Great Western Coffee Shop

Stagecoach and FirstGroup have stepped up their efforts to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their businesses.

Both transport firms said they were cutting costs and reducing capital expenditure following a slump in demand for their services.

In separate trading updates, they said the crisis was "unprecedented".

However, the transport operators stressed that they remained in a strong financial position.

Perth-based Stagecoach revealed that concessionary ticket users on its regional buses had fallen by about 50% as a consequence of the Covid-19 virus, while the number of customers directly purchasing tickets for travel was down by about 40%.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen-based FirstGroup reported a "substantial" drop in passenger numbers for its businesses in the US and the UK.

It said its North American First Student service had been affected by the closure of almost all of the schools which it served, while its US-based First Transit business was experiencing "significantly reduced service requirements".