Rotala completed the acquisition of First Manchester’s Bolton depot and most of its work on Sunday 11 August.
No buses have been purchased as part of the deal, but Rotala is leasing 125 vehicles from First at Bolton. All will be replaced and returned within two years as Rotala invests in more modern stock.
It has already placed 11 Wrightbus StreetDecks, a batch of Euro 6 Mercedes-Benz Citaros and various other nearly new buses into the Bolton operation, which continues Rotala’s Diamond Bus brand.
Around 500 former First staff have transferred to Rotala. First has retained operation of services via the Leigh to Ellenbrook guided busway and other tendered routes on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester. They run from a smaller depot in Bolton and not, as first expected, from the former Finglands site in Rusholme.
