This morning marked a significant milestone for Go-Ahead as two vibrant blue double-decker buses hit the London streets, with a bold message: “Go-Ahead Women”. These buses, now operating on Go-Ahead London’s Route 132 from Bexleyheath to North Greenwich, symbolise Go-Ahead’s commitment to promoting gender diversity within the transport industry.

As part of a national recruitment campaign, Go-Ahead is dedicated to encouraging more women to pursue careers as bus drivers. With the ambitious goal of attracting 1,500 women drivers to its UK and Ireland operations by 2025, Go-Ahead aims to challenge the status quo in a sector where women currently represent only 11.5% of driver roles.

Recognising the need for greater representation, Go-Ahead is also investing £8 million in upgrading bus depot facilities which includes work to create inclusive working environments where women colleagues have opportunities, feel supported and empowered to thrive.

The Go-Ahead Women initiative offers an inclusive platform for women, featuring an 8-week fully paid training program, on-the-job coaching, and mentoring schemes, which is an estimated investment of £7.5 million. The company seeks to achieve gender parity by 2035, a pioneering endeavour in an industry historically dominated by men.

The launch of these eye-catching buses today, proudly driven by Go-Ahead London women drivers signifies the need for a cultural shift within the transport industry.

Carmen Bell, one of the Go-Ahead London drivers, shared her journey: “My friends were surprised when I expressed my desire to become a bus driver, but now they see me behind the wheel, interacting with passengers, and they realise it’s a perfect fit for me.”

Sandra Fraser, another Go-Ahead London bus driver, expressed her enthusiasm for more women joining the profession: “I started driving a few years ago, and witnessing more women entering the industry is fantastic. The support, mentorship, and women-only recruitment days make it accessible for anyone considering a career in driving.”

Carolyn Ferguson, Chief People Officer for the Go-Ahead Group, emphasised the company’s commitment to empowering women: “With this new campaign we’re determined to break down barriers in the transport industry and create a workplace where women can thrive.

“I’m sure there are lots of women who have never thought about being a bus driver and so, this is a perfect way to explore the opportunities available.”

To learn more about the ‘Go-Ahead Women’ initiative and join the movement towards diversity and inclusion in transport, visit Go-Ahead Women – Supporting women in the bus industry.

Go-Ahead’s bus companies have sold a £2 bus ticket for every man, woman, and child in England since the country’s nationwide bus fare cap was introduced by the Government at the beginning of 2023.

Ticket sales have reached 60 million across the group’s eight regional bus networks – surpassing the English population, which is 56.5 million according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Department for Transport’s “Get Around for £2” scheme 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 Go-Ahead’s network is Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus, which has carried more than 15 million passengers at £2. All of Go-Ahead’s regional bus companies outside London and Manchester are participating in the scheme.

Longer routes have proven particularly popular under the scheme. Journeys showing big increases in passenger numbers include:

• Metrobus routes 270-273 – Crawley and East Grinstead to Brighton – a 30% increase in passenger numbers
• Carousel Buses route 102 – High Wycombe to Heathrow Airport – a 40% rise in customers
• East Yorkshire Buses’ X46 service – Hull to York – a 43% increase in passengers
• Salisbury Reds X3 – Salisbury to Bournemouth – a 25% jump in passengers

Go-Ahead bus companies will be offering millions of adults across England single fares capped at £2 on bus journeys outside London from January. The offer is funded through a £60 million scheme under the Government’s “Help for Households” program to help the public with cost-of-living pressures over the winter.

All single fares are covered by the scheme, with a handful of exceptions – such as sightseeing buses and long-distance coaches. Passengers can expect to make big savings from Go-Ahead’s longer bus routes, including:

• Go North East’s X10 between Newcastle and Middlesborough, usually £8 (39 miles)
• The Regency Route between Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, usually £6.20 (33 miles), run by Brighton & Hove Buses
• Oxford Bus Company’s, River Rapid route from Oxford to Reading, usually £5 (26 miles)
• Salisbury to Swindon, operated by Salisbury Reds – a journey of 40 miles, usually £7.20
• East Yorkshire Buses’ X46, from Hull to York, usually £8.50 (37 miles)

The government has estimated that the average single fare for a 3-mile journey is £2.80, meaning the special fare will save passengers almost 30%. The initiative, which ends on March 31st, will help millions of Go-Ahead passengers with travel costs for work, education, and essential journeys.

London’s largest bus operator, Go-Ahead London, has delivered a saving of 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over ten years of operation of emission-free electric buses on behalf of Transport for London.

The reduction in emissions is equivalent to taking 24,000 cars off the road. The impact has delivered cleaner air for Londoners and setting a benchmark for decarbonisation of public transport for cities across the UK.

Go-Ahead London today hosted a celebration at its Camberwell depot to mark the 10th anniversary of the operation of London’s first modern day emission-free bus, which was trialled on December 18th 2013.

As part of the event, pictures were displayed of the ‘clean bus of the future’ drawn by pupils from local schools and guests were served with a zero emission bus themed birthday cake.

Go-Ahead London operates 520 zero emission buses on behalf of TfL and expects to increase this number to 1,000 by the end of 2026 – account for almost half the company’s fleet.

Across the UK as a whole, The Go-Ahead Group operates 670 zero emission buses and is shortly to deploy an additional 106 electric vehicles in Oxford, part funded by the Government’s ZEBRA scheme.

In 2022, a Zero Emission Centre for Excellence was opened in London by Go-Ahead to develop ways of optimising operation of zero emission buses – including maximising energy efficiency, standardising maintenance, bringing down the cost of charging infrastructure and extending the lifespan of batteries.

David Cutts, Managing Director, Go-Ahead London, said: “It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since our first electric bus hit the road. The technology has developed at a rapid pace and electric buses are rapidly become the norm, rather than the exception, on London’s streets.

“We’re proud to work in partnership with Transport for London to deliver cleaner air and quieter journeys for Londoners. The Go-Ahead Group as a whole has been able to take experience from London and apply it to the roll-out of zero emission buses across the UK.”

Tom Cunnington, TfL’s Head of Buses Business Development said: “London’s red buses are iconic and are some of the greenest in the world, with the lower CO2 emissions per passenger kilometres compared to other global cities like New York, Paris and Vancouver. With more than 1,300 zero emission buses on our roads, our programme of decarbonising the fleet is playing a crucial role in the journey to net-zero. Zero emission buses help Londoners breathe cleaner air and reduce the impact of road transport on our environment.

“We’re really proud to be celebrating this milestone with Go-Ahead London who are marking 10 years of their emission-free electric bus services on our roads. We are working closely with capital’s bus operators to convert the whole fleet and remain on track to be a fully zero-emission fleet by 2034, which could be accelerated to 2030 with further Government funding.”