First Bristol

First Bristol

Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL in Bristol
Parent	FirstGroup
Founded	1875
Headquarters	Bristol
Service area	Bristol
Service type	Bus services
Depots	2
Fleet	274 (March 2013)
Website	www.firstgroup.com/westofengland

First Bristol^[1] is a bus operator providing services in Bristol. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.

History

Northern Counties Palatine bodied Leyland Olympian in Bristol in July 2006

East Lancs bodied Dennis Trident 2 in park & ride livery in Bristol in June 2011

In 1875 George White formed the Bristol Tramways Company and began a horse drawn service from Upper Mauldlin Street to Blackboy Hill. In 1887 the Bristol Tramways Company merged with the Bristol Cab Company to form the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company, later the Bristol Omnibus Company.^[2] In 1929 the White family sold out to the Great Western Railway who by 1932 had sold it to the Western National. In 1948 it was nationalized, in 1969 it became part of the National Bus Company.

In September 1983 the National Bus Company split the operation in two, with the Cheltenham and Gloucester Omnibus Company taking the services in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud and Swindon. The remainder stayed with the existing Bristol Omnibus Company divided into two business units: Citybus services for services within Bristol, Bristol Country Bus for services in Bath, Somerset and Wiltshire. In April 1985 Bristol Country Bus was rebranded Badgerline and in 1986 it assets were transferred to a separate legal entity^[1] and privatized in September 1986 in a management buyout.

In September 1987 Citybus was sold to Midland Red West which in April 1988 was purchased by Badgerline. In 1996 Badgerline was merged back into Citybus. After Badgerline merged with GRT Group and was rebranded as FirstBus, the operation was rebranded as First Bristol.

Fleet

As at March 2013 the fleet consisted of 274 buses and coaches.^[3]

Services

First Group operate the majority of services in Bristol with the rest operated by Wessex Bus.

Depots

First Bristol operate depots in Hengrove and Lawrence Hill

See also

• Buses in Bristol
• First Somerset & Avon
• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to First Bristol.

• Company website
• Flickr gallery

Bus operators in South West England Bristol CT Plus First Bristol First Somerset & Avon South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach The Buses of Somerset The Kings Ferry Wessex Bus Cornwall First Devon & Cornwall Plymouth Citybus Stagecoach South West Devon First Devon & Cornwall Plymouth Citybus Stagecoach South West Dorset First Hampshire & Dorset Yellow Buses Wilts & Dorset Gloucestershire First Somerset & Avon Stagecoach West Thamesdown Transport Wessex Bus Somerset Bakers Dolphin Bath Bus Company Bugler Coaches The Buses of Somerset Crosville Motor Services Damory Coaches First Hampshire & Dorset First Somerset & Avon Nippy Bus Quantock Motor Services South West Coaches Stagecoach South West Webberbus Wessex Bus Wiltshire Connect2Wiltshire First Somerset & Avon Stagecoach West Thamesdown Transport Wilts & Dorset National Megabus National Express