FirstGroup launches new measures to get people back on buses and welcomes lifeline

FirstGroup, the Aberdeen-headquartered transport giant, has welcomed further funding support for the bus industry on both sides of the Border.
The Aberdeen-headquartered company is one of the biggest transport operators across the UK through its First Bus division. Picture: John DevlinThe Aberdeen-headquartered company is one of the biggest transport operators across the UK through its First Bus division. Picture: John Devlin
The Aberdeen-headquartered company is one of the biggest transport operators across the UK through its First Bus division. Picture: John Devlin

The new funding round of £218.4 million under the Covid-19 Bus Service Support Grant Restart programme extends the arrangements previously announced at the end of May for the next eight weeks.

In addition, the UK government confirmed that rolling funding of up to £27.3m per week will continue to be made available thereafter if required.

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The group said its First Bus operations across England had increased operated mileage from 40 per cent to almost 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with passenger volumes increasing from just 10 per cent at the height of lockdown to about 40 per cent currently.

First also welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement of additional expenditure of up to £68m to extend to 8 November the funding scheme it has in place for Scotland’s bus operators.

Chief executive Matthew Gregory said: “The further funding packages confirmed by the UK and Scottish governments enable us to keep people travelling safely on our essential services, allowing social distancing to be maintained on our vehicles.

“Bus networks are vitally important to local economies, both now as people return to education and workplaces, and in the future as they offer a sustainable transport alternative to the car.

“Recently we have introduced a number of additional measures to ensure we continue offering a safe experience for our customers and also help them to make more informed travel decisions. This includes seat signage, enhanced and long-lasting anti-viral cleaning regimes, and upgrades to our mobile app so that customers can check in real time how full each bus is and the availability of wheelchair spaces.

“In the last few weeks we began two more such initiatives, a pilot scheme in Bristol which allows key workers to book reservations on specific buses, and a new tool for passengers initially launched in Glasgow, which predicts how busy a given bus will be depending on the time of day, for up to seven days in advance.”

The group has come under pressure to accelerate its restructuring after last month warning over its ability to continue as a going concern.

The firm, which reported pre-tax losses of £299.6 million for the full year, has faced plunging passenger numbers on its bus services amid the coronavirus lockdown as commuters work from home and people shop locally.

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