Go-Ahead has acquired Pearces Coaches, expanding its established coach operations in the UK and adding to its rapidly growing Oxford network.

Pearces Coaches provides its loyal customers with high-quality coach services, including for Oxford University and home to school routes for local independent schools.

Pearces Coaches will join Go-Ahead as part of the Oxford Bus Company and follows acquisitions in the Oxford and Gloucestershire region including Pulhams and Swanbrook coaches.

Go-Ahead has grown its coach services and is now one of the largest coach operators in the UK with over 400 coaches from the South West to the North East, serving customers such as schools, universities, local businesses and local authorities. Go-Ahead’s coach services include East Yorkshire Coaches, Excelsior and Dartline Coaches.

Miguel Parras, Group Chief Executive, Go-Ahead, said: “Pearces Coaches is a fantastic operator, with an excellent reputation and we’re delighted to welcome them to Go-Ahead. Our Oxford Bus Company has gone from strength to strength, connecting customers from a wider area with a wider range of services. We’ve grown our coach and bus services significantly in the last few years to provide additional high-quality services  for schools, local businesses and local authorities.”

Martin Pearce, Director of Pearces Coaches “We’re delighted to join Go-Ahead who share our approach in offering high-quality, reliable and punctual services to the local community. As a leading public transport business with a such a strong local presence, we know our loyal customers will continue to experience excellent service when we become part of Go-Ahead.”

Go-Ahead has continued its growth in Sweden through the acquisition of Trossö Buss.

Trossö Buss is a high-quality operator with strong connections to the local community in southern Sweden and a focus on delivering the best possible customer service. They offer local school bus services, rail replacement services and private coach hire.

Trossö Buss will join Go-Ahead Sweden, previously known as Flexbuss, which has grown significantly by winning several new contracts recently.

As well as bus services in Sweden, Go-Ahead will also start operating Stockholm’s Metro network later this year, as part of the largest public transport contract in continental Europe, serving 350 million passengers annually.

Miguel Parras, Group Chief Executive at the Go-Ahead Group, said: “Since we started operating in Sweden just over two years ago, we have grown our business significantly, expanding our bus network and establishing ourselves as the future operators of Stockholm Metro. We’re delighted to welcome Trossö Buss to our business, they share our focus on delivering excellent customer service and help us continue the growth of our business to serve even more customers in Sweden.”

Magnus and Elisabeth Petersson, Trossö Buss added: “We have operated Trossö Buss for 19 years and developed it to what it is today, from 4 to about 30 buses. It is now time to hand over the baton to Go-Ahead Sweden, who will be able to continue driving Trossö Buss to the next level.”

Go North West, part of the Go-Ahead Group, won the Recruitment and Retention Category award at yesterday’s UK Bus Awards for their Elite Driver Recruitment campaign.

They developed a fresh approach to recruitment and retention by changing perceptions of bus driving to attract new talent, making substantial investments in the entire recruitment process, involving their training academy, mentors, the recruitment team, a revamped six-week training course, successfully tripling the number of trainers.

Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus won the Culture Change award. Their winning submission dealt with investing in a variety of wholly dramatised full-day CPC courses, including one on understanding customer needs and expectations.

Martin Dean, Managing Director UK Regional Bus with the Go-Ahead Group, said “I am delighted that Go North West have won this prestigious award for their bold approach to recruitment and retention, ensuring a 600% increase in applications, seven times as many drivers in training, 80% of applicants new to the industry, and a tripling in the number of women drivers they previously employed – representing the communities we serve

He added: “I am equally delighted for the team at Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus for their culture change award. From the outset, colleagues are introduced to the company and the wide range of roles available, ensuring everyone’s valued. By celebrating the great work everyone in the depot and on the road undertakes, we are delighted to celebrate the positive impact this has on our customers.”

More than 2.5 million people annually travel on the rapid transit network in the Dartford, Ebbsfleet & Gravesend areas

Services operate on dedicated busways delivering reliable and punctual services for communities

The Go-Ahead Group has successfully mobilised operations on the Fastrack network across North Kent under a 15-year contract in an agreement with Kent County Council that is worth £110 million.

Operations will commence with an interim diesel fleet before transitioning to a fleet that will be fully electric and in operation by Spring 2025. 28 zero-emission ‘tram-like’ buses will take to the streets of Kent, with on-street charging infrastructure to provide power to buses through the day.

The Fastrack network provides customers with a frequent ‘turn up and go’ service, connecting people to jobs, education, healthcare and shopping in an area of rapid economic growth which is undergoing significant regeneration.

With more than 2.5 million trips annually, reliable and punctual journeys are vital. The routes have dedicated traffic free lanes to get customers where they want, minimising delays.

The Go-Ahead Group has partnered with CitySwift, a public transport performance platform used to make timetables more efficient and maximise service reliability, benefitting customers and the communities connected by its bus services across the country.

The platform will provide Go-Ahead’s operating companies with the insights needed to maximise network reliability and punctuality, for an improved customer experience.

Go-Ahead has successfully utilised CitySwift in its East Yorkshire Buses, Oxford Bus Company, and Go North East operations. These projects showed an improved service punctuality of up to 14%, a 4% increase in customer journeys, and increased scheduler productivity.

CitySwift will be rolled out on a phased basis starting with Go North West and Kent Fastrack in Q4 2024 and for all other regional bus operating companies by 1 January 2025, with Go-Ahead London expected to be on-boarded in February 2025 and Go-Ahead Ireland later in the year.

Powered by intelligent data processing, CitySwift optimises more than 1 billion passenger trips yearly. CitySwift’s platform removes obstacles to accessing transportation data, empowering teams with rapid and reliable performance insights.

• Go North West marks its first year working with Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver ground breaking vision for transport
• Significant improvements in network performance and service reliability achieved by working in partnership in the first twelve months of operation
• Major investment in training and skills as over 150 apprentices join as bus drivers

Go-Ahead’s subsidiary Go North West is today celebrating its first anniversary of Bee Network operations and partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

The Bee Network, the UK’s first franchised bus operation outside London, began on 24 September 2023. Go-Ahead launched the initial two major franchised contracts in Bolton and Wigan, covering nearly 1,000 drivers and 55 routes with a fleet of over 300 buses. This mobilisation was one of the largest of its kind in UK history.

Over the past year, Go North West have significantly improved punctuality and overall performance across the Bee Network, driving up service standards and customer experience.  In April 2024 further network enhancements were made in collaboration with TfGM, including the introduction of additional buses and night services to support the city-region’s nighttime economy and those who work within it.

Since the start of Bee Network operations, Go North West has trained over 150 apprentices at its Elite Driver Academy, investing in top-tier training for drivers across the Bee Network, helping people build their careers in the industry. Earlier this year, Go-Ahead Women was also launched in Manchester, aiming to foster a more diverse workforce and inclusive environment.

In the last 12 months, Go-Ahead used its global expertise to deploy 50 new zero-emission buses, contributing to TfGM’ decarbonisation objectives and their target to achieve net zero by 2038. This investment has improved the environment for communities across Greater Manchester.

Go North West has also been successful in securing contracts across all three rounds of franchising in the city region, with the next batch of operations set to commence in early 2025.