Abellio UK Bus

Abellio London Bus (ALB) runs 852 buses on 60 London routes, 9% of the market in the capital, for the client Transport for London (TfL).

Abellio London Bus played a key role in keeping key workers moving during the pandemic, with TfL adapting services to reflect both customer demand and staff availability. A range of safety measures were introduced in the vehicles and depots, including enhanced cleaning regimes and greatly improved protection for drivers whilst in their cabs. At the outbreak of the pandemic, services were reduced to around 60% before recovering to 100% by June 2020, but with capacity limitation to recognise social distancing needs, and additional school services were introduced for the start of the new school year in September. Around 10% of the workforce, mainly drivers, were temporarily stood down as a result of the corona virus pandemic under a Government wage support scheme.

Abellio won Bus Operator of the Year at the 2020 London Transport Awards. It also introduced its first 34 zero-emission, fully-electric buses in line with the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and trialled a new hydrogen bus.

Abellio Rail Replacement (ARR) provides alternative transport services – coaches, buses and taxis -  to the Greater Anglia, ScotRail, East Midlands and West Midlands franchises and to Serco’s Caledonian Sleeper franchise during planned and unplanned rail disruption. ARR has also been awarded the contract for similar services to Transport for Wales from 2021. Event Connect supplies ground transport solutions to major sporting events, tour operators and corporate clients. ARR continued operating through the lockdown period with reduced volumes to reflect lower customer numbers and social distancing measures on coaches. The Event Connect business has been severely affected due to the downturn in the leisure sector.