First Northampton was a bus company in Northampton. It was a subsidiary of

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.First Midlands First South Yorkshire & Midlands is an operating unit of FirstGroup operating in the English Midlands and South Yorkshire. The unit was formed in 2008 with the merger of the management and administration of First Potteries, First Worcester and ...

division. It ceased operating on 14 September 2013.News of bus services changes
Northampton County CouncilLast day of Operation for First Services in Northampton
FirstGroup

History

First Northampton was originally a municipal bus company, Northampton Transport Ltd, owned and operated by

Northampton Borough Council Northampton Borough Council was the borough council and non-metropolitan district responsible for local government in the large town of Northampton in England. In 2021 the council was abolished and succeeded by West Northamptonshire Council; a un ...

. In 1993 the council sold the company to the

GRT Group :''This article describes the bus group, for the Grampian Regional Transport bus company and successors/predecessors, see First Aberdeen'' GRT Group was a bus operating company in the United Kingdom from 1989 until 1995. It was formed when Gr ...

, who in April 1995 became part of

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...

's website that route 4 would be withdrawn on 11 August. It was also later announced that the remaining services would be withdrawn on 14 September 2013.Bus firm pulls services out of Northampton
''Northampton Chronicle'' 25 July 2013

Fleet

Following the withdrawal of a number of services during June 2013, some vehicles were transferred to other

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Volvo Citybus The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...

es followed. At the time of the final services being withdrawn the fleet consisted of nine Wright Axcess-Floline bodied Scania L113CRLs. As at March 2013 the fleet consisted of 38 buses.

Services

First Northampton operated all of their services from

Greyfriars Bus Station Greyfriars bus station was a bus station which formerly served the town of Northampton, England. It was owned and managed by Northampton Borough Council. The bus station was situated in the Northampton Town Centre between Greyfriars (street) an ...

. First Northampton confirmed via their Twitter account on 29 May 2013 that they would be withdrawing services 12, 23, 28, 29 and 30, most of the services were taken over by Stagecoach, Uno and Country Lion. First Northampton's school contracts concluded in July 2013 and were not renewed. Service 4 to Obelisk Rise was withdrawn along with the Sunday operations of services 2 & 4A on 11 August. Services 2 & 4A were both withdrawn on 14 September 2013.

Depot

First Northampton operated out of the former Northampton Transport depot on St James's Road. Following the withdrawal of the final services, the depot remained in operation until 22 October 2013 to service the First Northampton operated

Luton Airport Parkway railway station Luton Airport Parkway railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving south Luton and Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It is situated in Park Town, Luton, and is down the line from London St Pancras between to the south and to ...

- Luton Airport service, when it was transferred to

First Essex First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...

depot.Office of the Traffic Commissioner Notices and Proceedings September 2013
Office of the Traffic Commissioner 4 September 2013

References

{{Northampton FirstGroup bus operators in England 1993 establishments in England 2013 disestablishments in England Former bus operators in Northamptonshire