FirstGroup

FirstGroup

FirstGroup was founded in 1995 and is now the worlds leading Transport Company operating primarily in the UK and North America.  It has its headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland and employs approximately 135,000 worldwide.
FirstGroup has 3 main divisions:

• FirstGroup UK bus transportation
• FirstGroup Rail services
• North America Transportation

FirstGroup in the UK

FirstGroup is the UK's largest bus operator. The company operates in mainly urban areas in over 40 towns and cities across the UK and has a fleet of over 9,000 buses carrying 2.9 million passengers every day.

FirstGroup has spent the last three years investing in new buses and converting buses to run on ultra low sulphur diesel fuel to reduce emission levels. A big part of the £220 million investment in the new busies has been on low floor buses that provide easier access for wheel chair users, the elderly and parents with pushchairs. The investment has also gone into articulated buses, double deck buses and guided buses to ensure that transportation on them is comfortable.

Technology has been another area that has seen a vast improvement for bus passengers. Real Time Passenger information schemes have been set up so that passengers can see when the next bus will be arriving. Using satellite technology, more and more buses have been fitted with GPS tracker units to communicate with land based computers so that the information can be sent to displays at bus stops.

First Rail Services

UK rail operations by First have also increased to see them become the UK's largest rail operator. They are the only operator to run every type of over ground rail service in the UK including high speed inter-city trains, overnight sleepers, local branch lines, regional and commuter services, open access, light rail and freight operations. Some of their rail operation includes First Great Western, First Capital Connect, First Scotrail and First Trans Pennine Express.

FirstGroup in North America

FirstGroup have four main operations in North America:

• First Student - they are the largest provider of student transportation with a fleet of 62,000 yellow school buses.
  
  
• First Transit - they provide transit management and contracting. First manages the public transport system on behalf of city authorities. They also provide airport shuttle bus services so major airports in the US.
  
  
• First Services - First also provides vehicle maintenance and ancillary support services for both private and public sector customers, including the federal government, cities and fire and police departments.
  
  
• Greyhound - The only national provider of inter city bus transportation services in the US and Canada