First looks at positives from a difficult year

“2020 has been a year to remember for us all,” FirstGroup told CBW, reflecting on the strides the company made over the past 12 months, “and despite the pandemic there are moments for our industry to celebrate, recognising our agility in the face of adversity. Over the past 12 months everyone at First Bus has worked extremely hard to deliver wide-ranging projects and innovations which have allowed us to continue our customer first-approach and invest in becoming the green bus operator of choice.

“Earlier in the year, we partnered with Future Platforms to fast-track the implementation of customer-first functionalities into the First Bus app, such as enabling customers to track buses, and have visibility of bus capacity. It came at a critical time, with customers transitioning back onto buses and adapting to new ways of travelling. We were delighted to then be awarded travel App of the Year at the UK App Awards 2021 for our efforts, and it has been great to see how much the new functionality has benefitted our customers.
“We have also spent valuable time reflecting on our commitment to the future of our communities and in September we announced that we will achieve our Zero Emissions Mission to operate Net Zero fleets by 2035. We do not

plan to purchase diesel buses from December 2022 and our transition from diesel is well underway. From biomethane buses and a new gas-filling station in Bristol, Yutong E10 electric vehicles with new charging infrastructure in Leeds, to the world’s first hydrogen double-decker buses in Aberdeen, we’ve introduced a range of new buses powered by alternative fuels in 2020.”