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An emissions report by the TAS Partnership, a leading independent public transport consultancy, confirms that Go-Ahead has the youngest and greenest bus fleet of the major UK operators.*

The report demonstrates that of the UK's five major bus fleet operators, Go-Ahead has the youngest average vehicle age - 6.41 years old compared to an average of 8.1. The report also confirms that Go-Ahead's Oxford Bus Company has the lowest emissions of any bus company in the UK.

TAS praised Go-Ahead for its strong and continued investment in modern fleets of buses: "Not only does this have a positive environmental impact it recognises the growing importance passengers and the public place on high quality and greener vehicles."

Keith Ludeman, Go-Ahead's Group Chief Executive said: "The UK bus industry will only provide a genuine alternative to car use if it provides reliable, high quality services and is perceived to be environmentally responsible by passengers. I am determined that Go-Ahead will continue to play a major role in meeting this challenge and I am delighted this report recognises our contribution and helps to highlight the continued investment across the industry in modern vehicles."

Go-Ahead is also helping to reduce the environmental impact of its bus operations by investing in 'black box' driver monitoring technology and intensive driver training to help improve fuel efficiency. The scheme has been successfully trialled at Oxford Bus Company and results suggest it should improve fuel efficiency by around 5%.

* The TAS analysis excludes regulated London bus operations.

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Notes to Editors

1. The TAS Partnership was founded in 1989 and has grown to be the UK's leading specialist public transport consultancy, with a current turnover in excess of £1.5m a year and over 25 full-time staff.Their client base includes the major UK transport groups, Department for Transport, Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Government, Passenger Transport Executives and local authorities throughout the country.

A copy of the TAS Partnership emissions report can be downloaded by clicking here

2. Other key findings of the report:

• Go-Ahead is the only Group to publicly commit to further Euro V purchases ahead of the required introduction date (Oct 2009)
• Go-Ahead has the highest proportion of Euro II (40%) and Euro III (43%) buses across the Big Five Groups - this is calculated by TAS based on registration year.
• For Carbon Monoxide emissions = Go-Ahead fleets occupy the top 3 places (Oxford Bus Company = 1^st; Brighton & Hove = 2^nd; Go North East = 3^rd)
• For Hydrocarbon emissions = Go-Ahead fleets occupy 3 of the top 5 places (Oxford Bus Company = 1^st; Brighton & Hove = 2^nd; Go North East = 4^th)
• For Nitrogen Oxide emissions = Go-Ahead fleets occupy the top 3 places (Oxford Bus Company = 1^st; Brighton & Hove = 2^nd; Go North East = 3^rd)
• For Particulate emissions = Go-Ahead fleets occupy the top 2 places (Oxford Bus Company = 1^st; Brighton & Hove = 2^nd; Go North East = 6^th)
• Average Combined Emissions = Go-Ahead fleets occupy the top 3 places (Oxford Bus Company = 1^st; Brighton & Hove = 3^rd; Go North East = 3^rd)

3. The 'black box' technology fitted to buses to help improve fuel efficiency is supplied by MiX Telematics. Founded in 1997, Mix Telematics is a global provider of fleet management products and services to companies of all sizes in over 75 countries on six continents. The Mix Telematics FM300 Communicator fleet management system includes an in cab prompt which alerts the driver when they are not driving efficiently. For more information please visit their website: www.mixtelematics.com.

4. Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of over 3,400 buses, we carry, on average, around 1.6 million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 20% market share, where we provide regulated services for Transport for London (TfL). We operate deregulated services in the north east; Oxford; the south east and southern England.

We operate six bus operating companies: Go Ahead London (includes London Central/ London General, Docklands Minibuses and Blue Triangle), Metrobus, Go South Coast (includes Southern Vectis, Bluestar, Wilts & Dorset), Brighton & Hove, Oxford Bus Company and Go North East.

Website: www.go-ahead.com