Investment case
In this section:
| 6 key components | Our markets | Our purpose & vision | How we create value |
Planning long-term
We have long-term, structural growth opportunities from modal shift to public transport
Modal shift is the single most important driver of reduced emissions and congestion and Government policy around the world is increasingly committed to public transport – promoting modal shift away from cars onto buses, driving passenger growth for years to come.
A rapidly changing market
Customer propositions
We have five compelling customer propositions to leverage this growth opportunity from modal shift
1. Reinvigorate public transport: grow use of public transport in cities suffering congestion by building partnerships with stakeholders who want sustainable solutions.
2. Multi-modal expansion: build more modal capability and city hubs from existing locations where we already have a physical footprint.
3. Operational transformation: application of our processes and know-how to drive efficiency, operational improvement and lower costs.
4. Fill the transit gap: encouraging modal shift away from private cars in areas that are not well served by public mass transit.
5. Consolidate & compound: consolidate fragmented markets and create ‘at scale’ operations to drive operating efficiencies and better customer solutions.
Best-in-class operator
A focus on continuous improvement in everything we do
We are diversified and balanced
We hold market-leading positions where we choose to compete and with around half of Group revenues anchored in long-term contracts.
We hold the largest market share for long haul coach transport in both Spain and the UK, and are the second largest school bus provider in North America. We are the largest bus operator in Morocco.
We are taking environmental leadership
Our ambition is to be the world's greenest mass transit operator. To deliver our ambition we target:
- Industry leadership on the shift to solely zero emission vehicles
- UK Bus by 2030
- UK Coach and ALSA bus by 2035
- ALSA coach, Morocco and North America by 2040
- We have committed to never buy another diesel bus in the UK
- Emissions targets are built into senior management incentives
Read more about our Environment work
KPIsWe have a strong track record of delivering superior financial outcomes
In the 10 years prior to the pandemic, National Express delivered a revenue and profit compound annual growth rate of 6% and 7% respectively
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ALSA
ALSA is the leading company in the Spanish road passenger transport sector, and was acquired by National Express in 2005.
With over 100 years’ experience, it operates long-distance, regional and urban bus and coach services across Spain and in Morocco and Switzerland. In 2022, we will also start to operate urban bus services in Portugal. Apart from its bus and coach services, the business also operates service areas and other transport-related businesses.
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North America
Our business in North America has three areas of activity: student transportation, transit and shuttle services.
We operate in 33 US states and three Canadian provinces.
The student transportation business operates through medium-term contracts awarded by local school boards to provide safe and reliable transport for students, and is the second largest private operator in North America.
Our transit business operates predominantly paratransit services across the USA.
Our shuttle business, operating predominantly through WeDriveU, offers corporate employee shuttle services and is also growing in the universities and hospital shuttle market.
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UK
National Express operates both bus and coach services in the UK.
In UK bus, National Express is the market leader in the West Midlands – the largest urban bus market outside of London. We also operate in the accessible transport market.
In UK coach, we are the largest operator of scheduled coach services in the UK, operating high frequency services across the country. We operate non-scheduled coach operations under one brand – National Express Transport Solutions – serving the fragmented commuter, corporate shuttle, private hire and holiday markets.
In 2020, we have introduced the first of our electric vehicles into the fleet, and it is our ambition to be zero carbon emissions in our bus business by 2030 and in our coach business by 2035.
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German Rail
National Express has been operating rail services in Germany since Dec 2015.
We operate a number of lines in North-Rhine-Westphalia through our contracts for Rhine Munster Express and Rhine-Ruhr Express.
The German regional and urban rail market is worth around 9 billion Euros, with contracts awarded by regional passenger transport authorities.
Our Purpose and Vision
At National Express we share a fundamental belief that driving modal shift from cars to high quality mass transit is fundamental to a safe, green and prosperous future. There is growing recognition by policy makers around the world that public transport is critical in achieving climate targets and in making cities better places to live.
Public transport has always played a key role in social mobility and in these unprecedented times it is ever more important in enabling economic recovery by providing safe access to work, education, retail and leisure. We believe that the Group has created a number of value drivers that differentiate us from our peers as a leading operator in this critical sector.
