I don't know whether it's a change of management, a change of attitude or both!
I remember riding on open-top Bristol VRs on the Newquay-Padstow route years ago, then First just seemed to really shrink at every opportunity, allowing the Western Greyhounds etc of this world in.
It seems to take the loss of a competitor to spur First into action - after the demise of WG in Cornwall First seems to have gone from sterngth to sterngth, and it didn't take much for the Buses of Somerset to see off Webberbus.
I've been pretty critical of First vehicle and operational policy over the years (which you may find slightly rich coming from someone who doesn't use public transport

) but these cases show they can make a success of it.