A report by Oxford Economics has calculated the Go-Ahead Group’s bus operations contributed at least £2.2 billion to the UK economy in 2025.
Moving the Economy: The National Value of Go-Ahead’s Transport Network states that, including rail operations, Go-Ahead’s impact on the national economy was worth £6.4 billion that year.
The report also notes the Group’s impact on tourism, with 2.8 million journeys delivered, while £2.4 billion was spent with UK suppliers.
While the headline figures include the contribution made by rail companies Govia Thameslink and GTS, which operated the Elizabeth Line, the economic impact of each of Go-Ahead’s eight bus-operating subsidiaries was also broken down in the report.
Of these, Go-Ahead London had by far the biggest footprint on the economy with an impact on gross domestic product of £1.08 billion.
Go South Coast (£230 million), Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus (£210m), Go North East (£180m), Go North West (£160m), Oxford Bus Company (£170m), Go South West (£100m) and East Yorkshire Buses (£80m) also made sizeable contributions.
The additional impact of head office activities is not included in the £2.2 billion sum.
When the impact of employment alone was considered, the bus-operating companies offered £33.25m to the economy.
The eight Go-Ahead bus companies employed a total of more than 30,000 people and operated more than 6,000 buses, the report notes.
The overall figures are a total of the direct, indirect, induced and tourism impacts, according to Oxford Economics’ methodology.
The report also focuses on Go-Ahead tourist routes City Sightseeing Oxford, Stonehenge Tours, Downs Breezer, Needles Breezer, City Sightseeing Brighton and Eastbourne Sightseeing, which carried a total of 373,000 customers in 2025.
The report estimates that £125 million in visitor spending could be associated with Go-Ahead’s bus services.
A joint foreword by Matt Carney and Patrick Verwer, Go-Ahead’s Chief Executive Officers for the rail and bus divisions respectively, states: “Buses and trains are more than just transport; they are part of the fabric of the very communities in which they operate. Every day, our networks connect millions of people to jobs, education, and public services across the length and breadth of the country.
“They enable businesses to access talent, help high streets to flourish and support visitors as they explore the very best of Britain.”
