Go-Ahead Group is launching a campaign to encourage more women to apply for jobs in the bus industry, including driving buses, maintaining vehicles and managing depots.

The company said it wants to tackle the long-standing lack of gender diversity in public transport, announcing plans to set a target to increase female representation from 11% to 20% of the bus workforce by 2025.

Female-focused recruitment campaigns will be launched, as well as open days and training opportunities for women.

Go-Ahead employs 14,000 workers in its UK bus companies, but very few women have worked in frontline roles in public transport, an issue common across both bus and rail.

Go-Ahead said the aim is to double the number of women in its workforce over the coming years.

Go-Ahead Group people director Siobhan Morrison said: "Women and men of all ages and backgrounds travel on our buses. We want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our passengers and communities, so there are great opportunities for women to work in our bus businesses.

"Equality is at the heart of our culture and we are committed to attracting more females into roles throughout the business.

"Go-Ahead places a premium on an inclusive and diverse workforce and research has shown that women are more likely to aim high where they can see women in leadership positions."