I always try to be careful when it comes to reporting rumours especially when peoples jobs are at risk. If I hear something interesting, and it comes from several sources I will usually try and research a bit, ask a few people who should be 'in the know' and then often wait for some sort of official announcement. I can recall how difficult it was for some staff at Citybus when the sale was announced by the council, and then Go-Ahead took over and staff knew there would be some job cuts but were waiting to see who. I work in the Finance Department at Derriford Hospital and every day you watch the news you see stories of massive job cuts in the NHS and locally we can see Plymouth is not going to escape these cuts. Its not a great feeling, but life goes on...
One rumour which has popped up again recently has been that First Devon and Cornwall has been put up for sale. I have had several people ask me if I knew anything about this recently. It must be said that this is a rumour that comes around frequently, usually just after any service cuts, or depot sales, of which there have been plenty over the years. Of course the company never has been sold, and if anything the last couple of years has seen quite a turn around of the company, in Plymouth at least. However now we see FDC cutting back its Ugobus network with a couple of its new routes being cancelled shortly.
A comment left on this site
the talk at the first depot is still that we are up for sale, everything's dwindling away where will we be in 6 months or a years time???
The other rumour was that Devon and Cornwall was being merged with the Hampshire and Dorset operations. This one does seem to be happening although I have yet to see any official announcement on the net. I hear an announcement has been made to staff.
The excellent Omnibuses blog posted on the re-organisation of management at First Potteries which effectively gets split between Manchester and Midlands. Last year Essex and Eastern Counties were also merged.
As is often the case with Omnibuses the comments are well worth a read. In the comments to the PMT / Manchester merger we see it pointed out that
First have also announced the merger of the Bristol and South Wales operations and then further down we get to these two comments:
There is a rumour that First is looking to divest all or some of it's Devon and Cornwall operation. I wonder if there is any truth in that and would they just close it down or sell it?
First Devon & Cornwall is merging with First Hampshire & Dorset - announced yesterday
It seems that this is indeed now the case and that First Devon and Cornwall will indeed soon merge with Hampshire and Dorset under the control of Marc Reddy who is currently looking after D&C from his Hampshire base anyway. (Although it was last reported to staff that he was leaving D&C and just keeping H&D). It is clear that the company is going to be run from the Hampshire side and that will mean changes for Plymouth. In terms of bus operations it will be business as usual and passengers are unlikely to notice. The people most affected will be the clerical and admin staff at Plymouth. I don't know how many people will be 'at risk' at this moment in time but I am sure they will know they are at risk and that is not a pleasant feeling. As someone who is also in an area which faces massive changes which will result in job losses I can understand how you feel right now. 
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First in Devon & Cornwall Unfortunately due to the poor weather and increased traffic the Coypool Park & Ride PR2 service in Plymouth is currently disrupted causing some delays. We thank our customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused. 
We are concerned about the very significant losses we are making on routes 46, 47 and other evening services. If we are to preserve jobs and resources we must ensure that a sustainable network of routes and timetable is able to meet the transport needs of more people in the region without running empty buses 
For 4 weeks from Monday 19th July gas works on Saltash Road will require the closure of the road at the end of Admiralty Street. Affected service 4 journeys will be diverted via Saltash Road and Royal Navy Avenue and will not be able to the serve the bus stops on Admirality Street. We apologise for any inconvenience caused due to circumstances beyond our control. 
The independent watchdog Passenger Focus asked more than 1,200 passengers in Plymouth what they thought about their bus services. 
