Covid sees Stagecoach profits hit the brakes as buses only 40% full

The boss of Perth-headquartered bus group Stagecoach said he hopes lockdown restrictions on passenger numbers will be lifted soon as services remain less than half full.

Martin Griffiths said social distancing capacity restraints need to be eased as soon as possible and government messaging on public transport should encourage Britons to get back on buses.

The chief executives said bus passenger numbers had recovered a little since the height of the lockdown, when they were 90% lower than a year earlier, but said they are still 60% down year on year due to social distancing measures.

He warned that he expects a “lasting effect” from the coronavirus pandemic on demand for public transport as it has accelerated the trend for long-term home-working.

He said the challenge is “to get people out of cars and on to buses” after being told to avoid public transport amid the lockdown.

His comments came as Stagecoach reported statutory pre-tax profits slumping to £40.6 million in the year to May 2 from £101.2m the previous year as results took a hit from Covid-19 as well as the ending of its rail operations in the UK.

Underlying annual pre-tax profits fell 32% to £90.9m.

Stagecoach confirmed it is cutting costs to weather the storm and furloughed up to 55% of its drivers and engineers at the height of the lockdown.

While many have been returning to work as services have increased, around 20% remain on furlough and the company refused to rule out job losses.

But it said it has “taken all of the right decisions to put us in the best place possible to meet the immediate challenges”.

Mr Griffiths added that he is hopeful the demand for public transport will recover faster than the battered airline sector, following recent warnings from the aviation sector that demand may not bounce back until 2024.

Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach chief executive.