Stagecoach has been rated Britain’s top public transport company for diversity and inclusion.

Britain’s biggest bus and coach operator was rated higher in this category than the country’s other public transport operators in the Britain’s Most Admired Companies (BMAC) 2019 survey.

People director for Stagecoach Clare Burles said: “We’re proud to have been recognised by our peers and other stakeholders for our focus on diversity and inclusion across our business.

“As a transport provider that connects people with jobs, skills and training and helps our towns and cities thrive, having a diverse and inclusive workforce is fundamental to our success

“We’ve taken some big steps forward in the past year, particularly in improving gender balance, but we know we have lot more to do and our teams across the business are working hard to drive forward engagement with our people and our communities.”

Stagecoach employs around 24,000 people across the UK and is working on several initiatives to build an inclusive workforce that represents all the customers and communities it serves.

In the BMAC survey, Stagecoach received a rating of 6.7 for diversity and inclusion. The other public transport groups were rated as follows: Go-Ahead: 6.0, National Express: 5.7, Arriva: 5.7, and FirstGroup: 3.3.

Stagecoach has taken steps in building a more gender diverse workforce, with more women in senior positions and more female representation in its graduate scheme.

The company is targeting how it can improve the way it recruits employees from a range of diverse backgrounds and will be tracking data to measure performance.

It is investing heavily in apprenticeships to attract young people into careers in the public transport sector.

During National Inclusion Week in September, Stagecoach signed a new diversity and inclusion pledge. It committed to celebrate people’s differences, work together to unlock individuals’ talent and build a culture that delivers safe and high quality services for customers and local communities.

The BMAC study has been tracking data since 1990 and is run by leading reputation specialists Echo Research with support from academic partners Coventry University. It measures the reputation of 250 of Britain’s largest companies across 25 industry sectors, against 13 criteria, using input from board-level representatives, analysts and city commentators, as well as company competitors.