First Bus completes £750,000 investment in Rochdale depot
- New engineering bays and on-site vehicle testing equipment
First Bus has completed a £750,000 investment programme at its Rochdale depot.
The focus of the improvements are enhanced engineering facilities, including a new double height workshop bay for vehicle repair and maintenance.
The new building also incorporates two pits for dealing with single decker buses and an external bay with lifting gear to elevate vehicles for easier access
Special equipment and diagnostics include a brake tester enabling on-site inspection and approval and new tooling.
Aaron Taylor, Engineering Manager said: “This allows us to take a proactive approach to planned maintenance and fleet improvement. The new facilities will also enable us to introduce new preventive maintenance processes to provide the best possible service to our customers and the community.”
He added: “This significant investment provides a springboard for our people to strive to be the best and achieve performance targets for the depot.”
Two apprentices will soon be joining the engineering team as the depot expands its technicians and skills base.
First Bus operates more than 30 routes for the Bee Network in the Rochdale and Bury area together with six school services using a fleet of over 65 buses with capacity to expand the depot to 90 vehicles.
General Manager Paul Townley said: “This new depot is creating high-skilled, well paid jobs locally and regionally and as we continue to invest in the Rochdale area, First Bus is determined to help build the economy and link key communities as we support the Bee Network.”
Picture captions:
Rochdale engineering 1: Aaron Taylor (centre left) and Paul Townley flanked by mechanics Charlton Manzini and Ozzy Kuzchoka (left), Alain Eyre, Stores and Depot Assistant and Kyle Hewitt, Mechanic show of the new workshop.
Rochdale engineering 2 &3: Paul Townley (right) with Aaron Taylor show off the new workshop with (from left) Alain Eyre, Stores and Depot Assistant and Mechanics Ozzy Kuzchoka, Charlton Manzini and Kyle Hewitt.
Rochdale engineering 4&5: A Bee Network double-decker inside the new engineering workshop.
Ends
Notes to editors
Media enquiries to Richard Harrison, PR Manager, First Bus North & West Yorkshire 07973 668116 richard.m.harrison@firstbus.co.uk
About First Bus
At First Bus, we are on a mission to grow bus usage. We will get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto bus.
We are one of the UK’s largest bus operators, delivering over a million passenger journeys every day for the communities we serve.
Transforming our business for the better, we are putting our people and customers at the heart of all we do.
We are all about making journeys easier for our customers, which is why we were the first national bus operator to rollout Tap On, Tap Off payment technology across our entire UK fleet of 4500 buses. Our First Bus app has also been voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators.
First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. By March 2024, 15% of our will fleet will comprise Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs).
We are passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we are helping local businesses to progress their own decarbonisation journeys with access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions and Ensignbus.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup. Find more information on First Bus here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/