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First South West
First South West is a subsidiary of FirstGroup which operates bus services in Somerset, England. Some services cross into Devon and until 2026 it also operated from depots in Cornwall.
Until 2025 it included local brands Kernow, Buses of Somerset and Truronian but FirstGroup no longer promotes local brands.
First South West was known as 'First Devon & Cornwall' until 2015. This had been formed from two previous FirstGroup companies: Western National in Cornwall and south Devon, and Red Bus in north Devon. FirstGroup purchased independent Cornish operator Truronian in April 2008 and merged it into First Devon & Cornwall. First Somerset & Avon routes around Taunton and Bridgwater were transferred to First Devon & Cornwall in 2014 and rebranded as The Buses of Somerset.
On 6 September 2015, the Plymouth, Dartmouth and Tavistock garages were taken over by Stagecoach South West. Torpoint depot was used to store the unused members of the fleet, with it closing after this. At the same time, First Devon & Cornwall changed their name to First South West to reflect their new area of operation which was only in Cornwall and south Somerset.
In January 2020, Cornwall Council awarded the entire tendered bus network within the county to Plymouth Citybus, consisting of 73 routes. Kernow continued to operate their entire commercial network across Cornwall, including Tinner, University, Lizard and Coaster branded routes, as well as the 24, 27, 87 and 91.
From May 2021, First South West launched a number of services under the 'Adventures by Bus' brand across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. These services were operated commercially and included a number of services that were previously operated by Kernow under different circumstances.
In December 2024, FirstGroup announced that they would be moving away from the majority of locally branded identities within their operating areas as the result of a brand re-focus. This included the Kernow and Buses of Somerset brands operated by First South West, with vehicles and other assets beginning a gradual re-branding process to incorporate the new brand identity.
In November 2025, as a result of financial difficulties, competition by other operators and significant falls in passenger numbers, First South West announced that it was to withdraw from Cornwall entirely on 14 February 2026. Garages and outstations located in Camborne, Falmouth, Penzance, Summercourt and Truro, operating a total of 15 services using a fleet of 85 buses, are to be closed, with up to 275 workers at the depots and outstations being placed at risk of redundancy. First South West's FlixBus operations are unaffected by the closure, while Plymouth Citybus' Cornwall Bus operation launched a replacement network on 15 February, alongside their purchase of Truronian Coaches. The vehicles have been spread out amongst multiple First Bus subsidiaries in the country, including First West of England and First Glasgow.[citation needed]
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First South West
First South West is a subsidiary of FirstGroup which operates bus services in Somerset, England. Some services cross into Devon and until 2026 it also operated from depots in Cornwall.
Until 2025 it included local brands Kernow, Buses of Somerset and Truronian but FirstGroup no longer promotes local brands.
First South West was known as 'First Devon & Cornwall' until 2015. This had been formed from two previous FirstGroup companies: Western National in Cornwall and south Devon, and Red Bus in north Devon. FirstGroup purchased independent Cornish operator Truronian in April 2008 and merged it into First Devon & Cornwall. First Somerset & Avon routes around Taunton and Bridgwater were transferred to First Devon & Cornwall in 2014 and rebranded as The Buses of Somerset.
On 6 September 2015, the Plymouth, Dartmouth and Tavistock garages were taken over by Stagecoach South West. Torpoint depot was used to store the unused members of the fleet, with it closing after this. At the same time, First Devon & Cornwall changed their name to First South West to reflect their new area of operation which was only in Cornwall and south Somerset.
In January 2020, Cornwall Council awarded the entire tendered bus network within the county to Plymouth Citybus, consisting of 73 routes. Kernow continued to operate their entire commercial network across Cornwall, including Tinner, University, Lizard and Coaster branded routes, as well as the 24, 27, 87 and 91.
From May 2021, First South West launched a number of services under the 'Adventures by Bus' brand across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. These services were operated commercially and included a number of services that were previously operated by Kernow under different circumstances.
In December 2024, FirstGroup announced that they would be moving away from the majority of locally branded identities within their operating areas as the result of a brand re-focus. This included the Kernow and Buses of Somerset brands operated by First South West, with vehicles and other assets beginning a gradual re-branding process to incorporate the new brand identity.
In November 2025, as a result of financial difficulties, competition by other operators and significant falls in passenger numbers, First South West announced that it was to withdraw from Cornwall entirely on 14 February 2026. Garages and outstations located in Camborne, Falmouth, Penzance, Summercourt and Truro, operating a total of 15 services using a fleet of 85 buses, are to be closed, with up to 275 workers at the depots and outstations being placed at risk of redundancy. First South West's FlixBus operations are unaffected by the closure, while Plymouth Citybus' Cornwall Bus operation launched a replacement network on 15 February, alongside their purchase of Truronian Coaches. The vehicles have been spread out amongst multiple First Bus subsidiaries in the country, including First West of England and First Glasgow.[citation needed]