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| Parent | FirstGroup |
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| Founded | 1875 |
| Headquarters | Bristol |
| Service area | Bristol Bath North Somerset South Gloucestershire Weston-super-Mare Wiltshire Worcestershire |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 146 (February 2024, incl. contracts) |
| Depots | 7 |
| Fleet | 502 (June 2023) |
| Annual ridership | 70 million (2018-19)[1] |
| Managing Director | Doug Claringbold[2] |
| Website | https://www.firstbus.co.uk/bristol-bath-and-west |
First West of England[3] is a bus operator providing services inBristol,Bath,Somerset,South Gloucestershire,Worcestershire andWiltshire. It is a subsidiary ofFirstGroup.
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In 1875,George White formed theBristol Tramways Company and began a horse-drawn service from Upper Maudlin Street toBlackboy Hill. In 1887, the Bristol Tramways Company merged with the Bristol Cab Company to form the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company, later theBristol Omnibus Company.[3]
In 1929, the White family sold out to theGreat Western Railway who by 1932 had sold it to theWestern National. In 1948, the company was nationalised, and in 1969 it became part of theNational Bus Company.[4]
In September 1983, the National Bus Company split the operation in two, with theCheltenham and Gloucester Omnibus Company taking the services inCheltenham,Gloucester,Stroud andSwindon. The remainder stayed with the existing Bristol Omnibus Company, divided into two business units: Citybus for services withinBristol, and Bristol Country Bus for services inBath,Somerset andWiltshire.
Badgerline was formed in 1985 as the business name of the Bristol Country Bus and in 1986 its assets were transferred to a separate legal entity and privatised in September 1986 in amanagement buyout.[5][6]
In September 1987, City Line (formerly Citybus) was sold toMidland Red West which in April 1988 was purchased by Badgerline. After Badgerline merged withGRT Group to formFirstBus in April 1995. In 1996, Badgerline was merged back into City Line, the City Line operation was rebranded as First Bristol.[7]
Southern National was formed in 1983 as the Somerset and Dorset operations ofWestern National (then part of the National Bus Company). It was privatised in 1988,[8] acquired by FirstGroup in 1999 and rebranded as First Southern National.
In 2001, FirstGroup changed the legal structure of some of its bus operating subsidiaries. The legal entity which had been Badgerline Limited was renamed First City Line Limited and became the operator of Bristol city services (now First Bristol Limited). The legal entity which had been First Bristol Buses Limited (which had previously beenBristol Omnibus Company, incorporated in 1887) was renamed First Somerset & Avon Limited in May 2003 after merging with Somerset operations of First Southern National.[3]
In 2013, buses started to be painted into the new First Bus livery and 'West of England' branding was applied on both sides beneath the windows (on some single-decks the branding is applied above the windows towards the front of the bus). First Somerset & Avon is still printed on some tickets, while other tickets are printed with First Bristol & Avon or just First Bristol.
In February 2014, First'sBridgwater andTaunton business was transferred toFirst South West and rebranded asThe Buses of Somerset in an unprecedented break from the FirstGroup corporate style. The business instead now sports a two-tone green and cream livery with bespoke branding, website and social media profiles.[9][10]
In December 2016, all services operated by First Bristol transferred to First Somerset & Avon,[11] which was officially renamed First West of England in June 2017, meaning Bristol city services are once again operated by the same legal company as when they first started in 1875.[12][13]
In August 2018, the Weston-super-Mare based operations were rebranded as Badgerline with the yellow and green livery of theformer operator adopted.[14]
In 2022, First Worcester depot was transferred from theFirst Midlands management structure into the newly formed First Cymru & West of England structure, forming part of the West of England division respectively.[15]
First West of England operate the majority of services in Bristol and an extensive network of services in and aroundBath,Trowbridge,Wells andWeston-super-Mare as well asWorcestershire.
Services in Bristol include the four routes of themetrobus express network.[16]
As of January 2024, the First West of England fleet consisted of 561 buses and coaches.[citation needed] The fleet includes 99Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City CBGnatural gas-powered buses, which entered service in February 2020.[17]
First West of England has depots at Marlborough Street in central Bristol, and in theLawrence Hill andHengrove suburbs.[18] Other depots are atBath,Weston-super-Mare,Wells andWorcester.
Media related toFirst Somerset and Avon at Wikimedia Commons
Bus operators inSouth West England | ||
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