First Bus

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

First Bus x Climate Change Summit ⚡ Andy Gwilliam, Head of Products and Standards at First Bus, will be speaking at the Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit in Leeds on Thursday 16 October for ‘Accelerating the change to more electric journeys’. Alongside Jenny Kent (City of York Council), David Waters (Transport for the North) and Professor Greg Marsden (University of Leeds), the discussion will focus on the challenges in EV charging infrastructure and how to speed up the transition for businesses and the public. Andy will also share 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. 👉 Find out more and book your place: https://lnkd.in/eRVZbqfH #YPClimateChange #NetZero #ElectricVehicles #FirstBus

Kian lands dream job 🚍 We’re proud to welcome 20-year-old Kian Lewis to our First Bus Rochdale team, following a successful supported internship with Future Finders Employability College. The programme helps young people aged 16–24 with diverse learning needs gain valuable experience in real workplaces, supported by tutors and job coaches. Kian, who is neurodivergent and a care leaver, stood out for his hard work, positivity and teamwork, supporting operations, assisting customers at Rochdale Interchange and preparing buses for service. His dedication earned him his first paid role with us. This success shows how partnerships with Future Finders and Transport for Greater Manchester create inclusive opportunities that reflect the communities we serve. Huge congratulations, Kian. You’ve worked so hard for this and we’re proud to have you on the team. Read more about Kian’s story here: https://bit.ly/kian-lewis Kevin Mullin Holly Buckley Zoe Hands #Careers #EarlyCareers #Rochdale

Electric depot’s royal visit 👑 Our electrified depot in Bristol will get a royal seal of approval later this year. We’re excited to announce the Duke of Gloucester will visit Hengrove depot on December 9th to see our fleet of electric buses, how we’ve transformed the depot and celebrate First Bus’ 30th anniversary. His Royal Highness will visit the £44million project which has transformed the depot with five huge charging gantries powering 74 zero tailpipe emission buses. It was officially opened in June by Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority's Mayor Helen Godwin, and is First Bus’ second electrified depot in the West of England alongside Weston-super-Mare. Two more depots in the region, in Bath and at Lawrence Hill in Bristol, will be transformed next year, with a further 160 electric buses heading out on the streets. The projects are part of First Bus’ commitment to have a fully electric fleet by 2035. Read more: https://lnkd.in/egyQYk5H #Decarbonisation #ElectricBus #RoyalFamily #Birthday Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom

Safety is a right, not a privilege.   Kayleigh Ingham, our Commercial Director in North and West Yorkshire shares her views in Passenger Transport on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) across the transport industry.   In her piece, Kayleigh calls on industry cross collaboration and explains the steps we’re taking at First Bus to tackle VAWG, including:   🔹 Partnering with Strut Safe, promoting it across 2,200 buses nationwide and funding longer operating hours, so more people can access support late at night and on weekends. 🔹 Rolling out mandatory training to recognise and challenge harmful behaviours. With time, every colleague across First Bus will be trained to understand VAWG, and to intervene safely. 🔹 Being White Ribbon UK accredited. 🔹 Improving colleague representation to ensure decision-making and policies more successfully reflect the lived experiences of our majority customer base. By 2028, 40% of senior leadership roles will be held by women.   As Kayleigh explains “At First Bus, we recognise our critical role in ensuring every journey is a safe journey, along with the importance of connecting workforce diversity with VAWG prevention and management. We ask the industry to do the same. Together, collaboratively, we can and must deliver a transport system where safety is a right, not a privilege.”   Read Kayleigh’s full article 👉 https://bit.ly/478iG8y   #VAWG #Bus

Women in Bus & Coach winners 🌟 Celebrating success at the Women in Bus and Coach Awards 2025. We’re incredibly proud that First Bus colleagues have been recognised at this year’s Women in Bus and Coach Awards, showcasing the talent, diversity and leadership that is driving our industry. In Aberdeen, driver Michele Elliot was named ‘Woman of the Year’ and also received ‘Best Woman in Bus’ for her outstanding contributions both at work and in the community. In London, Kymeisha Joseph-Worrell received the Rising Star Award. One of the first female engineers to join First Bus, she began as an apprentice at 18, completed a degree in electrical and biomedical engineering, and now mentors trainees while supporting supervisors at our Hounslow Heath depot. In Glasgow, First Bus driver Tony McEwan was recognised in the Allyship category for championing women’s growth and empowerment, and for mentoring and supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues in the workplace. These awards celebrate the people at First Bus who are helping to shape what comes next. 🔗 Read the full press release and see the winners list here: https://lnkd.in/ezHh-N4U #WiBCAwards #WiBCSummit2025 First Bus London

First Bus x Labour Conference That’s a wrap on Labour Conference in Liverpool, where First Bus took part as an exhibitor and ran shuttle services to help delegates travel safely and reliably to and from Liverpool Lime Street station. Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP opened The Labour Party conference and met with the First Bus team to mark the occasion. To celebrate being in Liverpool, we kicked off Saturday with a Beatles tribute band, drawing a crowd and setting the tone for the days ahead. Our Chief Sustainability and Compliance Officer, Isabel McAllister, spoke about how public transport can support the UK’s net zero ambitions, including our £350 million investment to electrify our fleet, with over a quarter of our buses now fully electric. Thank you to everyone who stopped to chat or joined a session with us. We look forward to seeing more of you over conference season. If you’d like to find out more, read our white paper and see how we’re helping to shape the future of public transport: https://lnkd.in/eZ2mVgAG #LabourConference #FirstBus #MovingTheEveryday #Liverpool

Free shuttles to Labour 🚌 We’re all set for Labour Conference this weekend. You’ll find our electric double-decker in the Exhibition Hall, and we’re running free shuttles between Lime Street Train Station and the ACC Conference Venue all weekend. We look forward to seeing you there. Full details and timetable 👉 https://lnkd.in/eaP_22-d The Labour Party Network Rail #PublicTransport #Bus #LabourConference2025