First Bus

Celebrating our engineers 🏆 Today is National Engineering Day, which recognises how engineers make a difference across the UK. At First Bus, engineering drives innovation, safety and progress across everything we do. Meet Hasan Girach, from our Leicester engineering team, who stands out for his dedication and curiosity. Hasan recently completed the First Bus Accelerate Programme, our Level 3 Team Leader Apprenticeship (equivalent to three A Levels), and became the first person at First Bus to achieve it with distinction. He’s shown real commitment to learning, especially around emotional intelligence and how it shapes collaboration. His achievements include being named Apprentice of the Year and receiving the Principal’s Award at the Reaseheath College Awards 2024, as well as winning Best Bodywork Technician and the Judges’ Choice Award at the IRTE Skills Challenge 2024. Well done, Hasan. Your focus and drive reflect the ambition behind engineering at First Bus and what’s possible when we invest in talent. Interested in finding out more about engineering careers at First Bus? Discover more: https://lnkd.in/eycHMtXJ #NationalEngineeringDay #Engineering #STEM Royal Academy of Engineering #EarlyCareers #Leicester #Apprenticeship

Moving Glasgow forward 👏 First Bus hosted a reception at The Social Hub (B Corp™) in Glasgow, bringing together local councillors from across the Glasgow City Region, transport organisations, local businesses, education providers and other valued partners. During the event, Duncan Cameron, Managing Director, and Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director at First Bus Scotland shared updates on our work in the Glasgow City Region and our future plans to make bus travel even better for those who live, work and study here. We were joined by Lord Provost of Glasgow, Cllr Dr Jacqueline Mclaren, and Glasgow City Convener for Climate, Transport & City Centre Recovery, Cllr Angus Millar, who shared their reflections on the importance of bus to Glasgow’s economy and the wider community. Thank you to everyone who joined us for an engaging discussion on how we can continue moving Glasgow forward together. Read 'Our Vision' whitepaper: https://lnkd.in/eZ2mVgAG #Glasgow Glasgow City Council #NetZero #Scotland Scottish National Party (SNP) Scottish Green Party Scottish Labour Party Strathclyde Partnership for Transport University of Glasgow Glasgow Chamber of Commerce NHS Golden Jubilee Glasgow Warriors Confederation of Passenger Transport

Marking Remembrance together 🤝 To mark Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, First Bus is offering free bus travel* to serving troops, veterans and cadets on Sunday 9 and Tuesday 11 November. It’s a small gesture to show our appreciation for the Armed Forces community and to help people reach services, parades and commemorations across the country. Tony Curtain from Sheffield reminds us what remembrance is truly about. For more than 20 years, Tony has been collecting for the Royal British Legion, often travelling with First Bus to reach local collections. He stands all day to raise money, inspired by memories of seeing wounded soldiers return home during World War Two. As we mark this period of remembrance, we’re proud to help people like Tony, and many others, come together to pay their respects. You can find local events via the Royal British Legion website or find out more at: https://lnkd.in/ehsX7RGq . [*Terms & conditions apply. Please note free travel is not available on special event or Airport services.] #RemembranceDay #ArmisticeDay

Real safety needs action 👏 At the recent Women in Bus and Coach event, Angelita Treanor McCann from our central Commercial Team shared how First Bus is addressing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). Angelita highlighted the need to recognise how women’s safety experiences differ and the importance of stronger data across the transport industry. 🚍 Partnering with Strut Safe, reaching 1.2 million customers across our app, website and social channels in one week. 🎗 Achieving White Ribbon UK accreditation, helping to educate and upskill colleagues on gender-based violence. 🤝 Building an inclusive culture where colleagues feel confident to challenge harmful behaviour. The perceived risk of violence on public transport remains too high, and that perception can become a barrier to travel, education, work and independence. We’re addressing VAWG through cultural change, education and partnerships that make a real difference. Read more in our First Bus ‘Our Vision’ whitepaper: https://lnkd.in/eZ2mVgAG #VAWG #Safety

York’s Park & Ride success 🚌 In York, the First Bus team welcomed Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood MP on a fact-finding visit to learn more about one of the country’s first net-zero bus depots. He was joined by York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith and Councillor Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport at City of York Council. The visit also gave the Council an opportunity to share its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) to strengthen York’s Park and Ride network, made possible through £4 million of funding from the Department for Transport. The First Bus team continues to work closely with the Council to make York’s Park and Ride the success it is today, with a record-breaking 4 million passengers last year. BSIP funding has already supported longer operating hours, linking with the first trains of the day at York station and helping people travel home from the city’s evening leisure and hospitality venues. These improved facilities across the network and the introduction of 24-hour parking will make Park and Ride even more accessible and convenient, helping to cut car journeys, improve bus speeds and support cleaner air across the city. Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith City of York Council Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom #NetZero

Delivering the future of bus services 🚍 The Government’s Bus Services Bill has now received royal assent, a major milestone for public transport in England. We were proud to welcome Transport Minister Simon Lightwood to our York depot just days before this landmark moment. Now, Janette Bell, First Bus Managing Director, explains how the Bill sets out a bold new vision for bus services. Janette shares her views on what the new powers for local authorities mean for local bus services, and how renewed collaboration between councils and bus operators is key to making this new future a success. We’ve already seen what’s possible when we work together: - In Greater Manchester, punctuality improved by 10% in our first year under Transport for Greater Manchester's Bee Network. - In Portsmouth, our enhanced partnership with Portsmouth City Council boosted passenger numbers by 41%. - In the West of England, collaboration between West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and North Somerset Council has helped us cap fares, grow ridership, and invest £150m in zero-emission buses and electrified depots. - In Aberdeen, a collaboration with local transport authorities helped create bus priority routes which cut journey times by 25% and increased weekend ridership by 20%. At First Bus, we are ready to play our part. With the right partnerships, we can continue building networks that meet local needs, support economic growth and help the UK meet its net-zero goals. Read Janette’s views here: https://lnkd.in/ef2vgbzj Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom

First Bus x Climate Change Summit ⚡ Our Head of Product and Standards, Andy Gwilliam, joined a strong line-up of speakers at the Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit, discussing ‘Accelerating the change to more electric journeys’. The panel explored the challenges around EV charging infrastructure and how businesses and the public sector can speed up the transition to electric transport. Speakers included Jenny Kent (City of York Council), David Waters (Transport for the North), and Professor Greg Marsden (University of Leeds). Andy shared how First Bus is leading the way as the UK’s first major operator to open up ultra-rapid charging through our First Charge programme, helping others make the move to electric. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ezqjPZq9 #YPClimateChange #NetZero #ElectricVehicles #FirstBus #FirstCharge

Amana joins the First Bus team 🚍 This T Levels Week we’re celebrating something special at First Bus as we welcome Amana Mahmood, our first T Level student. The new qualification is designed for 16–19-year-olds to mix classroom learning with real experience in the workplace. Amana studies Management and Administration at Hopwood Hall College and joined our Rochdale depot in March 2025 for her industry placement, supporting Transport for Greater Manchester’s Bee Network. Since then, she’s helped with our depot anniversary event, supported customers, worked with our Social Value team on reporting and created case studies to showcase community impact. She’s also spoken to other young people about careers in bus at a local fair. Amana shares, “This placement has given me the opportunity to grow my confidence and see how what we learn in the classroom translates to real life.” We’re proud to be part of Amana’s story and to help open doors for more young people as they start their careers in transport. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dxvEajT #TLevels #TLevelsWeek #FirstBus #BeeNetwork

Putting safety first. 🤝 Making public transport safer for everyone. First Bus Director of Health, Safety and Security, Clare Franklin, spoke at the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom’s 'Safer Transport: Tackling Antisocial Behaviour and Violence Against Women and Girls Summit' in Manchester. Clare joined Kerry Blakeman from Transport for West Midlands and Neil Evans from Greater Manchester Combined Authority on a panel discussing what works in tackling antisocial behaviour on public transport. The event brought together government, transport operators and campaign partners to share how we can make public transport safer, particularly in addressing violence against women and girls. We’re proud to be part of this important conversation about how safety, respect and accountability can shape everyday travel. #SaferStreets #VAWG #PublicTransport White Ribbon UK Strut Safe

Give buses more space on the roads 🚌 At the Scottish National Party (SNP) Conference in Aberdeen, UK transport leaders discussed the role of public transport in driving economic growth and improving reliability for people across the UK. Speaking at Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s event 'Driving economic growth through improved public transport in the West of Scotland’, Duncan Cameron, Managing Director at First Bus, highlighted that: “Bus networks across the UK are more inefficient than they should be. If the bus is slower, we need more buses and drivers to deliver the service.  If we were to instead speed bus journeys up then that resource would be reinvested in fare reductions and/or service improvements” Valerie Davidson, Chief Executive at SPT, noted that congestion costs the Glasgow region around £2.3bn each year, adding that “for every hour you are sitting in congestion, the impact on the economy is £9.12.” The discussion, chaired by Fiona Hyslop MSP, also featured Jamie Ross from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, focusing on how improved public transport can strengthen regional economies and deliver more reliable networks. #Glasgow #Bus #PublicTransport