National Express is the best value operator in price sensitive transportation markets, combining the benefits of scale and diversity with deep understanding of the local markets in which we operate.
This international-local balance drives a number of competitive advantages:
We engage our customers through clear marketing
We invest in our consumer brands, ensuring what they stand for is understood by our customers. The National Express and ALSA brands are household names and stand for safety, consistency, reliability and affordability. We promote these values in our brands to help drive purchasing decisions.
We operate at scale
We seek leadership positions in the markets in which we operate, whether national, regional or local. In the UK and Spain, our long haul coach operations are market leaders. In urban bus and transit, we are focusing on growing urban hubs in multiple geographies.
We deploy new technologies rapidly
The Group consistently applies technology to improve our customer offering (e.g. deploying free WiFi on our premium bus services in the West Midlands, development of mobile apps, web interfaces and customer portals); to grow the business (e.g. RMS in our coach businesses in the UK and Spain, and on-demand scheduling through Ecolane in North America); and to drive operational excellence (e.g. the global roll-out of Lytx DriveCam in support of our global safety policies).
We prioritise safe operations
The Group operates and rigorously enforces consistent, world class safety policies in all markets, supported by leading edge technology. Our focus on Zero Harm supports our primary goal – to get customers to their destination safely and ensure the safety of our employees.
We enforce consistent global policies and processes
Our global Delivery Excellence team works to improve critical process across all operations, continually looking to raise standards whilst our global Master Driver and Master Technician programmes drive a consistently high standard of capability across our markets.
We operate a balanced and resilient portfolio
Around 50% of our revenue is contracted over multiple years, meaning we are less exposed to changes in travel patterns caused by economic cycles. Our diversification means that no one contract accounts for more than 2% of revenue. We are internationally diversified, meaning our cash flows are somewhat insulated from any one country’s economic or political challenges, and also that we have the option to move our capital globally to develop growth options where they are most attractive.