Stagecoach has revealed its preliminary financial results, which show that more and more people are choosing to use public transport.

More people are choosing to travel by public transport in an effort to tackle climate change, according to Stagecoach Group plc, which has announced successful preliminary financial results for 2008.

A leading international public transport company, Stagecoach has reported a rise in profits of 7%, from £162 million to £174m, and sales of £1.76 billion – a 17% increase.

In conjunction with the release of its financial results, the company has also published the results of an environmental survey, which explained the increase in profits and sales. The survey revealed that more than 10% of people had changed their mode of transport over the last three years because of environmental concerns – 36% switched to using the bus, 30% walked, and 5% travelled by train.

Brian Souter, Stagecoach’s Chief Executive, commented on the results: “We believe there are growing signs of a fundamental positive shift in customer attitudes towards public transport, driven by increasing road congestion, rising fuel costs and concern about climate change. We are leading the sector in offering customers greener, smarter travel to reduce their carbon footprint.”

The Group owns bus and rail operations in the UK and North America, including megabus.com, South West Trains and Stagecoach buses. It is committed to tackling climate change, with projects including the launch of Scotland’s first carbon neutral bus network and the testing of the first Bio-buses in the UK, which run entirely on biodiesel.