Enabling the Shift

Helping more people to use bus and rail services, leading to fewer car journeys being made.

Providing alternative modes of travel

Our focus is on encouraging a greater number of individuals to choose our bus and rail services, thereby decreasing the frequency of car travel. This shift is not only crucial for achieving the UK’s net-zero objectives but also plays an essential role in fostering social inclusion. Public transport provides equitable access to education, employment healthcare, and facilitates social mobility.

Introducing new routes

First Rail’s open access operators, Hull Trains and Lumo have seen an impressive growth in the number of journeys, with an increasing number of passengers choosing lower-carbon travel. Reports by the rail industry regulator, the ORR, shows evidence of Hull Trains’ stability and strength within the industry, with the local open-access operator now delivering more journeys than it was doing prior to the pandemic. This is hoped to continue with Hull Trains’ submission for a new route between Sheffield and London to further expand the reach of this long-distance operator. Lumo is equally hoping to encourage more passengers to use lower-carbon transport having announced their plans for extra journeys between Newcastle and London every day, enabling it to carry even more passengers between the cities each year.

First Bus continues to introduce new routes and services across its network in response to demand and feedback from local communities. New route updates can be found in our Annual Reports.

Supporting active travel

To reduce journeys made by private car, we strive to improve and simplify end-to-end passenger journeys, and to increase the integration of active travel, including cycling and walking, in our networks.

Our businesses continued to install hundreds of secure bike spaces to allow even more people to choose a sustainable way of getting to and from the station. As an example, we opened a new cycle hub at Salisbury station with 74 cycle parking spaces and an e‑bike docking station. We also work in collaboration with local councils to improve walking accessibility to create integrated journeys.

Onward travel

Across our networks our divisions work with local authorities and partners to publish onward travel plans to encourage sustainable, integrated travel. These plans include bus links, metros, rail links, ferry and airports. Further information and journey planning can be found on their respective websites.

Electric vehicle charging

We want to see modal shift across the transport industry to more sustainable forms of transport including electric vehicles.

In First Rail our fleet decarbonisation plans includes provisions to increase the availability of electric vehicle charging points across our networks for businesses, customers and communities. We have infrastructure available for use at different stations across our networks and have teamed up with commercial partners like ChargePoint Genie to make it simpler for customers to use these services.

In First Bus we are partnering with local authorities and businesses to allow commercial vehicle charging and limited consumer charging at our electrified bus depots whilst they are not in use. Partnerships include OpenReach, DPD and local public services.

First Bus EV Charging

Accessibility

We recognise that modal shift is only possible if it is accessible for all. We work with both national and local disability groups and continue to invest in making our services more accessible to encourage greater uptake of our services. To find out more about how we are making journeys more accessible visit our Accessibility webpage.

Affordability

Modal shift is only possible if it is affordable for passengers and more competitive than less sustainable alternatives. We aim to provide fair, affordable services for our passengers and provide a variety of discounts, rewards and offers to ensure passengers get value for money. To find out more about how we are making journeys more affordable visit our Affordability webpage.

Employee mobility

We want to ensure that our employees take part in a modal shift towards sustainable transport so we offer a variety of rail, bus and travel related discounts and offers to encourage more sustainable commuting and leisure journeys. These discounts are made available for all employees via an exclusive app - First Xclusives. To find out more about the sustainable travel offers and other financial wellbeing initiatives for our employees visit our Wellbeing webpage.

Across the Group we also provide access to active travel opportunities such as cycle to work schemes to encourage a healthier and more sustainable commuting option for staff.

Business travel

As a business we aim to reduce our business travel related emissions and encourage modal shift to sustainable alternatives. Being a major sustainable public transport provider our business travel policies, expenses and booking systems encourage the use of public transport, particularly on our bus and rail networks.

In certain parts of our business we are required to operate car and van fleets, where possible we procure EV or low emission vehicles to ensure our carbon impact is kept to a minimum.

Avoided emissions

To meet the UK Government’s net-zero commitments, journeys made by car or plane must reduce. A modal shift is required whereby people choose to use buses, trains or other public transport instead. Hull Trains and Lumo both conducted avoided emissions studies, in collaboration with Arup, to understand how using their services between two destinations can save carbon emissions when compared to driving or flying on the same route. The studies found that travelling with either operator can save up to 95% of emissions compared to flying or driving in different scenarios.

Hull Trains Emissions Avoidance

Lumo Emissions avoidance

Discover other ways we are enabling the shift

Avanti West Coast

First Bus

Great Western Railway

Hull Trains

Lumo

South Western Railway