The Go-Ahead Group that will push us closer to achieving our objectives . The increase in demand for public transport , as a consequence of these targets , will require considerable expansion on our behalf , but we ’ re ready . We are bouncing back well from the pandemic and feel confident that we can provide high-quality bus services to everybody who wants them .”
After the inevitable drop in service users during the pandemic , Go-Ahead has managed to reach a rate of almost 90 percent passenger recovery . This is divided between commercial travelers , who pay , and concessionary passengers , who travel for free under the English National Concessionary Scheme . The commercial side is actually closer to 100 percent , but the 30 percent of overall patronage that is made up of concessionary users is still tipping the scale . As Martin details : “ I think that it ’ s fair to assume that the more vulnerable groups are still cautious about travelling as much as they used to pre-COVID . We ’ re counting on the two-pound fare cap scheme to generate more publicity surrounding public transport and create a more supportive and positive feeling once again within society . Obviously , the cap doesn ’ t directly affect those who travel for free , but maybe it can encourage them to return .
“ In terms of boosting our commercial traveler populace , we have offered discount schemes to encourage people to travel during the evening , which indirectly supports the local nighttime economy . We also ran our first Christmas Day services in Brighton , as well as additional lines to those in the Isle of Wight and Bournemouth , Christchurch and Poole . We are now introducing a tap-on , tapoff option through a number of our companies , which provides our customers tlimagazine . com 57