Pope Benedict's UK visit spelled good news for National Express coach travel
Transport provider National Express has reported an increase in revenue last month as a result of Pope Benedict’s visit to the UK.
The coach travel operator provided over 1,000 coach services to Birmingham from all over the country as thousands of people flocked to the city during the Pope’s visit. The Pilgrims had travelled from across the UK to Cofton Park in Birmingham on the last day of the Papal visit to witness the beatification service for Cardinal Newman lead by the pope.
The surge in coach travel certainly helped boost revenue at National Express with the company reporting a 4% year on year increase in revenue in the last 3 months to the end of September, which is marked improvement from the 2% reported during the first half of the year.
National Express also attributes its recent boost in revenue to its restructuring of its bus and coach network, mainly based in the West Midlands. The transport provider made cut backs to its less popular and infrequently used services, while adding more services to its busiest routes.
However the coach and rail operator may have to brace itself for hard times ahead as it’s possible that local bus subsidies will be reduced as part of the Government’s spending review due to be announced today.