Press Releases
81 items found, showing page 5 of 7

First Bus welcomes extension to UK Government support for Bus services across England
- Bus fare cap to be extended for three months, backed by up to £75 million to help passengers save money and Get Around for £2
- Government also confirms up to £80 million to continue support for critical bus services around England
- Over 5 million passengers have utilised the £2 fare scheme on First Bus services since January 2023

First Bus appoint new Head of Operational Excellence
- Appointment to new role as Head of Operational Excellence
- New hire will collaborate with LBUs and Head of Engineering Excellence with purpose of improving customer experience

FirstGroup plc reaches agreement to acquire Essex-based Ensign Bus Company
- Agreement to purchase Ensign Bus Company Limited (‘Ensignbus’)
- Ensignbus is a high-performing business with strong positions in business-to-business (‘B2B’) and regional commercial bus operations in Essex, as well as a vehicle refurbishment and re-sale operation, alongside a high value depot.
- Completion of the acquisition is anticipated in the next few months subject to customary regulatory review.

First Bus and Reaseheath College host Roads Minister at UK's first dedicated bus and coach industry training academy ahead of National Apprenticeship Week
- First Bus and Reaseheath College have teamed up to create a dedicated apprentice training academy to create engineers of the future for the bus industry
- State-of-the-art facility that recreates a bus depot environment for apprentices as part of industry leading 12-week training programme
- Facility that opened in 2021 is now starting to bear fruit as first cohort of apprentice progresses through the programme

First Bus and partners welcome Roads Minister to launch UK's first all-electric autonomous bus service at Milton Park
- UK’s first zero emission autonomous bus service to operate at Milton Park business, science and technology park in Oxfordshire
- Project to launch two zero emission single-decker autonomous buses which are fully accessible to wheelchair users and prams
- Ground-breaking technology in vehicle movement and travel planning
- The buses will have a safety driver on board at all times during operation and have completed its first test passenger journeys over the past two weeks

Millions encouraged to Get Around For £2 by bus
- Millions of people across England will be able to travel by bus for £2 from 1 January to 31 March, thanks to £60 million in Government funding to cap single tickets
- People can save almost a third of the average £2.80 bus fare, while in some rural areas tickets can reach over £10 for a single journey
- Over 130 operators who run routes outside London will be part of the scheme, taking an estimated two million cars off the road and reducing emissions

First Bus announces proposals to cease all operations in Southampton
- Proposal to withdraw all CityRed services in Southampton from February 19 2023.
- Lower customer numbers post-covid, changes in travel patterns, rising costs and an ultra-competitive city market have led to this difficult decision.
- Focus is on supporting colleagues and helping all those affected to find alternative roles within First Bus.

First Bus team up with Ticketer to launch innovative new Tap On Tap Off pilot in Wales
- First Bus team up with Ticketer to launch innovative new Tap On Tap Off system for fares with pilot in Wales.
- Innovative new pilot aimed at capping fares based on distance travelled in industry first.
- The pilot could be rolled out in other regions if successful.

First Bus partners with Prospective.io to deploy automated fleet scheduling across UK operations
- First Bus and Prospective.io have been working in partnership since 2019 to develop and test cutting edge automated timetabling and fleet scheduling software.
- Prospective’s AI platform has led to improvements in service punctuality and reliability in West Yorkshire during a pilot aimed at improving local service delivery.
- The Prospective system is now being rolled out across some of First Bus’ largest UK operating companies (OpCos).
- The new system will support dozens of network planners, schedulers and operations teams managing 4,000 vehicles across the UK.

Almost half of UK adults set to switch to bus as cost-of-living crisis begins to bite
- 41% of UK adults are planning to use the bus more frequently in a bid to save money, as households feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis.
- London has seen the most increased bus use (60%) followed by Glasgow (47%), Leeds (45%) and Liverpool (43%).

First Bus scoops two top prizes at 2022 Route One Awards
- First Bus were shortlisted in no less than seven categories for the annual Route One Awards.
- Simon Carlisle from First West Yorkshire scooped Engineer of the Year, Large Operator Award.
- First HDB’s Marc Reddy won the Manager of the Year, Large Operator Award.