National Express has bounced back with £20.5million of pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year compared to a £50.2million loss for the same period last year.

The company, which offers coach travel to and from Gloucestershire, saw revenue increase by 34 per cent to £1.3 billion, the highest in over a decade.

It said the UK was seeing a strong rebound in demand with coach revenue up 359 per cent and it expects that to continue over the summer.

Bus passenger journeys are ahead of the industry average, and up 65 per cent year on year.

The decarbonisation of its fleet is accelerating with plans approved for 1,500 ZEVs(zero emissions vehicles) across the group by 2024. Its UK Bus fleet is on track to be 50 per cent ZEV by 2025 and 100 per cent by 2030.

Ignacio Garat, group chief executive of National Express, said: "I am pleased to see momentum building across the group, with strong growth in revenue, profit and cash in the first half.

"The path ahead will not be without challenges but we continue to anticipate reinstating a full year dividend in respect of FY 2022.

"What we do is ever more critical for today's world, providing part of the solution to both the climate crisis and cost of living crisis, enabling people to swap their private car journeys for public transport."