Happy 30th Birthday to Us!

Turning 30 this June? Here’s a little birthday treat from First Bus

First Bus is celebrating a milestone birthday this year – the big 3-0 – and we’re celebrating our three decades of service with our passengers, with free single bus tickets across the UK to anyone turning 30 this June.

Whether you’re going out to dinner with your family and friends, or grabbing a takeaway for a quiet night in, there’s no wrong way to toast your 30th birthday. And if it’s this month, what better way to get there than with a free bus journey!

If you’re quick enough, your birthday ticket will drop straight into your First Bus app. They’re only available through the app, so make sure you’ve got it downloaded and ready to go.

A limited number of free tickets will be up from grabs from 13th June on a first-come, first-served basis. Want to bag one? Just fill in your details below.

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To help us celebrate, we invited a very special guest to come and celebrate with us in Aberdeen, the birthplace of First Bus. More commonly known for his love of trains, we welcomed Francis Bourgeois to our Aberdeen depot and HQ, introduced him to the exciting world of buses, and unlocked his not-so secret enthusiasm for all things bus.

Francis delved into the history of First Bus and in this video, helped us tell the story of how we’ve transformed over the last three decades, and taken our people and passengers on the journey with us.

Meet the People of First Bus

We couldn’t let 30 years pass us by without saying thanks to everyone who has worked for us, past and present. Below you’ll find just some of the inspirational stories of the people who work on the front line and behind the scenes. We’re sharing stories of growth, loyalty and unwavering community spirit – values that we are extremely proud of at First Bus.

David Adam

David joined the bus industry straight from school a staggering 47 years ago and is currently Depot Operations Manager for First Bus Aberdeen. Even after nearly 50 years of service he still wakes up every morning and wants to come to work. Things have obviously changed significantly since David started with the company, especially the technology of the buses. David is proud to be a huge part of Aberdeen being 60% green and is looking forward to the depot becoming fully green in the future. One of his proudest achievements is being involved in providing transport during the Commonwealth Games when he was based in Glasgow.
Graeme

Graeme’s story is a heartwarming tale of dedication, and love for the bus. Over Graeme’s 30-year tenure at First Bus, he has taken on a variety of roles – starting as a bus driver, going on to working in the control room, and now as a Staff Manager. He comes from a family of bus workers, which inspired Graeme to follow in their footsteps and he has earned many notable achievements since joining. He even won Employee of the Year in 2007, after his quick action and problem-solving helped prevent widespread damage from a fire at a bus depot.
Michelle

Michelle is Head of Insurance for First Bus’s entire network, after originally starting as a Finance Assistant when the company was called Yorkshire Rider in 1995. Today, she manages multiple teams including seven incident investigators and a CCTV team of nine and has been involved in important stages throughout the company’s growth. Though the demands of overseeing bus incidents can be challenging at times, Michelle has found comfort in the supportive environment at First Bus. As a vital part of the team today, her colleagues consistently recognised her ambition and pushed for her progression throughout her career.
Mohammed Farooq

Mohammed remembers the day he joined First Bus as a driver 30 years ago – it was a hot, sunny day in July. From that day onwards, he has loved being on the move, seeing different areas of the city and meeting people on the job. Over his time with First Bus, he has come to know the local, friendly faces from the community. In some cases, he’s even seen them grow up and go from school children to becoming parents themselves.
Stuart

Following a career as a mechanic in the army for nine years, Peter started in the bus industry in 1985 working for London Transport. He then joined First Bus in 1997. As a Systems Engineer, Peter was responsible for investigating and troubleshooting any issues or problems with the buses to ensure journeys ran smoothly and safely for passengers. He was also part of the team that supported the launch of the first hydrogen buses in London – one of the proudest moments of his career. Peter worked with First Bus until his retirement in March 2025. On a business trip earlier in the year to Aberdeen, the senior management team surprised him with a bus featuring a banner that read: “Saying Farewell to Peter Manning”.
mohammed Yaseen

Mohammad has driven buses since the day he joined in 1995 – shortly after being trained. Despite his first day nerves, Mohammad was quick to make great friends at the depot who supported him and helped build his confidence. Now, Mohammad has passed on his long-standing passion for buses to his four children, who have become recognised faces among his colleagues at the depot. Mohammad is well-known among passengers in the community thanks to his friendly and generous nature. Sometimes he has passengers who leave the area and still recognise him after returning years later.
Stuart

As a self-proclaimed “bus nerd”, Stuart’s passion for buses dates back to his childhood, when he wrote to South Yorkshire Transport to suggest changes to his local bus service at the age of 12. Since joining First Bus in 1995, he is now a Network Scheduler, which plays into his bus spotting interest in routes and the running of bus schedules. Outside of buses, Stuart loves Sheffield United FC, and when the club was promoted to the Premier League in 2006, he was chosen to drive one of First’s open-top buses to take the team on a lap of honour around Sheffield city centre.
Kenny

Kenny’s journey is one of dedication and passion with an impressive 58-year career in transport industry - starting as a conductor at 18 and advancing to driver at 21. He loves First Bus's commitment towards local communities. For three decades, Kenny has been with First Bus Swansea and his favourite part of work remains the daily interactions he has with passengers. Kenny takes pride in being part of a service that brings people together and hopes to see First Bus serving communities even after his retirement.

On the Bus with Francis and Zak

Check out our favourite social media influencers celebrating our birthday with us!

Francis's profile picture

Francis Bourgeois

IG

@francis_bourgeois43

Francis's profile picture

Francis Bourgeois

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@francis.bourgeois

Zak

Zak Nelson, First Bus

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@busman.zak