FirstGroup wins Olympics bus contract

The contract awarded to FirstGroup is worth about £20m

Aberdeen-based FirstGroup has won a major contract to run bus services for spectators at the London 2012 Olympics.

The company beat 77 other contenders to become preferred bidder for the contract, with a value of about £20m.

The arrangements will require co-ordinating nearly 1,000 buses and coaches linking venues directly with the rest of the country.

Organisers are billing the London Olympics as the first "public transport games".

The company has about 8,500 buses and coaches around Britain, and also runs several train franchises.

It will provide more than 600 of its own buses to shuttle spectators and between venues and park and ride locations around London.

A further 300 buses are to be contracted from other coach operators to provide express services linking towns outside London with venues in the capital, as well as Weymouth and Portland, where sailing events will take place.

The preferred bidder for a contract for transport of athletes and officials at the London Olympics is in the early stages of tendering. It will involve roughly 1,500 buses.

FirstGroup provided bus services for the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002.

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