First Bus in Manchester has made more key appointments as it prepares to take on responsibility for Bee Network services in Rochdale.
Mike McGowan has been promoted to Operations Manager. He initially joined First Bus 20 years ago and returned to the company in 2009, since then working his way up to staff manager at Oldham depot.
“This is an amazing time for me to be part of a new future with First Manchester. To be involved from the start in getting the depot ready for the latest phase in the Bee Network is a great challenge and we’ll be ready to deliver for customers,” said Mike.
Iain Malone has been named Engineering Manager for the depot, after following an Army career with work in the waste and recycling industry.
“We’re focused on delivering a public service to the community and encouraging more people to use the bus,” he says. “The new engineering facilities planned at the depot will create an excellent environment for the team to support this.”
Kevin Mullin has been appointed as First Bus’s first Social Value Manger. He formerly worked as Corporate Social Responsibility Manager with Kier Construction.
He says: “This is a really exciting opportunity to help educate colleagues and raise awareness of the important role they play in creating social impact in our communities. People might not know what social value means but when its explained many realise that it’s something they have been involved with.
“This is part of the induction with new drivers too and there is a lot of interest in understanding how they can contribute to our support for the community.”
The appointments follow that of Paul Townley to General Manager for Rochdale in November 2023. First Bus will operate franchised services for Transport for Greater Manchester from March onwards.
