National Bus & Coach Operations
National Bus & Coach Operations
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44312684
As discussed at length on other forums, First Group has this week posted a £326 million loss this week. The major losses have been pinned on Greyhound in the USA, as well as 'toxic' rail franchises in the UK. The new interim chief exec has since announced they will be looking to sell all or part of the business.
Not much has been said of UK bus, which is apparently just about on a even keel. While big changes high up don't necessarily have a huge impact on the ground for UK bus operations, I personally feel the next 18 months or so will see big changes in the bus scene regarding First. First have been retrenching operations for 3-4 years now, with Clacton in Essex being just announced as the latest operation to close. If First Group need to raise funds, I think marginal bus operations will be the easy target to sell.
Manchester could be an interesting one to watch. First in particular have been withholding investment for a while now, with depot closures to boot. Meanwhile Rotala & Transdev have crept into the periphery of the region, with first already surrendering commercial territory to them in Bolton & Rochdale. It's still unclear if bus franchising is going to go ahead in Manchester, but if it's going to happen anywhere it'll be there. There's obvious growing discontent with private operation of public transport in the region with the ongoing Northern fiasco. Where privatising the rail franchise may prove too complicated legally, financially and politically; I can see bus franchising sped up by Andy Burnham to at least appear like he's doing something about the situation. If/when it goes ahead, First will be the big losers. As well as their bigger overheads, their brand is toxic in Manchester and I can't see the them holding public contracts as winning favour, they certainly weren't popular locally when they briefly won the WCML a few years ago.
