In pink and purple

17/12/2024 Ashleigh Sinclair Features, Gallery

At the opposite end of the country, the double-deck version of the original standard First livery is illustrated by 481 FPO, an Alexander Royale-bodied Olympian. RAY WARD

In the wake of its recent rebrand, Jonathan Welch takes a look through the archives at First’s previous corporate identities

Formed from the merger of Aberdeen’s GRT Group, the former Grampian Regional Transport, and the Badgerline Group, which operated around Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare, First Bus, in its various incarnations, has been around on the UK’s streets (and further afield) since the mid-1990s.

GRT had already shown its hand with desires to expand as early as 1990, when it acquired Midland Scottish, as had Badgerline, which took over a number of local operators. 1995 was the year that the newly merged groups formed what was then FirstBus plc, the group rapidly acquiring GM Buses North and Strathclyde Buses in 1996, and expanding into London with CentreWest in 1997.

To reflect its broadening public transport interests, the plc became FirstGroup in 1997, expanding into the North American yellow school bus market in 1999.

Back at home, though, the merger saw the end of the local and regional names, and the introduction of a new corporate identity, and one which eschewed traditional bus (and local or regional) colours in favour of a bold new scheme featuring pink and purple on a pale grey base.

Over the years, a number of variations were seen, along with different forms of local and route branding in various forms, including the simple yet effective ‘Overground’/’Metro’ concepts used in a number of cities which featured route colours for each key high-frequency route. Having gone through a period of ‘corporate identity’ followed by a relaxation and resurgence of local names and brands, before returning to a single, unified purple and grey national look, we take a brief look at the development of First’s corporate colours of the past three decades.