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FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
group, based in
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Scotland.Companies House extract company no SC157176
FirstGroup plc
The company operates transport services in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is listed on the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
and is a constituent of the
FTSE 250 Index The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...
.


History


Origins

FirstGroup originated from the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, whereby private companies purchased nationalised and municipal bus operators. In September 1986 the
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
based services of the
Bristol Omnibus Company The Bristol Omnibus Company was a dominant bus operator in Bristol, and was one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. It ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. History ...
that were rebranded in 1985 as
Badgerline Badgerline was a bus operator in and around Bristol from 1985 until 2003. Its headquarters were in Weston-super-Mare. Initially a part of the Bristol Omnibus Company, it was privatised in September 1986 and sold to Badgerline Holdings in a mana ...
were purchased in a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
. As Badgerline Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing other formerly nationalised bus companies in England and Wales. In January 1989,
Grampian Regional Transport Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...
, the bus operator in
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
owned by
Grampian Regional Council Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...
, was privatized in a management buyout led by its then general manager
Moir Lockhead Sir Moir Lockhead OBE DHC (born 25 April 1945 in County Durham, England) is an English businessman. He was Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of UK transport group FirstGroup. Originally a mechanical engineer, he left school (West Cornforth Seco ...
.Interview with Moir Lockhead
11 April 2006
As GRT Bus Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing six former nationalised bus companies in England and Scotland. In April 1995, FirstBus was formed through the merger of the Badgerline and GRT Bus Groups, with fleets in England, Wales and Scotland. The former
King Street Barracks The King Street Barracks is a former military installation in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is a Category C listed building. History The building, which was designed by William Ramage in the Scottish baronial style as a militia barracks, was completed i ...
site in
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
was selected as the headquarters. At the time of the merger, FirstBus had 5,600 buses, 4,000 of which came from Badgerline.''Buses'' issue 648 March 2009 Badgerline's Trevor Smallwood became chairman of FirstBus, while GRT head Moir Lockhead became deputy chairman and chief executive.


Expansion

FirstBus continued the policy of growth by acquisition acquiring former council owned operations and companies formerly owned by English, Welsh and Scottish nationalized operators. FirstBus went on to acquire larger urban metropolitan operators by taking advantage of the privatisation of the PTE bus operations and the
privatisation of London bus services The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of buses in London from public bodies to private companies. For half a century, operation of London bus services for public transport was under the direct co ...
. FirstBus acquired GM Buses North in Manchester and
Strathclyde Buses Strathclyde Buses was a bus operating company in Glasgow and west-central Scotland. It commenced operations in October 1986. Prior to 1986, the council-owned buses had belonged to Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (Strathclyde PTE), and ...
in Glasgow in 1996, Mainline in
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
and CentreWest in London in 1997, and
Capital Citybus Capital Citybus was a bus operator in London operating services under contract to London Regional Transport. History Capital Citybus was established on 29 December 1990, with the purchase of the London tendered bus services of Ensignbus by the ...
in London in 1998. The company was renamed FirstGroup in December 1997 after the company moved into railways in February 1996 with the
privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industr ...
, through a 24.5% shareholding in Great Western Holdings that won the Great Western and North Western franchises, and a 100% shareholding in
First Great Eastern First Great Eastern was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997 until March 2004. Services First Great Eastern operated all stops and limited stops services on the ...
that ran the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997. In March 1998, FirstGroup purchased the 75.5% shares in Great Western Holdings it did not already own and rebranded the franchises
First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
and
First North Western First North Western was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the North West Regional Railways franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. History In the lead up to the privatisation of British Rail, the Nort ...
. In September 1998, FirstGroup made its first overseas foray when
New World First Bus New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...
commenced operating bus services in Hong Kong formerly operated by
China Motor Bus The China Motor Bus Company, Limited (), often abbreviated as CMB, is a property developer in Hong Kong. Before its franchise lapsed in 1998, it was the first motor bus operator in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-de ...
. FirstGroup had a 26% shareholding in the joint venture. In May 2000 FirstGroup sold its shares to joint venture partner
New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD), is a Hong Kong-based company focused on property developer in Hong Kong, property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The ...
. In September 1999, FirstGroup purchased
Ryder Ryder System, Inc., commonly known as Ryder, is an American transportation and logistics company. It is especially known for its fleet of commercial rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management, and transp ...
Public Transport Services, a provider of school bus and contracted public bus transportation in the United States. In May 2000, FirstGroup began operating the London Tramlink concession under contract to Transport for London. In August 2003, FirstGroup purchased
GB Railways GB Railways was the parent company of a number of train operating companies, running the Anglia Railways franchise from January 1997 and launching Hull Trains and GB Railfreight. GB Railways was also involved in the management of the Estonian rai ...
which owned
Anglia Railways Anglia Railways was a train operating company in England, owned by GB Railways and later FirstGroup, that operated the Anglia franchise from January 1997 until March 2004. History The InterCity Anglia franchise was awarded by the Director of P ...
and
GB Railfreight GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train o ...
and held 80% of the shares in
Hull Trains Hull Trains is an open-access railway operator in England owned by the multinational transport company FirstGroup. It operates long-distance passenger services between Hull / Beverley and London King's Cross. It has a track-access agreement ...
. Having not been shortlisted for the Greater Anglia franchise, this gave FirstGroup another chance to bid. However, it was unsuccessful and the franchise was awarded to
National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
from April 2004, including the services operated by First Great Eastern. In November 2003, FirstGroup purchased a 90% shareholding in Irish coach operator
Aircoach Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of FirstGroup. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Belfast, Galway, Greystones, Bray, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus services for ...
. In February 2004, FirstGroup's joint venture with
Keolis Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services. Based ...
commenced operating the
First TransPennine Express First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major ...
rail franchise, FirstGroup having a 55% shareholding. In April 2004, FirstGroup commenced operating the
First Great Western Link First Great Western Link (FGWL) was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Thames franchise from April 2004 until March 2006. History In April 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority invited FirstGroup and Go-Ahe ...
franchise and in October 2004 the
First ScotRail First ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup which operated the ScotRail franchise from October 2004 until March 2015. Prior to October 2004, trains were run by ScotRail (National Express). First ScotRail was s ...
franchise. In December 2004, the remainder of
First North Western First North Western was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the North West Regional Railways franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. History In the lead up to the privatisation of British Rail, the Nort ...
passed to
Northern Rail Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated th ...
, some services having already been transferred to
Arriva Trains Wales Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...
and FirstTranspennine Express. In April 2006, FirstGroup commenced operating the
First Capital Connect First Capital Connect (FCC) was a British train operating company, owned by FirstGroup, that operated the Thameslink and Great Northern sectors from April 2006 to September 2014 which later became the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (T ...
franchise and a renewed
First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
franchise that had been expanded to include the
Thames Trains Thames Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Go-Ahead Group, Go-Ahead that operated the Thames Trains franchise from October 1996 until March 2004. History The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the Director o ...
and
Wessex Trains Wessex Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wessex Trains franchise from October 2001 until March 2006, when the franchise was merged with the Great Western and Thames Valley f ...
franchises. In February 2007, FirstGroup agreed to buy the US-based firm
Laidlaw Laidlaw (), organized as Laidlaw International, Inc. (with corporate headquarters in Naperville, Illinois) was the largest provider of intercity bus services, contract public transit and paratransit, and contract school bus service in both t ...
, an operator of inter-city coaches and
yellow school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
es across North America, for £1.9 billion (US$3.7 billion). This also gave it a controlling stake in
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
, the largest bus operator in North America. The Greyhound name and the names of Canadian subsidiaries of
Greyhound Canada Greyhound Canada Transportation ULC began as a local British Columbia bus line in the early 1920s, expanded across most of Canada, and became a subsidiary of the US Greyhound in 1940. In 2018, Greyhound pulled out of Western Canada, preserving ...
were retained, and all other Laidlaw-owned services in the United States and Canada were rebranded under the First or Greyhound names, except for Voyageur Colonial and
Grey Goose The waterfowl genus ''Anser'' includes the grey geese and the white geese. It belongs to the true geese and swan subfamily (Anserinae). The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in th ...
in Canada. In January 2009,
DSBFirst DSBFirst was a railway company that operated rail franchises in Denmark and Sweden. It was a joint venture between Danish state railway operator DSB and British transport group FirstGroup. FirstGroup had a 25% shareholding in DSBFirst Denmar ...
, FirstGroup's joint venture with
Danish State Railways DSB, an abbreviation of ''Danske Statsbaner'' (, ''Danish State Railways''), is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goo ...
commenced operating the Oresundtrain rail franchise from
Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...
and
Nivå Nivå is a town with a population of 7,997 (1 January 2022)Kystbanen Kystbanen ("The Coast Line") is a regional railway line between Helsingør (Elsinore) and Copenhagen in Denmark. It was opened in 1897, and it is today the busiest railway line in Denmark. Kystbanen, along with an extensive network of railways in ...
line and over the
Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
to
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
,
Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...
,
Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...
,
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...
and
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
in Sweden. FirstGroup had a 25% shareholding in the Danish business and 20% in the Swedish business. By March 2011 this was 30%. In June 2009, FirstGroup made a takeover offer for fellow transport operator
National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
, which was struggling with debt at the time and was struggling to hold onto its
National Express East Coast National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...
rail franchise. This was rejected, National Express which said it did not "consider it appropriate" at the time to discuss a takeover. FirstGroup believed that there was "significant industrial and commercial logic" for a merger, but National Express wished to focus on its own initiatives.


Recent years

In June 2010, FirstGroup sold its railfreight business First GBRf to the
Eurotunnel Group Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle train service, and earns revenue o ...
for £31 million, ending the group's involvement in rail freight transport. In September 2010, former
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
managing director Tim O'Toole, already a board member since May 2009 and chief operating officer and Deputy Chief Executive since June 2010, was announced as the successor to retiring group chief executive officer Moir Lockhead with effect from 31 March 2011. In September 2011, FirstGroup's German bus operations were sold to Marwyn European Transport. In December 2011,
DSBFirst DSBFirst was a railway company that operated rail franchises in Denmark and Sweden. It was a joint venture between Danish state railway operator DSB and British transport group FirstGroup. FirstGroup had a 25% shareholding in DSBFirst Denmar ...
ceased operating the Swedish part of the operation after difficulties encountered by Danish State Railways over cross subsidies. In July 2012,
First Travel Solutions First Travel Solutions is a bus and coach operator in Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It provides managed passenger transport from single vehicle operation to hundreds of buses and coaches for sporting and cultural events. ...
provided bus and coach services for the
London 2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
as First Games Transport. This involved the provision of venue shuttle and park and ride services, services connecting the peripheral park and ride sites on the M25 with the
Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics c ...
and Ebbsfleet, and a nationwide network of express coaches to the Olympic Park and the Weymouth and Portland sailing venue. The services required around 900 vehicles in total, although some were sub-contracted. In June 2013, most of the
First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...
bus operations were sold to
Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is currently (as of 2021) ...
,
Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...
and
Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifica ...
. In April 2015 FirstGroup was unsuccessful in bidding for the ScotRail franchise, which is now run by
Abellio ScotRail Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise from 1 April 2015, taking over from predecessor First ScotRail ...
. In December 2015, FirstGroup was awarded the next
TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major c ...
franchise. The new franchise commenced on 1 April 2016 with a commitment to introduce new trains, routes and faster journey times. In October 2016, First Transit commenced operating the
A-train is a series of business simulation video games developed and published by Japanese game developer Artdink in Japan. The first game in the series was published in 1985. The first release in the United States was ''Take the A-Train II'', published ...
under contract to the
Denton County Transportation Authority The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) is the transit authority that operates in Denton County, Texas. It operates transit service in three cities within Denton County, as well as the A-train, a regional commuter rail line to Carrollto ...
, its first rail operation in the United States. In August 2017 FirstGroup's joint venture with
MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...
commenced operating the
South Western franchise South Western is a Rail franchising in Great Britain, railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from London Waterloo railway station, London Waterloo to destinations in Surrey, Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset, Berkshire, Wiltshire a ...
, FirstGroup having a 70% shareholding in South Western Railway. In May 2019, FirstGroup announced it would sell its UK bus operations. The only sales completed were parts of to the
Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...
and . In May 2020, FirstGroup announced it would retain its UK bus operations and sell its North American assets instead. In April 2021, FirstGroup agreed terms to sell the First Student and
First Transit First Transit is an American transportation company. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Transit operates over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 39 states, Puerto Rico, Panam ...
businesses to
EQT Partners EQT AB Group is a global investment organization founded in 1994. Its funds invest in private equity, infrastructure, real estate, growth equity, and venture capital in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. , EQT's assets under management a ...
. The sale completed later in 2021. In October 2021, FirstGroup announced the sale of Greyhound Lines to FlixMobility, completing its stated strategy to focus on its leading UK public transport businesses. In October 2021,
Lumo In chemistry, HOMO and LUMO are types of molecular orbitals. The acronyms stand for ''highest occupied molecular orbital'' and ''lowest unoccupied molecular orbital'', respectively. HOMO and LUMO are sometimes collectively called the ''frontie ...
commenced operating services on the
East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
. In June 2022, FirstGroup rejected a £1.2bn takeover proposal from a US private equity bidder.


Operations

FirstGroup is Britain's largest bus operator, running more than 20% of all local bus services. A fleet of nearly 9,000 buses carries some 2.9 million passengers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities. FirstGroup also runs passenger rail services in the UK. Passenger rail franchises consist of
Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
,
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
, South Western Railway and
TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major c ...
. It also runs two non-franchised open access passenger operations -
Hull Trains Hull Trains is an open-access railway operator in England owned by the multinational transport company FirstGroup. It operates long-distance passenger services between Hull / Beverley and London King's Cross. It has a track-access agreement ...
and
Lumo In chemistry, HOMO and LUMO are types of molecular orbitals. The acronyms stand for ''highest occupied molecular orbital'' and ''lowest unoccupied molecular orbital'', respectively. HOMO and LUMO are sometimes collectively called the ''frontie ...
. FirstGroup operates tram services on the London Tramlink network carrying approximately 24 million passengers a year on behalf of Transport for London. FirstGroup owns and operates the
Aircoach Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of FirstGroup. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Belfast, Galway, Greystones, Bray, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus services for ...
service in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, linking
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...
with the city centre, the south side of Dublin, Greystones and Bray as well as long-distance express services runs to
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
and
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
.


Corporate branding and liveries

FirstGroup has always had a consistent brand and uses the First brand for most of its operations. FirstBus began to apply a standard corporate typeface to its fleet names in the late 1990s, introducing the stylized ''f'' logo depicting a road. A corporate white, pink and blue livery nicknamed "
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
" was introduced to new buses, while further bus company acquisitions continued. Inherited bus fleets were initially left in their original colours with First fleet names, with the intention that the Barbie scheme would stand for a set service quality. Later older buses received a modified "Barbie 2" livery. As part of its corporate branding, First subsequently removed all local branding for its bus services, buses simply carried the 'First' brand, although each company still operated independently. In 2012, the group began to introduce a new purple, white and lilac livery to its bus fleets, which also reinstated local branding. In January 2014, the company rebranded its First Somerset & Avon operations in
Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
and
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
as
The Buses of Somerset The Buses of Somerset is the trading name used by bus operator First South West for services operated in Somerset from depots in the towns of Taunton and Bridgwater since 2014. The services were formerly managed as part of First West of England, ...
, using a two-tone green livery.
Hull Trains Hull Trains is an open-access railway operator in England owned by the multinational transport company FirstGroup. It operates long-distance passenger services between Hull / Beverley and London King's Cross. It has a track-access agreement ...
carries a predominantly blue livery, including white, pink and purple. This was also used by First Great Western until 20 September 2015, when the franchise was rebranded as Great Western Railway, with a new logo and dark green livery paying homage to the original
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
. London Tramlink operations are painted in white, green and blue as per Transport for London requirements. In Scotland,
First ScotRail First ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup which operated the ScotRail franchise from October 2004 until March 2015. Prior to October 2004, trains were run by ScotRail (National Express). First ScotRail was s ...
operated with a blue livery with white
saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...
markings on the carriage ends, as mandated by the Scottish Government's transport agency
Transport Scotland Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. Organisat ...
.


Current operating businesses

Current operating businesses include:


Bus and coach


United Kingdom


Scotland

(formerly First Grampian) *First Aberdeen Coach Hire (formerly Grampian Executive)
First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...
(formerly First Kelvin and First Greater Glasgow) *First West Lothian - Sold to
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.First Berkshire & The Thames Valley First Beeline Buses, trading as First Berkshire & The Thames Valley, is a bus operator providing services in and around Slough. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History In January 1986 Alder Valley North Limited, later renamed, The Berks B ...
(formerly First Beeline)
First Eastern Counties First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It has seven depots which are part of five operating areas spread out across East Anglia. The five operatin ...
First Essex First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...
(formerly First Eastern National, First Thamesway)
First Hampshire & Dorset First Hampshire & Dorset is a bus operator providing services in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Hampshire & Dorset was created out of various different smaller companies which were merged o ...
First South Yorkshire & Midlands First South Yorkshire & Midlands is an operating unit of FirstGroup operating in the English Midlands and South Yorkshire. The unit was formed in 2008 with the merger of the management and administration of First Potteries, First Worcester and ...
consists of: * * First Worcestershire (sometimes referred to as First Wyvern) *
First Potteries First Potteries is a bus company based in Stoke-on-Trent operating services in North Staffordshire, England. It is a part of First Midlands and a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction. As part ...
(operating in Staffordshire and South Cheshire, formerly First PMT/PMT Limited) *
First South Yorkshire First South Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing bus services within and across South Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History In 1989, South Yorkshire Transport introduced the ''Mainline'' brand on certain bus routes aro ...
(formerly First Mainline)
First South West First South West is a bus company operating services in the English counties of Somerset and Cornwall. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. First South West includes the Kernow, Truronian, Adventures by Bus and Buses of Somerset brands. Histor ...
(formerly First Devon & Cornwall) * Kernow *
Buses of Somerset The Buses of Somerset is the trading name used by bus operator First South West for services operated in Somerset from depots in the towns of Taunton and Bridgwater since 2014. The services were formerly managed as part of First West of England, ...
(formerly First Bristol & First Somerset & Avon)
First West Yorkshire First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...
consists of: *
First Bradford First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...
* First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield *
First Leeds First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Firs ...
*
First York First York operates local bus services, with a network centring around the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland. His ...
(including the York Park & Ride)


Wales

First Cymru First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup with its headquarters in Swansea. History In 1987, South Wales Transport was sold during the privatisation of the National Bus Company in a m ...


Other operations

First Northern Ireland
First Travel Solutions First Travel Solutions is a bus and coach operator in Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It provides managed passenger transport from single vehicle operation to hundreds of buses and coaches for sporting and cultural events. ...
re-branded 2016 (Formally First Rail Support) which provides emergency and planned rail replacement transport to train operating companies using First and non-First Transport through its 24-hour control room in
Simonstone, Lancashire Simonstone is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 1,154. It is about west ...


Ireland

*
Aircoach Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of FirstGroup. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Belfast, Galway, Greystones, Bray, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus services for ...


Rail


United Kingdom

*
Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
(70% shareholding) *
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(formerly
First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
) *
Hull Trains Hull Trains is an open-access railway operator in England owned by the multinational transport company FirstGroup. It operates long-distance passenger services between Hull / Beverley and London King's Cross. It has a track-access agreement ...
* London Tramlink *
Lumo In chemistry, HOMO and LUMO are types of molecular orbitals. The acronyms stand for ''highest occupied molecular orbital'' and ''lowest unoccupied molecular orbital'', respectively. HOMO and LUMO are sometimes collectively called the ''frontie ...
* South Western Railway (70% shareholding) *
TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major c ...


Former operating companies


Bus and coach


Canada

*
Greyhound Canada Greyhound Canada Transportation ULC began as a local British Columbia bus line in the early 1920s, expanded across most of Canada, and became a subsidiary of the US Greyhound in 1940. In 2018, Greyhound pulled out of Western Canada, preserving ...
(
intercity bus service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...
s) **
Grey Goose Bus Lines Grey Goose Bus Lines was a subsidiary of Greyhound Canada operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba. History 1924-1934 Brown Brothers Bus Line John (Jack) Smith started a bus service between Winnipeg and Carman. 1934-1961 Grey Goose Bus L ...
**Vancouver Island Coach Lines **
Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines, commonly called Voyageur Colonial or just Voyageur, was a Canadian intercity bus company that serves Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, primarily the cities of Montreal, Ottawa and Kingston, Toronto. It has been ...
** First Student (school, charter bus and public transit services) **
HandyDART HandyDART is an accessible transit service in British Columbia that uses vans or small buses to transport disabled or elderly passengers who cannot use the normal transit system. This service provides door-to-door service and is available in all ...
Contract to
TransLink (British Columbia) TransLink, formally the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, is the statutory authority responsible for the regional transportation network of Metro Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, including public transport, major roa ...
for accessible transit service in
Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...


Germany

*FirstGroup Rhein-Neckar sold September 2011 to Marwyn European Transport


Hong Kong

*
New World First Bus New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...
26% stake sold May 2000 to
New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD), is a Hong Kong-based company focused on property developer in Hong Kong, property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The ...


United Kingdom

*
First Chester & The Wirral First Chester & Wirral was a British bus operator operating in the Cheshire and Merseyside regions between February 1990 and January 2013. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History In February 1990, the Chester, Ellesmere Port and Rock Ferry d ...
sold to
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and has its origins in the purchase of Ribble Motor Services in 1988 from the National Bus Company ( ...
in January 2013 *
First Northampton First Northampton was a bus company in Northampton. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and part of the First Midlands division. It ceased operating on 14 September 2013.First Scotland East First South East & Central Scotland, formerly known as First Scotland East, was an operator of both local and regional bus services in Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Scottish B ...
(formerly First SMT, First Borders and First Midland Bluebird) sold to McGills in September 2022 *
First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...
from March 1997 until September 2013, most operations sold to
Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is currently (as of 2021) ...
,
Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...
and
Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifica ...
, remainder ceased upon expiry of contracts in September 2013 *
Greyhound UK Greyhound UK was a low-cost intercity scheduled coach service in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup. It was launched in September 2009 following their purchase of the long-established Greyhound service in the United States and developed in ...
coach services between September 2009 and December 2015 *First Borders (formerly
Lowland Scottish Lowland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operator in south eastern Scotland and parts of Northern England. The company was formed in 1985 and operated under the identities Lowland Scottish, Lowland and First Lowland / First SMT, until 1999 when ...
and part of the wider
First Scotland East First South East & Central Scotland, formerly known as First Scotland East, was an operator of both local and regional bus services in Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, Scottish B ...
group) sold to
West Coast Motors West Coast Motors (legally incorporated as Craig of Campbeltown Limited) is a bus, coach and ferry operator, based in Campbeltown, Scotland. The company also operates under the name ''Borders Buses'' and ''Glasgow Citybus''. History The foundi ...
, trading as
Borders Buses Borders Buses operates both local and regional bus services in the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders, Scotland, as well as Cumbria and Northumberland, England. It is a subsidiary of West Coast Motors. History T ...
, on 26 March 2017.


United States

*
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
(intercity bus services) **
BoltBus BoltBus was an intercity bus common carrier and a division of Greyhound Lines that operated from March 2008 until July 2021 in the northeast and western United States and British Columbia, Canada. As least one ticket on every bus was randomly s ...
(a discount operator competing with
Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...
) * First Student, a school transport provider *
First Transit First Transit is an American transportation company. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Transit operates over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 39 states, Puerto Rico, Panam ...
, a city and county public transport providerFirst Transit About Us
First Transit
*First Vehicle Services, which maintained vehicles for many corporations, organizations and local governments, including the other First divisions.


Rail


United Kingdom

*
First Great Eastern First Great Eastern was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997 until March 2004. Services First Great Eastern operated all stops and limited stops services on the ...
from January 1997 until April 2004, incorporated into Greater Anglia franchise subsequently operated by
National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
as
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
*
First North Western First North Western was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the North West Regional Railways franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. History In the lead up to the privatisation of British Rail, the Nort ...
from March 1997 until December 2004, operations split between
Arriva Trains Wales Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...
,
First TransPennine Express First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major ...
and
Northern Rail Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated th ...
* First GBRf from August 2003 until sold in June 2010 to
Eurotunnel Group Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle train service, and earns revenue o ...
, rebranded as GB Railfreight *
First Capital Connect First Capital Connect (FCC) was a British train operating company, owned by FirstGroup, that operated the Thameslink and Great Northern sectors from April 2006 to September 2014 which later became the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (T ...
from April 2006 until September 2014, succeeded by
Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern (Govia Thameslin ...
*
First ScotRail First ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup which operated the ScotRail franchise from October 2004 until March 2015. Prior to October 2004, trains were run by ScotRail (National Express). First ScotRail was s ...
from October 2004 until March 2015, succeeded by
Abellio ScotRail Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise from 1 April 2015, taking over from predecessor First ScotRail ...
&
Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other b ...
*
First TransPennine Express First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major ...
(55% shareholding) from February 2004 until March 2016, succeeded by
TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major c ...
with FirstGroup having 100% ownership


United States

*
A-train is a series of business simulation video games developed and published by Japanese game developer Artdink in Japan. The first game in the series was published in 1985. The first release in the United States was ''Take the A-Train II'', published ...
,
Denton County Transportation Authority The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) is the transit authority that operates in Denton County, Texas. It operates transit service in three cities within Denton County, as well as the A-train, a regional commuter rail line to Carrollto ...
commenced October 2016


Denmark and Sweden

*
DSBFirst DSBFirst was a railway company that operated rail franchises in Denmark and Sweden. It was a joint venture between Danish state railway operator DSB and British transport group FirstGroup. FirstGroup had a 25% shareholding in DSBFirst Denmar ...
was a joint rail venture with
Danish State Railways DSB, an abbreviation of ''Danske Statsbaner'' (, ''Danish State Railways''), is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goo ...
(30% shareholding) until 2013


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control Bus groups in the United Kingdom Companies based in Aberdeen Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange British companies established in 1995 Transport companies established in 1995 Transport operators of the United Kingdom 1995 establishments in Scotland