Corporate DVD
People First Video Transcript
< Back to People First video page
Female Narrator
Every minute…
every hour…
every day…
First helps people go where they want to go.
As Britain’s biggest transport operator, we move more than two billion passengers a year worldwide.
…beating rush-hour traffic
…on the newest buses
…on the newest trains
…moving freight, supporting the economy…
.. in the UK and in North America
We are a dedicated team of highly skilled and committed individuals …First people. This is our story.
Male Narrator
Quarter to midnight. One of the sleeper services run by First pulls out of Euston bound for Scotland. The investment made by First since taking this over demonstrates a real commitment to the future of the sleeper services.
Billy and his crew take pride in their work. They make the sleeper part of a greater experience.
Billy Black voice over
“There’s a goodwill towards the sleeper service. I find that very inspiring keeping that going and being in overall charge of it.”
Female Narrator
The High Speed Train depot near Paddington…
Safety is paramount to First and Colin and his team check every aspect of every train that comes into their depot each night. Everyone pulls together to deliver clean, safe trains to the public day in and day out...
Colin Jeffery voice-over
The passengers should be able to get on the train and go to work in clean safe reliable environment.
Male Narrator
A bus comes into the depot at the end of its shift. It must be ready for service the next morning.
Hugh and his crew are responsible for cleaning, washing, and maintenance.
Hugh MacKay voiceover:
We must have 187 buses ready for the road – clean and in good working order. That’s our aim every night, seven nights a week.
Female Narrator
Eddie is from the same depot and has worked on the buses for 37 years. He welcomes the huge improvements through investment and fleet renewal which have made buses better and safer for both passengers and staff. Low floor easy access vehicles, sophisticated radios, and GPS allowing vehicles to be tracked at all times, improve the travelling experience for all.
Eddie O’ Hanlon:
01:26 I have done night shift for twenty years. 01:11 You’re in the front line, sharp edge, we’re the ones who meet the public. 12.35 I enjoy driving, and meeting people.
Male Narrator
The last train of the night is pulling out of the GB Railfreight depot near Peterborough.
It contains sleepers, ballast and other vital freight needed to maintain the infrastructure of the rail network.
Andy and his team co-ordinate the movement of thousands of tons of materials each night.
They want to provide a service that ensures passenger trains can run safely and on time, keeping everybody happy.
Andy Appleton voiceover
We’re a very small part in a very, very big picture but if it wasn’t for the job we do… come Monday morning the passenger trains wouldn’t be running.
Female Narrator
The Golden Hind has left Plymouth on its way to Paddington. On board Dave Trethowan, one of First’s team of Service Quality Managers, ensures that the customers’ journey is as good as it can be, each and every time
Dave believes in being proactive and is determined to deliver a consistently high quality train service.
Dave Trethowan voiceover:
A train runs on time.. it’s clean.. tidy.. you’ve got the right type of train crew, there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a customer get off the train with a smile on their face.
Male Narrator
Rush-hour in York and the ftr beats the traffic – Jo has been piloting the ftr since its introduction, getting people to work on time and in comfort and helping earn the service a passenger satisfaction rating of 87%.
This is a new generation of public transport with GPS and traffic light priority systems. It’s been designed to get people out of their cars – reducing congestion and pollution. The launch of the first service of the ftr has been a partnership between First and City of York Council: First provides the vehicles and runs the service, and York provides the infrastructure.
Jo Boyes voiceover:
The ftr is a lovely vehicle to drive. The comfort for the passengers is better.
Female Narrator
Whether they are piloting an ftr or in charge of a bus, all of First’s drivers are professional and highly skilled, helping over a billion people every year to get where they need to be, safely and on time. To continue developing these skills First has invested in a state of the art bus simulator
Project manager Hannah has been closely involved in its development.
Hannah Self voiceover:
First are always looking into ways to improve driving standards and the simulator is just one of those methods.
Female Narrator
An environmentally friendly way to train drivers, an investment like this shows First’s commitment to promoting driving standards to help provide a comfortable and safe ride for the public.
First is also driving a cultural change in safety across the Group. The Injury Prevention Programme it is encouraging all employees to take responsibility for preventing injuries to themselves and others. This programme is supported by the First Safety Principles of safe working practices with the motto “If you cannot do it safely, don’t do it!”
Female Narrator
First’s record of investing in safe, innovative, reliable and sustainable transport continues to make bus travel attractive to more people. Punctual, reliable services offer a real alternative to the car. First is committed to delivering a high quality, safe comfortable travelling experience for customers. (words cut)
Male Narrator
And 3,000 miles away, a new day is just beginning for another, increasingly important, part of the First family.
Male Narrator
In North America First is one of the largest private sector providers of transit management and contracting, managing public transport systems on behalf of transit authorities in cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, Denver and Washington DC. Markeisha (pron: mar-keesha) drives a bus for First Transit delivering commuters safely to downtown DC
Markeisha voice-over
Passengers … always say thank you and they always say good morning and… it makes you wanna do your job even better, if its possible … but I have the same passengers every day and my bus was full, so that let’s me know that I was doing okay (laughs).
Female Narrator
First have also been entrusted with maintaining the effectiveness of America’s armed forces and supporting federal government and law enforcement agencies.
Joseph Sadler voice-over
We maintain all city vehicles, and keep them in operation and safely functional. It’s actually enjoyable to keep these guys happy and safe. […] at the same time […] it’s a great job, it’s a fantastic job.
Male Narrator
In America everyone remembers the school bus driver of their childhood. First helps create these memories for two million students who every day travel to school on our fleet of 22,000 yellow buses. Our First Student people live in and are part of the communities they serve. Glorivee has two children and has been driving the Yellow Bus for three years.
Glorivee voice-over
I like the job. I get to earn money and be at home to raise my kids. Being a bus driver is like having a big family; they see you in the Grocery and say "That's my bus driver" … They say thank you, give me pictures, valentines, lollipops - little things that show they really care about you.'
Female Narrator
In both First Student and First Transit the group’s commitment to improved safety through safer driving habits is illustrated by the adoption of the Smith System of Defensive Driving training. In both companies there has been a substantial decrease in passenger injuries– in the case of First Student an astonishing 41% in the last year
alone.
Male Narrator
As this video was being made FirstGroup was in the process of acquiring Laidlaw International . On completion First will be North America's leading surface transport provider, operating around 60,000 school buses a day and adding the iconic Greyhound coach service to our business.
Female Narrator
The Yellow School Bus has now been brought by First to the UK
In total there are more than a dozen schemes running in 9 locations across the country. It’s been proven to cut school run traffic by as much as 30%.
Tim Voice-over:
“I think the reason the American-style concept has been accepted – including the bus – is that, frankly, it works.”
Male Narrator
Late afternoon and the last bags are loaded onto the Royal Mail Train operated by First before it heads out of Willesden.
Lee Bryant will drive the train all the way up to Motherwell in Scotland, helping deliver the nation’s mail.
Lee Bryant voiceover:
As soon as you get on your train, it’s like your office. You just got to get your train there safely – and in the scheduled times.
Female Narrator
One of the most advanced train simulators in the world is housed in a new depot near Manchester. Part of a training programme or First TransPennine Express drivers, the train simulator is a perfect representation of a state of the art driver’s cab and recreates a variety of driving scenarios for training and assessing drivers. It complements the existing train simulators already in use across the Group, and, like the bus simulator supports the Injury Prevention Programme, which has resulted in a 21% reduction in workplace injuries across the group.
Male Narrator
The new Class 185 trains featured in the simulator are already in service across the Trans Pennine network, revitalising and redeveloping rail travel for our customers in the North of England.
The fleet of 51 new 100mph trains have much improved reliability – making airport connections for customer more assured . And the GPS communication based information system keeps passengers up to date throughout their journey.
Female Narrator
Shortly after eight o’clock and the high-tech Swindon Control Centre is coming to the end of its evening peak. Tim is monitoring the daily runs on First Great Western.
Tim Ball voiceover:
Without the technology we couldn’t make the decisions we make on a daily basis. We’re running trains from Paddington all the way to Penzance. It’s a huge advancement in technology in the past couple of years – and we’ve got the best of it.
Male Narrator
The flight from Barcelona arrived at Gatwick a couple of hours ago. This passenger will soon be home thanks to the convenient airport link through First Capital Connect.
Gemma Montesano
I look at it as if “How would I want to be treated if I were .... going to buy anything”, and I take that, turn it around and treat them as I would expect to be treated.
Female Narrator
It’s another night - and the Caledonian sleeper is ready to pull out of Euston once more..
Over at Paddington another sleeper service – the Night Riviera – is preparing to leave for Penzance. Linda is making final checks before the train leaves for its journey through the night.
Linda Maynard voiceover
I think that the sleeper is by far the best way to travel. You get the personal service. It’s always a friendly service on the sleeper and I think that stands out with people - they feel relaxed…they do think of it as a romantic way to travel.
Male Narrator
First people put people first.
We want to be the best public transport provider …
…by continually improving the performance…
…and safety of our services…
…and listening…
…and responding
…to the needs of our customers…
…and the communities we serve.
We want to transform the way people travel. With our experience, investment and innovation we believe we can.
Text:
While you have been watching this programme, First has carried more than 20,000 people safely to their destinations.