Go-Ahead boosted by growing passenger numbers

Sky-high petrol prices and winter snow forced travellers out of their cars and helped transport group Go-Ahead post record bus profits, the firm said today.

Go-Ahead, which runs around a fifth of London's buses on behalf of Transport for London and carries about 1.7 million passengers a day, said December's snow encouraged motorists to leave their cars at home but also kept older customers from venturing out, boosting the number of full-fare payers and cutting concessionary travel.

Operating profits from buses rose 7.6% to a record
£36.9 million, on revenues up 2% to £320.6 million.

Chief executive Keith Ludeman said: "In the bad weather our buses were extremely busy because people left their cars at home, in the North-East in particular."

The firm was left largely unscathed by the spending review, although it expects to have to pass on a 20% cut in fuel duty rebates which kicks in next year. But with petrol prices also reaching an all-time high, Go-Ahead has also upped its marketing campaign to attract new customers with cost pressures on motorists soaring ever higher.

Go-Ahead lifted its full-year forecasts after pre-tax profits for the six months to January rose 8% to £45 million, helped by a bounceback in its Southeastern rail franchise, which the group runs as a joint venture with France's Keolis. The key commuter line, which Ludeman called a "barometer for recovery" saw passenger volumes jump 5.6%.