First Bus FirstGroup is one of the largest bus operators in Overview the UK, serving towns and cities across the country.

£385m Passenger satisfaction is up We have cut fares across the 1.7m We have invested £385m – in the independent National country, introducing low fares for We carry around 1.7m in 2,200 new vehicles Passenger Survey, our score young people and jobseekers passengers every day since 2012 rose 5% to 86%

We are one of the largest bus operators in the We are the lead operator partner in three of the five ground- UK with a fleet of approximately 6,300 buses breaking Better Bus Areas (BBAs), which promote voluntary which carry around 1.7m passengers per day. partnership between operators and councils, announced by the Government – in , and the West of The way we do business is changing. We are delivering more tailored solutions to the communities we serve, addressing their In South Yorkshire, the first BBA, passengers are benefiting transport needs and helping create vibrant local economies. from improved and better value services. We are seeing encouraging levels of passenger growth and improved We are working through an extensive and detailed programme reliability and customer satisfaction scores. to increase investment in our fleets, improve our networks and frequencies, rebalance our fare structures and enhance the Wherever we operate, we use partnership to improve services. reliability of our services. In Portsmouth we have worked closely with the city to These plans are yielding results. For instance, we have introduce priority measures including bus lanes and a Park recorded strong passenger satisfaction results in the and Ride. We also help councils make best use of limited independent National Passenger Survey. Our overall scores funds. In Cornwall, for instance, we have helped them ensure was 86%, equalling our highest ever, whilst First East of the network maximises coordination between commercial Scotland and First York both achieved a rating of 92%. and tendered services. Our experience shows that partnership is by far the quickest Better buses through partnership and most effective way to achieve the changes that bus users and local authorities want to see and that will deliver We work in close partnership with local authorities so we sustainable growth. We are always ready to work with local can respond to their needs as a reliable partner, delivering and central government to help them invest in, and prioritise, solutions to congestion and helping stimulate economic bus transport in the communities we serve. activity in their area. Summer 2015 Where we operate

We are proud to be the We rolled out mobile first national operator ticketing across to back the RNIB’s all our networks accessibility charter; with in 2014, enabling partners we developed a customers to use new app for customers their smartphones with sight and hearing loss as bus tickets

ANY OPERATOR

We offer tickets that Free Wi-Fi is being can be used on other fitted as standard operators’ services on all of our new on many networks and many of our and we are rolling out refurbished buses smartcards

Thanks to these lower fares – alongside investment, service Why buses matter improvements and other factors – we have seen 15% year-on-year passenger growth in Bristol. We have since In 2014, 4.7bn people made bus journeys to get to undertaken a similar review in the rest of the region. work, shop, study and play in Britain, 90m more than the previous year. Across the country, we have discounted travel schemes in place to help young people, students and jobseekers. This activity added £64bn gross value to the economy. For example, in Glasgow fares for jobseekers have been cut by more than half and our child fare of 60p is one of More people use buses to get to work than all other the cheapest in the UK. forms of public transport combined, amounting to 2m commuter journeys a year. Investing in our services Over 170,000 people are employed in the bus and coach Over the last five years, First has invested £385m in 2,200 industry; the sector spends £2.5bn a year in its supply new vehicles – with free Wi-Fi as standard on many new chain, supporting 83,000 jobs. and refurbished buses. Our 2015 order, worth £78m, is for nearly 400 buses. As well as free Wi-Fi, we are also trialling USB charging points on Keeping fares affordable some vehicles. Nine out of ten of these new vehicles are fitted with low-emission Euro 6 engines, the biggest investment in Keeping fares affordable is in everyone’s interest – as bus these green buses in the UK to date. These will join our fleet operators, we don’t want passengers to be priced out of of electric buses at our Park & Ride sites in , Taunton, our services. Portsmouth and York as well as our hydrogen vehicles in Aberdeen in partnership with numerous organisations We recently unveiled a changed fares structure in York after including the City Council. a consultation with our customers and partners, which has seen selected fares reduced by up to 25%. In Southampton, Throughout 2014 we rolled out mobile ticketing across our fares have been cut or frozen for 60% of customers. operations, enabling customers to use their mobile phones as bus tickets. We have also become the first nationwide In Bristol we held a wide ranging consultation on our new public transport company to offer Barclays Pingit as a mobile fares structure with passengers and stakeholders which payment option. received more than 7,500 responses which were used to inform the changes. The new structure is simpler and easier to use, together with increased night and Sunday services, has been welcomed by the elected Mayor of Bristol. For more information visit: www..com