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First Chester & The Wirral is a division of bus operator First PMT Ltd, running local bus services in and around Chester and the Wirral, north west England. The company is a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc, the largest bus operator in Britain.
The operation consists of the Chester and Rock Ferry depots of the former Crosville Motor Services, which were purchased (along with the Ellesmere Port depot) by Potteries Motor Traction in February 1990. This explains their geographical separation from the traditional PMT operating area, centred on Stoke-on-Trent, which makes up the remainder of First PMT, and is now known as First Staffordshire & South Cheshire. (This split used for marketing purposes does not match that required for licensing purposes, which places the South Cheshire operating centres in the North Western Traffic Area alongside Chester and the Wirral.)
The fleet
The most common type of bus in the fleet is the Scania low floor single decker (a mixture of L94 and L113 types) with Wright bodywork. A total of thirty-eight are operated as of January 2007. The nine newest examples, with Wright Solar bodywork, are normally used on the 1 service between Chester and Liverpool via Ellesmere Port, Birkenhead and the Birkenhead (Queensway) Mersey Tunnel. The other twenty-nine carry Wright Axcess-Ultralow bodywork (on the L113 chassis) or Axcess-Floline (on the L94 chassis). Those based at Rock Ferry depot are generally used on the 41 and 42 (Woodchurch to Mill Park via Birkenhead), 71 and 72 (Heswall to Liverpool via Birkenhead) services.
As of January 2007, the fleet also includes:
- five Dennis Dart SLF with Plaxton Pointer 2 bodywork, which are mostly used on the 41/42, and one similar but smaller Dennis Dart MPD, used on some Merseytravel subsidised services (and sometimes on commercial services)
- eleven step-entrance Dennis Darts, some with Marshall and some with Plaxton bodywork, of which the Rock Ferry-based examples most often work the 38 (West Kirby to Poulton Lancelyn)
- thirteen Volvo Olympians, mainly used on the 38, 71 and 72
- seven Scania N113 double deckers, mainly used on school contracts and as spare vehicles
- five DAF/Optare Deltas, used on 38 and occasionally 41/42 services
- three Optare Solos, of which two are in a special livery for the free Chester City Rail Link service which they operate
- eight Mercedes-Benz Varios used on services around Chester
- five Leyland Olympians
External Links
- First Chester and The Wirral
- Bus operator details for First PMT Ltd in North Western Traffic Area
- Enthusiast website about Wirral bus operators
See also
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