FIRSTGROUP PLC : - Statement re further government funding for bus industry

FIRSTGROUP PLC STATEMENT RE:
FURTHER GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR BUS INDUSTRY

FirstGroup plc (‘FirstGroup’ or ‘the Group’) welcomes the extension of funding from the Department for Transport (‘DfT’) to support the provision of vital services by regional bus operators in England during the coronavirus pandemic. The new funding round of £218.4m for the industry under the COVID-19 Bus Service Support Grant Restart (‘CBSSG Restart’) programme extends the arrangements previously announced at the end of May for the next eight weeks. Furthermore, the Government has confirmed that rolling funding of up to £27.3m per week will continue to be made available under the programme thereafter, until such time as it is no longer needed. This commitment, on substantially the same terms as previously announced, demonstrates the value placed on bus services to support the restart of local economies, get people back to work and children back to school from September.

The programme has already allowed the industry to increase bus service capacity while maintaining social distancing in support of our communities as Government guidance on use of public transport services has begun to ease. First Bus operations across England have increased operated mileage from c.40% to almost 90% of pre-pandemic levels, with passenger volumes increasing from c.10% to c.40% since the low point.

The Group also welcomes the Scottish government’s announcement of additional expenditure of up to £68m to extend to 8 November the similar funding scheme it has in place for Scotland’s bus operators.

Commenting on the announcements, FirstGroup Chief Executive Matthew Gregory said:

"The further funding packages confirmed by the UK and Scottish Governments enable us to keep people travelling safely on our essential services, allowing social distancing to be maintained on our vehicles. Bus networks are vitally important to local economies, both now as people return to education and workplaces, and in the future as they offer a sustainable transport alternative to the car.

“Recently we have introduced a number of additional measures to ensure we continue offering a safe experience for our customers and also help them to make more informed travel decisions. This includes seat signage, enhanced and long-lasting anti-viral cleaning regimes, and upgrades to our mobile app so that customers can check in real time how full each bus is and the availability of wheelchair spaces. In the last few weeks we began two more such initiatives, a pilot scheme in Bristol which allows key workers to book reservations on specific buses, and a new tool for passengers initially launched in Glasgow, which predicts how busy a given bus will be depending on the time of day, for up to seven days in advance.

“I want to express my thanks to our people who are working so hard to keep our crucial bus services running for our communities."

Contacts at FirstGroup:
Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor Relations
Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Communications
[e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

Contacts at Brunswick PR:
Andrew Porter / Simone Selzer, Tel: [phone]

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 Annex 1R: 3.1.

Figures presented in this announcement are not audited. Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this announcement may constitute ‘forward-looking statements’ with respect to the business, strategy and plans of the Group and our current goals, assumptions and expectations relating to our future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Shareholders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Except as required by the UK Listing Rules and applicable law, the Group does not undertake any obligation to update or change any forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this announcement.

About FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading provider of transport services in the UK and North America. With £7.8 billion in revenue in 2020 and around 100,000 employees, we transported 2.1 billion passengers. Whether for business, education, health, social or recreation – we get our customers where they want to be, when they want to be there. We create solutions that reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. We provide easy and convenient mobility, improving quality of life by connecting people and communities. Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: In North America, First Student is the largest provider of home-to-school student transportation with a fleet of 43,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers of outsourced transit management and contracting services, while Greyhound is the only nationwide operator of scheduled intercity coaches. In the UK, First Bus is one of Britain's largest bus companies with 1.4 million passengers a day in 2020, and First Rail is one of the country's most experienced rail operators, carrying 340 million passengers in the year. Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on Twitter.

About First Bus
FirstGroup is one of the UK’s largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus services outside London. A fleet of some 5,200 buses carries approximately 500m passengers annually, serving two thirds of the UK’s 15 largest conurbations. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland. Making journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus operator to accept contactless card payments across all of our services. Our most recent investments are in new, state-of-the-art buses across our key networks. We work proactively with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air quality, tackling congestion and improving customer experience. We are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035.