The Go-Ahead Group has made two Managing Director appointments for its regional bus companies, with Matt Ashton to take up that position with Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus, and Matt Kitchin to do the same with East Yorkshire Buses. Both will take effect from the summer.
Mr Ashton’s naming represents an internal promotion. He is currently Interim MD at East Yorkshire and previously served as Operations Director with Go North West.
Mr Kitchin will move from Stagecoach, where he is presently MD of the Stagecoach Yorkshire business. A change to East Yorkshire will represent a return to Go-Ahead following stints as General Manager for Southern Vectis and then Bluestar between 2012 and 2016.
As permanent MD at Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus, Mr Ashton will succeed Ed Wills, who moved to head Go South Coast in late 2025. Rupert Cox currently serves as Interim MD.
Go-Ahead notes that during his period as interim head of East Yorkshire, Mr Ashton has provided “strong leadership at a time of transition while maintaining a clear focus on reliability and operational performance.”
Mr Kitchin brings over two decades’ knowledge of the bus industry, with Go-Ahead pointing to his strong experience within Yorkshire and the wider sector as positioning him to lead East Yorkshire in a way that will continue “to deliver for customers across the region.”
He ultimately succeeds Ben Gilligan, who earlier moved to head Go North East. That followed a leadership restructure for Go-Ahead’s operations in the north of England after success in the first round of contract awards for bus franchising in the Liverpool City Region.
Commenting, UK Regional Bus Managing Director Martin Dean says: “Strong operational leadership is the cornerstone of delivering high-quality services for the customers and communities we serve, and these are two excellent appointments for Go-Ahead.
“Matt Ashton has been an outstanding leader at East Yorkshire, and he will do a brilliant job in his new role. Matt Kitchin brings over 20 years of experience in the bus industry and a deep understanding of our business from his previous time with Go-Ahead.
“I would also like to thank Rupert Cox for his exceptional work in supporting the team at Brighton and Hove and Metrobus as Interim Managing Director.”
