'Dunkirk spirit' saw commuters fight the snow

A "DUNKIRK spirit" saw snowed-in Britons ditch their cars and turn to buses to ensure they made it into work last month, transport group Go-Ahead said yesterday.

The firm, which carries some 1.6 million bus passengers every day, told investors it had seen a rise in fare-paying bus passengers in January as commuters struggled into work and it did its best to keep services running in the snow.

Keith Ludeman, group chief executive, added: "There's something about the English character that when times are difficult, people really try their hardest to get into work, and we also had really good attendance in our bus depots."

But the adverse weather hit the firm's Govia rail business, which is jointly owned with French group Keolis.

Its Southeastern rail franchise came in for particular criticism in a recent London Assembly report into the travel disruption after Go-Ahead ran only about half of its normal service.

Neighbouring train operators such as Govia-owned Southern and Stagecoach's South West Trains attempted to provide either a full or slightly reduced service, according to the assembly's transport committee.

But Go-Ahead said the snow had "very little impact" on revenues last month.