Bristol, Bath and the West

Firsts commitment to safety nets local charities £10,000

WORKERS at Firsts bus depot in Bath have earned £10,000 for charity by putting the safety of passengers and staff first. The team, comprising of 330 staff, were officially recognised at First Groups national safety awards, winning the ‘best depot category, and were given a £10,000 donation for the charity of their choice. Six organisations were chosen to benefit: Dorothy House Hospice Care, The Forever Friends NICU Space to Grow campaign, Julian House, The Bridge Project in Trowbridge, The Combe Down Holiday Trust and Vision for Bath. They will each receive between £1,500 and £2,000 to fund their activities.

Justin Davies, Managing Director of First Bristol, Somerset and Avon, explains: "Safety is Firsts number one priority Its a message that we as a business are constantly driving home to all of our staff, and its obviously working. The team in Bath should be immensely proud that they have won the title of ‘best depot. They are working out of a temporary bus station " whilst Bath city centre is being redeveloped - and yet they have managed to create a culture and environment that is as safe as it can be for passengers and staff. I am very proud of them.'

In addition to winning the award for best depot, First bus employee, Tony Drewitt who works as a driver and project manager in Bath also won the award for best employee. He took away a trophy and netted himself a special prize of a luxury weekend break for two. Speaking about Tonys achievements, Justin Davies added: "Tony is a credit to First, when the bus operation first moved to the temporary site in Corn Street Tony was instrumental in highlighting safety issues and ensuring that all safety procedures were adhered to. He should be proud of his achievements.'

Firsts Bath bus depot was named Best Depot because of its continual reinforcement of safety procedures. Like other First Bus Depots, it regularly runs toolbox talk sessions " where engineers are given a talk on safety related issues; it carries important safety messages on wage slips " to ensure all staff are aware of procedures; and managers regularly have Injury Prevention (IP) conversations with employees. But in addition to this, it also ensures that new drivers are supported well, guaranteeing that for the first few months they only operate smaller vehicles as this enables them to get used to the vehicles, the roads and the passengers before driving larger buses.

Representatives from all six charities benefiting from the depots award attended a presentation event in Bath on Tuesday 2 September. Speaking about the donation they had received, Sue Tucker from the Forever Friends Appeal said: "We are delighted to have received these funds from First Bus, they will be used to contribute towards our new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Royal United Hospital. The unit is desperately needed if the regions sick and premature babies are to be given the space they need to grow and develop, and with Firsts help, we are now one step closer to realising this goal.'

Phillippa Watson from Dorothy House Hospice Care added: "Its only through the generosity of the public and companys like First that we are able to provide care for people with life-threatening illnesses. Were very grateful for these funds and for Firsts support " and would like to congratulate the team at the Bath Bus Depot for their work in winning this award; as a result of their efforts well be able to help more people from the area.'

For more information about First Bristol, Somerset and Avon, or to find out more about First Group, log onto: www.firstgroup.com/ukbus.



Notes to Editors
· For more information contact: Karen Baxter, PR Manager, First Bus, South West & Wales on 0117 373 6470 or 07894 785155 or email: Karen.Baxter@firstgroup.com.
· First Bristol, Somerset & Avon carries around 55 million passengers each year on a network of more than 100 routes. It has depots in Bristol, Bath, Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil and Wells. As a company, First is committed to delivering a safe, reliable and punctual service for its customers. The company operates 750 vehicles and employs 2000 people.



· FirstGroup plc is the worlds leading transport company with revenues of over £5 billion a year. It employs over 135,000 staff throughout the UK and North America and transports more than 2.5 billion passengers a year.
· The Group is Britains largest bus operator running more than one in five of all local bus services. A fleet of nearly 9,000 buses carries 3 million passengers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities.