A bus donated by one of Go-Ahead’s local bus companies has been converted into a field hospital for use in treating casualties of the war in Ukraine.

The bus, which until recently carried passengers in Wiltshire as part of Swindon’s Bus Company, was today presented to His Excellency Vadym Prystaiko, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, in a ceremony outside the House of Lords.

The single-decker vehicle has been fitted with hospital beds and medical equipment for use as a mobile field hospital on the frontline as Ukraine defends its territory following Russia’s invasion.

Seats have been stripped out of the bus to make way for three beds, facilities for heart monitors and drips. The bus has a fresh water tank fitted, bathroom facilities and a portable generator.

The project has been overseen by Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership (SHAP), a local charity formed to help the war-torn country. Since Russia’s invasion, SHAP has donated 925 tonnes of aid to Ukraine.

Go-Ahead has unveiled commemorative buses in London and in the south-west of England to mark the coronation of Their Majesties Kings Charles III and Queen Camilla.

In Devon, a red, white and blue Plymouth Citybus double-decker with festive bunting will take to the streets of Britain’s Ocean City to mark the historic royal event, operating on route 25 which runs around Plymouth Hoe and waterfront.

In the capital, a special Go-Ahead London bus is still in its iconic red colour but  boasts a new design and is decorated in the official emblem of the coronation. The LT511 Routemaster, delivered alongside Transport for London, is in service on Route 11 (Fulham Broadway to Waterloo), which passes Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square.

Go-Ahead’s transport companies are at the heart of the coronation and will be bringing millions of people to festive events over the weekend – including big screens in parks and city centres, community parties and volunteering events connected with Monday’s “Big Help Out” day.

Many of those travelling to central London will be using Go-Ahead services. Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services, is the largest rail operator in the south-east. And Go-Ahead London runs a quarter of the capital’s buses on behalf of Transport for London.

Promotional ticket sales reach £20 million since scheme began in January.

Passenger numbers up by 130% on one Carousel Buses route.

Go-Ahead launches a prize competition to encourage more passengers onto buses.

National low fares scheme has been extended until the end of June.

Go-Ahead’s bus companies have carried ten million passengers at the nationwide promotional fare of £2 since the Government began funding a scheme capping the price of bus travel on New Year’s Day. As of today, Go-Ahead bus companies outside London have sold more than £20 million worth of tickets.

The initiative, which is part of the Government’s Help for Households initiative, has made bus travel cheaper on all of Go-Ahead’s regional bus companies – which have networks stretching from Cornwall to Northumberland.

The biggest seller of discount tickets in the Go-Ahead network is Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus, where more than 2.5 million passengers have travelled at £2.

On certain routes, passenger numbers have jumped significantly. For example, a route in Buckinghamshire operated by Go-Ahead’s Carousel Buses has seen a 130% uplift in passenger numbers since the beginning of the year. Route 102, which runs from Heathrow Airport to High Wycombe via Beaconsfield and Gerrard’s Cross, has proven particularly popular under the scheme.

Initially planned to run until the end of March, the £2 adult single fares offer across England was recently extended by three months to the end of June, backed with an additional £75 million of funding from the Department for Transport.

Female-focused recruitment campaigns yield hundreds of applicants

Award-winning apprenticeship scheme enhances diversity.

Higher pay rates and attractive sign-on packages enhance appeal of driving jobs.

One in eight bus drivers across Go-Ahead’s network are women.

The number of women drivers at Go-Ahead’s UK-wide network of bus companies has risen by 20% in a year following a wide range of efforts to attract more applicants.

Go-Ahead’s bus companies have seen a significant increase in applications for driving jobs from women, following efforts to address the traditionally male dominated image of the industry.

Overall, female representation among Go-Ahead’s 11,000 workforce of drivers has risen from 10% to 12% in 2022, a year in which the industry experienced a chronic shortage of labour, with bus driver vacancies at a high level.

Go-Ahead employs 15,600 people in the UK bus industry. The group is the largest bus operator in London, running a quarter of the capital’s services on behalf of Transport for London. Go-Ahead owns eight regional bus companies outside London – including operations in Devon and Cornwall, Hampshire and Dorset, Brighton & Hove, Oxford, East Anglia, Manchester, East Yorkshire and Tyne & Wear.

Efforts to hire more women bus drivers have included:

Female-focused advertising including a campaign called “we’re hiring people like you” by Go North West in Manchester and a “heroes of the road” campaign at East Yorkshire Buses

A program to build the foundations of culture change across the group which focuses on growing inclusion as a way we do things

A bus driver apprenticeship scheme pioneered at Go-Ahead London

Salaries of £26,000 to £40,000 per year depending on region and experience

National low fares scheme proves popular across Go-Ahead’s bus networks

Promotional ticket sales reach £4 million in first three weeks of January

Scheme allows Go-Ahead’s local operators to add new routes and services

Go-Ahead’s bus companies have carried two million passengers at the nationwide promotional fare of £2 since the Government began funding a scheme capping the price of bus travel on New Year’s Day.

Under the offer, adult single fares across England are no more than £2 for a three-month period, irrespective of distance. Funded with £60 million under the Government’s “Help for Households” program, the initiative is intended to help the public with cost-of-living pressures this winter. As of today, Go-Ahead bus companies outside London had sold over £4 million worth of tickets.

Participating Go-Ahead bus companies include:

Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus

Go South Coast – Bluestar, Morebus, Southern Vectis, Salisbury Reds and Swindon’s Bus Company

Go South West – Plymouth Citybus, Go Cornwall, Go Devon and Dartline

The Oxford Bus Company – including Carousel Buses and Thames Travel

Go East Anglia – Konectbus, Hedingham and Chambers

East Yorkshire Buses

Go North East

Demand created by the scheme has allowed Go-Ahead bus companies to launch several new routes – including a new route from High Wycombe to Great Missenden run by Oxford Bus Company, and a Konectbus service in Norwich connecting the city centre with the Heartsease Estate.

Bus journeys available for £2 on Go-Ahead’s buses stretch geographically from Go Cornwall’s route 34 from Redruth to The Lizard – England’s most southerly point – to Go North East’s route 19, which links North Shields with Ashington, Northumberland.

The Buses Minister, Richard Holden, launched the national scheme in December with a visit to Go North East’s depot in Gateshead.