National Express strategy gets passengers all aboard

The UK’s largest coach operator shrugged off the impact of terrorism and used strategic pricing to boost numbers in September, after a weak first half.

Low fare zones in the bus division, which operates services in Birmingham and the West Midlands, and interactive pricing on coaches protected revenue.

Combining back office functions between the divisions will help National Express save £10 million a year, it said.

Dean Finch, group chief executive, hailed the group’s best performance in Spain and a reversal of fortunes in Morocco as lower prices attracted new customers. National Express continued to expand in North America buying Cook DuPage, which provides transport for disabled passengers in Chicago.

This pushed total revenues up 6.4%. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 14.9%, stripping out the effect of the weaker pound.