TIDMFGP 
 
FIRSTGROUP PLC 
                     US CERTS FUNDING AWARDED TO GREYHOUND 
 
FirstGroup plc announces that its Greyhound subsidiary has been awarded an 
initial funding grant of $84.6m from the first tranche of the US Department of 
the Treasury's Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services 
('CERTS') scheme, which is part of the US Government's recent legislative 
activities. The Treasury has also advised that Greyhound will be eligible for a 
further award under the second tranche of CERTS funding, which is expected to 
be approximately a fifth of the size of the first. 
 
The CERTS scheme is intended to support a range of transportation service 
providers affected by the coronavirus pandemic and is likely to result in an 
increase to service provision across the motor coach industry in the US. 
 
Greyhound is the largest operator of scheduled intercity coaches in the US and 
has continued to provide these important services throughout the pandemic, 
maintaining the integrity of its network. In line with the terms of the CERTS 
scheme, these funds must be used in the next twelve months. The funds may only 
be utilised in the Greyhound business in the US, with 60% of the grant required 
to be spent on ongoing qualifying payroll costs. The balance may also be used 
for operating, maintenance and other costs. 
 
In addition to the second tranche of CERTS funding which the Treasury expects 
to allocate shortly, Greyhound also remains eligible to receive further funding 
from other US federal schemes such as the CARES Act (which makes funds 
available to state agencies to maintain operation of intercity rural bus 
services during the pandemic), and the American Rescue Plan (which serves to 
mitigate losses arising from the beginning of the pandemic until the award of 
CERTS funding). 
 
As previously stated, Greyhound remains non-core to the Group and the Board 
continues to pursue all exit options for the business with sale discussions 
ongoing. 
 
Contacts at FirstGroup:                  Contacts at Brunswick PR: 
Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor          Andrew Porter / Simone Selzer 
Relations                                Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 
Stuart Butchers, Group Head of 
Communications 
corporate.comms@firstgroup.com 
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354 
 
Notes 
 
Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 
6 Annex 1R: 2.2. This announcement contains inside information. The person 
responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of 
FirstGroup is David Isenegger, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. 
 
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading private sector provider of public 
transport services. With £4.3 billion in revenue and around 30,000 employees, 
our UK divisions transported nearly 700,000 passengers a day in the 52 weeks to 
27 March 2021. First Bus is the second largest regional bus operator in the UK, 
serving two-thirds of the UK's 15 largest conurbations with a fleet of c.5,000 
buses. First Rail is the UK's largest rail operator, with many years of 
experience running long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper rail services. 
We operate a fleet of c.3,750 rail vehicles on four contracted operations 
(Avanti, GWR, SWR, TPE) and two open access routes (Hull Trains and Lumo, our 
new East Coast service launching later in 2021). We also operate Greyhound, the 
only national operator of scheduled intercity coaches in the US, with a unique 
network of 2,300 destinations and an iconic brand. We create solutions that 
reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. Our businesses are 
at the heart of our communities and the essential services we provide are 
critical to delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. We are 
formally committed to operating a zero-emission First Bus fleet by 2035 and to 
cease purchasing further diesel buses after 2022; and First Rail will help 
support the UK Government's goal to remove all diesel-only trains from service 
by 2040. Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us 
@firstgroupplc on Twitter. 
 
 
 
END 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)

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