Press Releases

80 items found, showing page 5 of 7

Simon Mathieson, Head of Operational Excellence (3)

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
People
First Bus
Ensignbus

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.
Miscellaneous
First Bus
First Bus & Reaseheath College welcomed Roads Minister Richard Holden MP

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
People
First Bus
Autonomous Bus consortium with Roads Minister Richard Holden MP

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
Electric Buses
First Bus
First Bus Family travel

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  
Bus Fares
First Bus
Leicester Groundbreaking 2

First Leicester start ground-breaking work to electrify the bus depot in readiness to receive 68 brand new electric buses in 2023

Electric Buses
First Bus
CityRed2

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.  
People
Service Changes
First Bus
First Cymru Bus - Bridgend 2

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. 
Bus Fares
First Bus
Commercial Partnerships
Prospective First Bus 5

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.
Bus Partnerships
Commercial Partnerships
Network Information
First Bus
First Bus Family

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%).
Electric Buses
Environment
Bus Fares
First Bus
Route one

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.
People
First Bus
garethd A

First Bus launch new company-wide 'Month of Inclusion' to help advance E,D & I programme

  • First Bus launch its first ever 'Month of Inclusion' in a bid to progress their company-wide equality, diversity and inclusion plans.
E, D & I
First Bus