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Collaborating and partnering
with stakeholders to shape the sustainable communities
of the future.
Stakeholder engagement
Transportation
plays a prominent role in public discourse and political discussions owing to
its public-facing nature. It involves extensive interactions with
government entities at local, regional and national levels. Our aims are to
promote innovation and sustainable investment in mobility, and to advocate for
transport infrastructure choices that alleviate congestion, improve customer
satisfaction and reduce travel times. We achieve these goals by actively
engaging with a diverse set of stakeholders and policymakers.
Lobbying
We recognise
our prominence as one of the largest UK transport operators and a FTSE 250
employer, and the need to uphold the highest standards of governance and
ethics. Whilst we engage in industry collaboration and open discussions
with government at all levels, we adhere rigorously to the Lobbying
(Scotland) Act 2016 regulations, and our key personnel feature in the UK
Lobbying Register.
Political donations
As company
policy, we do not make political donations, and FirstGroup’s gifts and
hospitality policy is strictly adhered to when engaging with stakeholders
at all levels.
With government
We foster
robust and enduring connections with government officials and departments,
along with positive engagements with ministers. We liaise closely with
both government and opposition policy teams, advisers, parliamentary
committee members, MPs and local councillors who have direct ties
to our businesses. Our active involvement in shaping policy
occurs through direct engagement and also via membership in sector trade
organisations within the UK. These organisations, in turn, consult with
government bodies and regulators to create a favourable policy environment for
private sector transport.
We continue to
engage in discussions to allow further routes and services across our bus and
rail operations.
With local authorities
Across the
Group, we forge close ties with our local authority partners, actively
pursuing both formal and informal collaborations. These partnerships
empower us to enhance our services by implementing measures that promote a
shift to public transport, alleviate road congestion and prioritise more
sustainable methods of transportation.
Within First
Rail our Regional Development Managers engage with local and regional governments,
businesses, user groups and other stakeholders. Their experience and commitment
to effective local and regional partnerships form the bedrock of our
approach to ensure that Rail is the cornerstone of communities. We firmly
believe that private operators’ expertise remains pivotal in delivering public
transport services.
In First Bus we
work closely with our local authority partners to grow bus use and support the
delivery of shared economic, social and environmental goals. Our aim is to
deliver great services to help promote and cement the status of the bus as a
great-value, credible everyday choice.
This focus
underpins our approach to being the partner of choice for innovative and
sustainable transport solutions. Through engagement with our partners and using
our experience and expertise, we support prosperity, growth and jobs in the
communities we serve. Annually we work to secure funding with our local
authority partners which we supplement with our own investment for further
electric buses and depots.
We have worked
in strong collaboration with a number of local transport and combined
authorities. For example, in Portsmouth, the Enhanced Partnership has delivered
strong passenger recovery at 115% of pre-Covid levels bucking the national
trends. Enhanced evening and weekend services have been delivered across eight
routes including some routes moving to 24-hour operations, and a package of
fares initiatives (including young persons) have contributed to this growth.
With our Industry
Nationally, we
actively collaborate with a diverse array of business advocacy
organisations, sustainability lobby groups and public transport campaigns
throughout the UK. Our strategic alliances serve as powerful conduits,
amplifying our influence on policy decisions.
Representatives
from across the Group sit on influential and critical forums. Our Group
Engineering Director chairs the Industry Sustainable Rail Leadership Group, and
First Rail Head of Sustainability chairs the Air Quality Working Group. We also
sit on the Rail Environment Forum and the Noise Working Group. These
forums are essential to ensure that we can collaborate with fellow stakeholders
for an industry-wide approach to challenges and opportunities.
We continue our
engagement with Rail Delivery Group, Rail Partners and the RSSB. We support
important industry wide change such as the RSSB’s Sustainable Rail Blueprint
in collaboration with other network operators. This strategy creates a
cohesive national partnership for creating sustainable Rail, a unified
plan that provides a whole-industry view as far ahead as 2050.
The Community
Rail Network is dedicated to supporting community-based groups and
partnerships that connect their community with their railway and deliver
social benefit. We represent and advocate for community
rail, providing a link between our members and national and devolved
governments, promoting understanding of their contribution and how this
can be nurtured. We also aim to raise awareness about community rail, explaining
its importance.
First Bus is a
proactive member of the Confederation of Passenger Transport. We work
collaboratively on national challenges such as the case for a long-term funding
settlement for Bus, and to address the common issue on driver
recruitment and retention. We continue to work extensively with industry
partners Transport Focus, including as major contributors to the ‘Your Bus
Journey’ survey, and with Bus Users UK.
Discover
more about how we use our influence
Avanti
West Coast
First Bus
Great
Western Railway
Hull Trains
Lumo
South Western Railway