First Group’s (www.firstgroup.com) new chairman has called on the Government to give “urgent priority” to tackling urban congestion to keep city bus travel viable. Chairing his first annual meeting in Aberdeen, Wolfhart Hauser told share-holders that the business has to be “pro-active” in winning new customers.

He added: “Our bus business faces a growing threat that we are largely powerless to resolve on our own — namely, the problem of urban congestion. If the trend is allowed to continue, our urban buses will no longer be a viable mode of transport for most customers.

"It is strange that tackling congestion isn’t higher up the local and national agenda, given the impact of this problem on jobs, local economies and the urban environment. We must attract the young generation with their smartphones and get them to say: ‘Travel by bus, it’s the greatest thing in the world’ .”