First Bus partners with Strut Safe to help passengers feel safe and supported from bus door to front door

First Bus is proud to be partnering with Strut Safe, a volunteer-operated support telephone line offering a friendly voice at the end of the phone for those travelling or walking home alone in the UK. 

As part of its partnership, First Bus North & West Yorkshire is showcasing Strut Safe’s contact number on the side of a double decker and through on-board digital screens and posters across more than 300 buses in the region including over 50 in York. The details will also feature on the First Bus app, social channels and will be shared with First Bus’s existing customer database. 

Strut Safe telephone lines are open on Friday and Saturday between the hours of 7pm and 3am, and Sundays from 7pm to 1am, offering non-judgemental support over the phone to anyone walking or travelling home.

Both First Bus and Strut Safe are committed to ensuring everyone’s safety, and with additional funding from First Bus, Strut Safe will soon be able to extend its hours to include Thursday evenings too.  

First Bus colleagues are also being made aware of how the service can help, reflecting the company’s commitment to their employees’ wellbeing and creating more ambassadors for the service.   

Dee Harrison MBE, Head of Health and Safety at First Bus, comments: “At First Bus we are passionate about making a difference for our customers. The care we have for our passengers doesn’t stop when they step off the bus, and our new partnership with Strut Safe demonstrates our commitment to our customers. By working with Strut Safe, we aim to raise awareness of this fantastic organisation as well as offer our customers the chance to feel supported on every step of their journey." 

Rho Chung, Director of Communications at Strut Safe, said: “We are so excited to be partnering with First Bus, making our service accessible to more people across the country and helping them feel safe from bus door to front door. The generous donation from First Bus means we can extend our opening hours to Thursday evenings in the near future, allowing us to provide more reassurance to passengers in need during their travels. You can contact us on 0333 335 0026.”  

Picture captions:

3224: Dee Harrison (centre) flanked by Strut Safe team members and Gareth Hind, Director of Colleague Experience and Relations, First Bus UK and Martin Sagar, HSE Business Partner for First Bus in North Yorkshire with the double decker carrying the support phone line message.

3243: Strut Safe team members with Dee Harrison and Gareth Hind, Director of Colleague Experience and Relations, First Bus UK with the double decker carrying the support phone line message.

3304: Martin Sagar, HSE Business Partner for First Bus in North Yorkshire with (right) Michelle Kelly, Director of Strategy at Strut Safe and Head of Outreach, Katie Leeming show off the digital screen that will feature in over 50 buses in York and hundreds more across the region.

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