Our role in the community
Bus and train services lie at the heart of the local community. Every day we interact with the community through our customers, employees and neighbours.
Our primary contribution to the communities where we operate is the delivery of our services. We constantly work to improve service quality by collaborating with local authorities on issues such as punctuality and congestion, and consult regularly with community members on route development and changes.
In North America we work with city and state authorities and school boards to ensure that our services meet the needs of the communities we serve. In particular we work with schools to help address broader community issues such as truancy and bullying.
Being inclusive
We are an important employer in many communities and actively promote opportunities for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Our UK Bus division has a national agreement with Remploy, a specialist service for people with complex barriers to employment. We supply Remploy with details of all our job vacancies, offering site visits and work trials for new recruits.
With Jobcentre Plus we help the long-term unemployed find work and have piloted pre-employment training programmes for long-term unemployed in Manchester. We are currently discussing with them an extension of this initiative to other areas.
Community partnerships
We actively support numerous community partnerships, aiming to deliver positive change in the communities we serve. In particular we have worked with many groups to try to reduce vandalism and antisocial behaviour issues that also affect our business.
- In Aberdeen our anti-vandalism bus provides an educational resource for schools.
- In several parts of the country our drivers visit schools and work with community groups to describe first-hand how it feels to be at the receiving end of antisocial behaviour.
- In Aberdeen and Glasgow, First Football tournaments in the winter months are targeted specifically at Social Inclusion Partnership areas where vandalism and crime tend to be high.
- In the south west our First Football initiative has supported 10 football league clubs.
- First Rail Support has worked with educational experts to develop internet-based resources to help teach schoolchildren about bus and rail safety and antisocial behaviour. These are available via Teaching Zone, which is used by hundreds of teachers to prepare and deliver lessons.
- In North America our school buses often provide transportation for charity events. Our Fill a Bus programmes operate in many parts of the country to collect and donate items such as toys, food or supplies to local causes.
This year we have comprehensively reviewed our community programmes. The review will inform the future development and improvement of our community programmes.
Charitable giving
We have a national partnership with Save the Children in the UK and the Children's Miracle Network in North America.
These relationships enable us to develop fundraising programmes in which our employees and the general public can participate. We have charity champions across the business who provide a focal point for charitable activity and help engage staff.
All our charitable donations are managed through our Charity and Sponsorship Committees in the UK and North America. These committees are made up of employees and help ensure available funds are distributed fairly and consistently.
For further information on our community programmes click here.