Singapore bus contract extension

PRESS RELEASE

26 August 2020

THE GO-AHEAD GROUP PLC

("GO-AHEAD" OR "THE GROUP")

Singapore bus contract extension

The Go-Ahead Group today announces that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore has granted a two-year contract extension to Go-Ahead Singapore to continue operating around 450 buses in the Loyang region of the island.

The extension, granted on the basis of strong operational performance, will begin in September 2021 and run until September 2023. This follows the initial five-year contract which saw the Group's entry into the Singapore bus market in September 2016.

Go-Ahead has drawn on its experience as the largest bus operator in London to export best practice to another major city, Singapore. Colleagues from Go-Ahead London who have spent time working with Go-Ahead Singapore have, similarly, brought back skills and knowledge that are now adding value to the Group's UK operations.

In its four years of operation, Go-Ahead Singapore has introduced a series of new services on behalf of the LTA, has helped improve customer satisfaction and has applied innovative IT systems which improve efficiency of drivers and engineers.

David Brown, Go-Ahead CEO, commented:

"Go-Ahead Singapore has been a great addition to the Group and I am delighted that we will be running buses in Singapore until at least 2023. Our experienced management team has led the delivery of remarkable performance on behalf of the LTA in recent years and has played an important part in Singapore's response to the COVID-19 crisis."

Andrew Thompson, Go-Ahead Singapore Managing Director, said:

"Today's announcement is the result of much hard work by the 1,000 colleagues based at Loyang Depot. We are grateful to the Authority for the trust they have put in us and will continue to serve passengers with a safe and reliable bus network."

ENDS

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GO-AHEAD

Go-Ahead is one of the leading UK public transport operator companies. Our purpose is to be the local partner taking care of journeys that enhance the lives and wellbeing of our communities across the world. Employing around 30,000 people across our businesses, over 1.2 billion passenger journeys are undertaken on our rail and bus services every year. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include governments and local authorities. We are committed to contributing to tackling climate change, improving air quality and reducing social isolation, and aim to run a zero emission bus fleet by 2035. 

BUS

Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of nearly 6,000 buses, we carry over two million passengers every day. We have a strong presence in London, with around 23 per cent market share, where we provide regulated services for Transport for London. Outside London, we principally serve high-density commuter markets, including the North East, Greater Manchester, East Yorkshire, East Anglia, South East and South West England. Internationally, we operate a bus contract in Singapore and two bus contracts in Ireland.

RAIL

The rail division operates two franchises in the UK, three contracts in Germany and one in Norway. In the UK, Southeastern and GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway) operate through our 65% owned subsidiary, Govia, which is 35% owned by Keolis. It is the largest rail operation in the UK, responsible for around 30 per cent of all UK passenger rail journeys through its rail franchises. In Germany and Norway, our contracts are run exclusively by Go-Ahead.