Latest news with #FirstBus
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
First Bus scores big win at Scottish Transport Awards 2025
The achievement, which First Bus were presented with at the Scottish Transport Awards in Glasgow, celebrates the performance of First Bus across Greater Glasgow and Aberdeen over the last year. The award was open to Scottish bus, rail, tram and ferry operators. READ NEXT: Abusive social media posts directed at MSPs tripled in past year (Image: First Bus (Picture credit: Newsquest)) First Bus was recognised for its efforts to improve customer experience, reduce journey times and improve reliability. Its investment in zero-emission buses and infrastructure was also commended as the operator continues its commitment to running a fully zero-emission fleet by 2035 with over 270 zero-emission buses in operation across Greater Glasgow and Aberdeen. The operator also collected a second award on the night for Excellence in Technology and Innovation, receiving recognition for its use of AI-driven timetables to improve reliability for customers on its services across Scotland. First Bus used the new timetables on over 60 services in the last 12 months to improve their performance, which led to several routes experiencing improvements in punctuality by over 30% as a result. READ NEXT: Tesco tease plans to improve popular superstore Duncan Cameron, First Bus Scotland managing director, said: 'I am delighted First Bus has been recognised as Scotland's Public Transport Operator of the Year. 'We have worked extremely hard to make real, tangible changes to the overall customer experience while also doing everything in our power to ensure our services across Greater Glasgow and Aberdeen are more reliable for passengers. 'The award belongs to our thousands of colleagues across the country whose tireless efforts every day ensure we continue to deliver for our customers.'
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Scottish Government ending use of WhatsApp after criticism
The Government had previously agreed to end its use of WhatsApp and other non-official messaging applications by spring next year. READ NEXT: First Bus receive huge accolade at Scottish Transport Awards 2025 The policy comes into force on Friday though some teams will continue to phase out the app by the end of the year. As part of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, it emerged ministers and top civil servants deleted WhatsApp messages which had been requested by the inquiry team. The Conservatives attacked former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in particular for deleting messages, though she said they did not relate to Government business. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, ordered a review of mobile messaging which was carried out by Emma Martins – the former Channel Islands data protection commissioner. READ NEXT: Abusive social media posts directed at MSPs tripled in past year Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the policy will apply to all Scottish Government employees, including contractors, senior civil servants, special advisers and ministers. Ms Forbes said: 'We are setting out a clear approach to ending Government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. 'The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps. 'This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins's externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. 'I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this Government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. 'We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.' Opposition MSPs have said the new policy is a 'clear admission' from the Government that the pandemic deletions were wrong. Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said: 'This is as close as we'll get to an apology from the SNP for the shameful, industrial-scale deletion of Covid WhatsApp messages which was orchestrated by John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon. 'This change in policy is all well and good but the horse has already bolted for bereaved families who were denied the answers they deserved over the decisions taken by SNP ministers during the pandemic. 'Secrecy and evasion are hardwired into this SNP Government, so the Scottish people will not be duped into thinking one overdue concession marks a change in culture.'
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Aberdeen weekend night bus services to return
Aberdeen City Council announced it has awarded First Bus a contract to provide services for five routes from the city centre on weekends from the evening of Friday, June 27, for the next three years. The reintroduction of the night bus services follows on from the successful pilot service over the 2024 festive season. All services will operate on Friday night and early Saturday morning and Saturday night and early Sunday morning only, from midnight to approximately 3.30am. READ MORE: Police Scotland urged to reject 'misogynistic' pregnancy loss guidance Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Christian Allard welcomed the news as he said it will help support businesses in the area and will give people more choice on how they will get home. He said: 'The return of the night buses will be welcomed by businesses in the city centre and are part of our Purple Flag status for city centre safety and vibrancy. 'The Aberdeen City Council move will help to support businesses by giving people another transport option for getting home.' The night bus services will be funded by bus lane enforcement revenue. The local authority said single fares will apply on the service and that people will be allowed to use both concessionary and Under 22's National Entitlement Cards on the service. (Image: Norman Adams) Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill added the service will be launched in time for the popular Tall Ship Races which is due to set sail from Saturday, July 19, to Tuesday July 22. He said: 'The night bus service over Christmas and New Year was popular. I am delighted the City Council is bringing night bus services back year-round. These services being in place in time for the Tall Ships arriving in the city is a real bonus. 'Over the Tall Ships weekend, many more people than normal are expected to be enjoying the cafes, restaurants, and pubs in the city centre. The night buses will provide safe and efficient transport for visitors to our city centre. 'I hope as many people as possible take advantage of this cost-effective and safe transport to get home.' The routes announced for the service are as follows: N1, City Centre (Alford Place) – Danestone, via Seaton; Dubford and Ashwood N17, City Centre (Union Terrace) – Inverurie, via Great Northern Road, Bucksburn & Dyce N23, City Centre (Bridge Street) – Kingswells, via Summerhill and Sheddocksley N201, City Centre (Bridge Street) – Banchory, via Mannofield; Cults; Bieldside; Milltimber; and Peterculter N18, City Centre (Bridge Street) – Cove/Charleston via Kincorth. David Adam, head of operations at First Bus Aberdeen, welcomed the new service as he said: 'We are delighted to be working with Aberdeen City Council to launch this night bus service in Aberdeen, making it easier for people to get home later in the night, while continuing to support local businesses in the city. 'It's important people have the confidence they will be able to get home safely and affordably when going to enjoy a meal, some drinks or a night out at one of the fantastic venues in the city centre. We hope the introduction of the new night bus routes will do just that.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Electric buses help boost Norwich air quality levels
A fleet of battery-powered buses is being credited with bringing air quality in a city within legal 2023, monitoring in Norwich showed a peak of 38.5 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide in a cubic metre of air. The legal limit in the UK and the EU is County Council said figures show the city level fell to 16.5 micrograms per cubic metre during eight of the past 11 Plant, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said: "After all the hard work put into bringing these buses to Norfolk, it's great to see the impact the switch to electric can have for our environment." Councillor Plant added: " These new electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions, which means a cleaner, greener environment for people to live, work and enjoy. "With the Roundtree Way depot now operating a fully electric fleet, Norfolk really is a leader in sustainable public transport in the East of England."First Bus put their hand in their pocket, they put in several million pounds - more than what the government put in - to make electric work in Norwich."That is really important to understand, it's not just the government paying for this; operators are also part of the answer." Asher Minns, executive director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, based at the University of East Anglia, said the figures were encouraging, but he would prefer to see a longer monitoring period to be certain about the reduction in emissions."There is no reason to think that the electric buses are contributing to the improvement in air quality in those city centre bits where the air quality was really poor and where the buses are frequent."Air quality improvement really did start from a pretty low base, definitely linked to diesel buses, not least because these were end-of-life buses that were being sent to Norwich, whereas now we've got state-of-the-art electric buses on quite a lot of the routes."He said Norwich, although famous for being flat, was prone to a phenomenon called thermal inversion."[This] is where air pollution can sit on top of the hill that is Norwich in winter on cold days and on hot days," he added."That isn't pollution from Norwich; we accumulate pollution from the continent and the south east, so there is a bit of geography and topography in there which isn't in the control of certainly for Norwich itself, one of the main contributors that can be influenced is to do with air quality from traffic." The battery bus fleet was purchased with a £14.7m government grant, which Norfolk County Council applied for, and £23m from FirstBus, which operates the Eastern Counties Marlow, managing director of First Bus East of England, said: "These figures are a clear sign that zero-emission transport can play a significant role in creating cleaner, healthier places for people. "We're incredibly proud to see the investment in electric buses and depot infrastructure already delivering meaningful benefits for Norwich." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Major Glasgow bus service set to be axed in huge blow to commuters
Passengers are advised to use the alternative services available STOP THE BUS Major Glasgow bus service set to be axed in huge blow to commuters Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) COMMUTERS in Glasgow have been dealt a major blow after plans to axe a major bus service was confirmed. The First Bus service will be scrapped from Sunday, July 13. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 First Bus said the difficult decision was down to "insufficient passenger demand" Credit: John Kirkby The travel firm announced it had made the "difficult decision" to scrap the 65 bus service after a 12-month period where it "consistently had insufficient passenger demand". It said that the 65 bus, which travels between Glasgow City Centre and Halfway in Cambuslang, was no longer sustainable. Passengers are advised to use the alternative services available. Chris Coleman, Head of Network at First Bus Scotland, said: 'Removing a route from service is never an easy decision, nor is it one we take lightly. 'Sadly, service 65 is no longer viable due to low passenger demand on the route. For passengers who currently use service 65, there are a number of alternative services available for them to use to get to their end destination. 'Details of these can be found on our website.' Instead, First Bus is reinvesting the funds into increasing the frequency of other services and improving timetables across Greater Glasgow. The company has invested more than £3m in bus, driver and timetable resources since April. This should improve the reliability of services. More than 30 per cent of their routes are said to be experiencing improved reliability already. Moment man swearing on bus is put in his place by fellow passenger First Bus said this will "hugely benefit" more than 63 million journeys in Glasgow annually. Elsewhere, Scots holidaymakers will now be able to travel directly to and from the UK's busiest airport as a brand new transport link launches.
