of the weights from the 1st quarter of 2018. New percentage cost distribution applies to each fuel type:

• Labour 58.91
• Fuel 10.93
• Repair and maintenance 10.46
  • Tire costs 0.98
  • Insurance costs for buses 0.62
  • Repair and maintenance 8.86

• Administration 8.33
  • Other administration 2.71
  • Insurance premium, building 0.11
  • Office expenses 0.60
  • Rent of building 2.79
  • Light and heating 0.47
  • Accounting, auditing and consulting 0.73
  • Renovation, water and drainage 0.18
  • Repair and maintenance of buildings 0.74
• Depreciation 10.73
• Interest rates 0.63

The cost distribution was estimated by data collection from the seven largest bus enterprises with collectively about 85 per cent of total activity. Weighting of the results of the seven enterprises used financial statement information.

Information about price and weight are the main elements in an index calculation. The price information shows the trends in the most important cost components, while the weight reflects the cost structure for the industry. An index is a weighted price change, a composition of weights and prices.

Not relevant.

Employees of Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures if there is a risk of the respondent’s contribution being identified. This means that, as a general rule, figures are not published if fewer than three units form the basis of a cell in a table or if the contribution of one or two respondents constitutes a very large part of the cell total.

Statistics Norway can make exceptions to the general rule if deemed necessary to meet the requirements of the EEA agreement, if the respondent is a public authority, if the respondent has consented to this, or when the information disclosed is openly accessible to the public.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

The cost index of bus has been compiled by Statistics Norway since the first quarter of 2010.

Changes from 2022

The calculation of the cost index was updated with new weights from and including the 1st quarter of 2022. The index then changed its reference month from the 1st quarter of 2018 = 100 to the 4th quarter of 2021 = 100. Old index values ​​have been adapted to the new reference month. From the 1st quarter of 2022, the index will be chained to the reference month instead of being chained to the previous year as has been done previously. This is more correct as, in theory, you should only chain the index if you update the weight basis. From the 1st quarter of 2022, the cost group for interest costs will not contain an inflation component. The index thus uses nominal interest + lending margin when calculating interest costs.

Measurement errors must be considered against the simplification that the choice of fuel and cost groups represents.

Coverage failure

• In the event of partial withdrawal or other errors, the respondent will be contacted.

Measuring and processing errors

• Processing errors are considered small.

Sampling errors: in statistics that are used directly, refer to
"About the Statistics" for these. This applies:

• Labor - Labor cost index (AKI)

• Fuel - Price index for auto diesel (KPI) and electricity prices

• Administrative costs – The Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Over time, there may be changes in the cost structure of companies in the bus industry. To weight price changes correctly in the cost index, the weight basis should be updated every 5 years.

Dropout error

• The response rate is usually 100%

Selection error

• Not relevant

A revision is a planned change to figures that have already been published, for example when releasing final figures as a follow-up to published preliminary figures. See also Statistics Norway’s principles for revisions.

Revisions in previously published seasonally adjusted figures can take place when new observations (or revised previous observations) are included in the basis of calculation. The scope of the revision is usually greatest in the most relevant part (last 1–2 years) of seasonally adjusted time series. A corresponding revision in trends is also typical, particularly at the end of the time series. The extent of the revision of trends and seasonally adjusted figures is partly determined by the revision policy, see Section 4 of the European Statistical System (ESS) Guidelines on Seasonal Adjustment on the Eurostat website. For more information on the revision of seasonally adjusted figures, see the ‘About seasonal adjustment’ section in the relevant statistics.

A revision is a planned change to figures that have already been published, for example when releasing final figures as a follow-up to published preliminary figures. See also Statistics Norway’s principles for revisions.

The data is edited by a set of simple manual and automated controls. Erronouse or incoherent data is detected using simple micro (manual) and macro (statistical controlls) editing and corrected accordingly.