Private company

First Transit

American transit company (1955–2023)

First Transit was an American transportation company. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, it operated over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 41 states, Puerto Rico, Panama, India and four Canadian provinces. In 2023 it was purchased by Transdev with the brand retired.2 It was founded in 1999.1 It is part of FirstGroup plc.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1999Founded1

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First Transit was an American transportation company. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, it operated over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 41 states, Puerto Rico, Panama, India and four Canadian provinces. In 2023 it was purchased by Transdev with the brand retired.2

Corporate structure

First Transit is part of a group headed by FirstGroup plc. 56 entities, 5 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

American Transportation Enterprises was founded in 1955. It was acquired by Ryder in 1986. First Transit was formed in 1999 when FirstGroup acquired Ryder. In 2007, First Transit acquired Cognisa, a company specializing in shuttle services. Also in 2007, FirstGroup acquired Laidlaw, and merged Laidlaw's transit operations with First Transit.

In April 2016, First Transit commenced operating a five-year contract for Hinjewadi Techzone IT Park in India. In October 2016, First Transit commenced its first rail contract operating the A-train for the Denton County Transportation Authority for a period of nine years.

In December 2016, First Transit began operating the first SAV passenger shuttle route in North America, using the EasyMile EZ10 to loop through Bishop Ranch Office Park in San Ramon, California. Since then, First Transit has gone on to operate many SAV initiatives including a Minnesota SAV Roadshow with stops at Minnesota State Capitol and 3M Global Headquarters and Milo in Arlington, Texas. Milo was the first SAV operation open to the public and shuttled passengers to Globe Life Park and AT&T Stadium.

In 2017, First Transit signed an agreement as the exclusive transit operator partner at GoMentum Station. GoMentum Station is the largest of 10 federally funded secure testing facilities for autonomous and connected vehicle technology in the U.S.

In April 2021, FirstGroup agreed terms were to sell the business to EQT AB. The sale completed later in 2021.

In October 2022, Transdev agreed terms to purchase First Transit. The transaction was completed on March 7, 2023, with all operations rebranded as Transdev and the First Transit brand retired.

From Wikipedia’s article on First Transit, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

First Transit had more than 19,000 employees and operated and maintains more than 49,000 vehicles and pieces of equipment.

From Wikipedia’s article on First Transit, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2023Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1999Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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