- Source of Wealth: Business (Transport – Go-Ahead)
- Marital Status: Widowed (Martin Ballinger)
- Full Name: Diana Susan Edgoose Ballinger
- Nationality: British
- Ethnicity: English
- Occupation: Businesswoman
- Children: 2
Ballinger’s late husband Martin led a management buyout of the Newcastle-based Northern General bus firm in 1987. The business, renamed Go-Ahead, floated on the stock market in 1994, valued at $51.67 million. In the year 2019, it is worth $775.09 million with an estimated annual revenue of $4.92 billion. Go-Ahead Group is a UK-based passenger transport company for bus and rail services. Train operations run through rail franchises with contracts with the Department for Transport. It also has regional bus services that comprises of commercial bus business that is available outside of London. The segment of the London bus comprises of tendered bus operations that are controlled by the Transport for London.
Aside from the UK, the company also mobilizes rail and bus contracts in Norway and Germany. Aside from this, it also runs bus services in Singapore with the Land Transport Authority.
Their bus fleet has approximately 5,200 buses that have operations focused on the high-density commuter markets. The group has around 24% share in London. Outside London, the company operates its services in Northeast, South East, and Southern England as well as in East Anglia and Oxford.
The rail operation called Govia Ltd. has Go Ahead as the company’s 65% shareholder. It is the UK’s largest rail operation which is responsible for more than 30% of all UK passenger rail journeys through the two rail franchises: Southeastern and GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway).