Go-Ahead, the public transport group, said bus and rail passenger numbers were still increasing in spite of the impending recession. The only softening it had seen in the first quarter of its current financial year had been on the Gatwick Express route, reflecting falling air traffic volumes in and out of the airport.

In a trading update for the period from June 29 to October 22, Keith Ludeman, chief executive, said its three rail franchises were reporting double-digit growth while the bus division "achieved high single-digit revenue growth in both the regulated London operations and deregulated operations".