The Go-Ahead Group has bought Pulham & Sons (Coaches) Limited, a long established family run bus and coach operator in the Cotswolds.

Pulhams, which has a fleet of 90 buses and coaches and employs 126 people, is a well-known and respected local business serving communities in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. It will become part of Go-Ahead’s Oxford Bus Company division – which presently comprises Thames Travel, Carousel Buses and City Sightseeing Oxford as well as the eponymous Oxford Bus Company.

Based in Bourton-on-the-Water, Pulhams has won multiple awards for delivering high standards, and currently holds both DVSA Earned Recognition and Guild of British Coach Operators accreditation. The company is one of the oldest established passenger transport companies in Britain, having been founded in 1880 to carry passengers into Cheltenham from nearby villages by horse and cart.

The acquisition will expand Go-Ahead’s Oxford business to the west and see improved connectivity between Pulhams’ bus services in Oxfordshire and the wider Go-Ahead network of services. In addition, it will enable Go-Ahead to expand its coaching operations – which in the Oxford division already include the airline services to Heathrow and Gatwick, and National Express branded operations – by developing the coach hire side of the Pulhams business across the wider business operating area.

As part of Go-Ahead’s business strategy, The Next Billion Journeys, the group is committed to investing, and expanding, in regional buses in Britain. The deal is Go-Ahead’s third acquisition in a year, following the purchase of Dartline in Devon and Southdown Buses in West Sussex.

The Go-Ahead Group has won the first two contracts to be awarded by Transport for Greater Manchester as part of its plan to re-regulate bus services in the city region under its new Bee Network.

Go-Ahead’s Go North West operating company beat off competition from eight other operators bidding to run bus routes in both Wigan and Bolton from 17 September 2023.  TfGM are due to announce a further eight franchise contracts by early 2024, with the full network up and running from January 2025.

The buses will be part of Manchester’s new Bee Network, which will have a common brand and integrated ticketing across the city’s public transport. Under the deal, Go North West will run 55 routes to the north and west of Manchester.

Go North West will be paid a fee to operate the buses and all fares collected will go to TfGM. Around 750 people will transfer to Go North West from existing bus operators.

The Go-Ahead Group has been operating in Manchester since 2019, with a network of buses operating across Greater Manchester and Salford out of the Queens Road depot.

The Go-Ahead Group and UGL are pleased to announce that their joint venture company, U-Go-Mobility, has been awarded a contract to operate buses in Sydney by Transport for New South Wales, worth approximately A$500 million, to be split 50-50 between the two partners.

Under a seven year deal with operations beginning in July 2023, U-Go Mobility will operate buses across the Sutherland Shire and Bankstown regions of Sydney. The network will comprise of 225 buses run by more than 400 colleagues, and it accounts for more than half a million passenger journeys every weekday.

The contract combines the previous Sydney Bus Contract regions 5 and 10, and will be known simply as Region 10. The operations are south-west of Sydney’s Central Business District and include services stretching from the city’s southern beaches to south-western suburbs. Areas served include Bankstown, Hurstville, Miranda, Cronulla and Bundeena.

Nominated transferring staff will be provided with offers of employment, allowing the opportunity to transfer to U-Go Mobility.

The contract award draws upon Go-Ahead’s expertise in the operation of buses in global cities and in zero-emission technology, together with UGL’s extensive, proven experience across the Australian transport market. Over the course of the contract term, U-Go will work with Transport for New South Wales to explore opportunities to introduce more zero-emission buses.

Go-Ahead is the largest operator of buses in London, running one in four of the British capital’s iconic red buses, and the group runs more zero-emission buses than any other UK company. Go-Ahead has transport operations stretching across six countries – including buses in the UK, Singapore, Sweden and Ireland, and rail in the UK, Germany and Norway. Go-Ahead has had a transport consultancy business in Australia since 2018.

UGL, a member of the CIMIC Group, is an engineering and services provider, with a track record of major transport infrastructure projects in Australasia’s biggest cities.

Christian Schreyer, Chief Executive of The Go-Ahead Group, said: “We specialise in running busy bus networks in global cities, so we’re delighted to be entering Sydney alongside our partner, UGL. We look forward to delivering punctual, good value buses to get Sydneysiders on their way each day, with outstanding customer service.

“Australia will be Go-Ahead’s seventh country of bus and rail operation. This underlines our ambition for international expansion as climate change, urbanisation and convenience encourage people around the world to switch from cars to public transport.

UGL Managing Director Doug Moss, said: “UGL is keeping Australia moving through our involvement in rail, tram and light rail operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra.  We’re pleased to add Sydney bus operations to our portfolio and we’re looking forward to combining our local transport know-how with Go Ahead’s international expertise to provide a quality service for the people of South and South West Sydney.”