Francis Bourgeois joins 3.3 million Brits in their love of bus spotting
- Professional trainspotter and content creator Francis Bourgeois is celebrating the 30th birthday of First Bus by adding ‘bus enthusiast’ to his CV
- As Francis reveals his love of bus spotting to his millions of followers, data from First Bus reveals social media creators like him have made so-called ‘niche’ hobbies like bus spotting more mainstream
29th April 2025, London, UK – Famous social media trainspotter Francis Bourgeois has hit the road, revealing one of his other public transport passions – bus spotting.
Famed for his quirky videos of railways that feature a-list celebrities like Thierry Henry and Joe Jonas, Francis is now entertaining his millions of followers with a different hobby. The social media star has added ‘bus enthusiast’ to his list of interests after teaming up with First Bus, one of the UK’s leading bus operators, to celebrate its 30th birthday.
To mark this special occasion, Francis took a trip to the company’s birthplace in Aberdeen, where he learned to drive an electric bus and heard about the huge role buses play in society and connecting communities.
New data from First Bus reveals Francis is not alone, with an astonishing 3.3 million Brits revealing they also enjoy bus spotting.
However, taking part in hobbies like bus spotting hasn’t always been so proudly celebrated. In fact, a third (33%) of Brits have kept a hobby hidden before, as 29% worry people won’t think they’re ‘cool’.
Over half of Brits (57%) admit that social media creators like Francis Bourgeois have helped shift the perceptions of certain hobbies. His viral impact on trainspotting, and now with bus spotting, has undoubtedly made this pastime more widely mainstream.
A third (33%) of Brits also say that celebrities have a lot of sway when it comes to making hobbies mainstream. Olympic swimming champion Tom Daley’s crafty hands have put a spotlight on knitting and crocheting for 29% of the UK, while football legend David Beckham’s buzz about beekeeping has made almost one-fifth (19%) of Brits change their tune about the hobby.
Top 10 celebs who have made ‘uncool’ hobbies, cool:
- Tom Daley (Knitting & Crocheting) – 29%
- David Beckham (Beekeeping) – 19%
- Henry Cavill (Gaming & Warhammer) – 14%
- Rod Stewart (Model train collecting) – 13%
- Joe Rogan (Martial Arts) – 12%
- Justin Bieber (Rubik's cube) – 12%
- Francis Bourgeois (Trainspotting) – 11%
- Cole Palmer and Phil Foden (Fishing) – 8%
- Seth Rogan (Pottery) – 8%
- Tom Cruise (Fencing) – 7%
Speaking about his new bus enthusiast status, Francis Bourgeois commented: “I know I’m known for the railway, but my enthusiasm for public transport extends to other forms too, like buses. I was thrilled when First Bus invited me to celebrate its 30th birthday at the Aberdeen depot. Seeing how much buses have evolved in the last three decades is incredible, not only the transition to electric vehicles but also learning about the impact buses have on society. Perhaps in another career, I could have been a bus driver…maybe I will become a bus driver!”
David Adams, Depot Operations Manager Aberdeen, commented: “We thoroughly enjoyed having Francis visit our depot and share our love of all things bus – especially for our 30th birthday! With our research showing a cool 3.3 million Brits enjoy bus spotting as a hobby, Francis is in great company and we were delighted to take that a step further and help him fulfil a lifelong dream of driving a bus. There’s definitely a vacancy open for Francis if he ever fancies a new career as a bus driver up here in Aberdeen.
“At First Bus, we’re so proud to have served the nation for 30 years. This birthday milestone is not only about our history but also the people and passengers who have been on the journey with us, and we’re excited about what’s to come over the next 30 years.”
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Notes to editors
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Methodology
An online survey was conducted by Walr among 2,024 UK general consumers. Fieldwork took place between Friday 28th March - Monday 31st March 2025. Data has been collected adhering to MRS (Market Research Society) and ESOMAR guidelines to ensure ethical and accurate data collection.
About First Bus
At First Bus, we’re on a mission to grow bus usage – so we’ll get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto the bus.
We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, delivering more than 1.5 million passenger journeys a day. Our local bus services serve more than 25% of the population of Great Britain and over half of the UK’s top 15 most populated urban areas.
We are a leading operator in the majority of our local areas, including major urban centres such as Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds.
We have proudly launched our First Bus London operation and now operate 83 routes in west and central London from 10 garages serving 180 million passengers annually.
The combined operation now manages a fleet of over 5,750 buses across the UK.
Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re the UK’s largest national bus operator to achieve real Living Wage employer status, cementing our position as an employer of choice in the sector.
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We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses to progress their decarbonisation journeys – giving them access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company, Lakeside, Ensignbus, Anderson Travel - and the Aircoach network and Matthews in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup plc.
Find more information here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/