Harrogate Bus Company

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The Harrogate Bus Company
Harrogate Bus Company.png
20190707-Transdev-1855.jpg
ParentTransdev
FoundedNovember 1906; 116 years ago (1906-11)
HeadquartersHarrogate, North Yorkshire
England
Service area
Service typeBus and coach
Depots1
Fleet70 (at October 2013)
Managing DirectorAlex Hornby
Websitewww.transdevbus.co.uk/harrogate/services

The Harrogate Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

History

In November 1906, The Harrogate Road Car Company was formed. Initially operating steam-powered buses, the company adopted conventionally-fuelled petrol buses in 1911.

In 1924, the company was absorbed into Tilling & British Automobile Traction and renamed the Harrogate & District Road Car Company. Following the company's expansion, it was further renamed West Yorkshire Road Car Company in 1927, to reflect the wider service area provided.

In 1948, along with other companies that were then part of the Tilling Group, West Yorkshire Road Car Company was nationalised.

In 1968, West Yorkshire Road Car Company became a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.

In 1987, West Yorkshire Road Car Company was sold in a management buyout to the AJS Group, owned by former East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director, Alan Stephenson. The business was split into smaller companies in December 1988, one of which became Harrogate & District Transport.

Following the deregulation of bus services in 1986, Harrogate Independent Travel was set up by a number of West Yorkshire Road Car Company drivers, in a bid to challenge their former employer. The company was subsequently purchased by AJS Group in April 1989.[1]

In August 1991, Harrogate & District Travel was included in the purchase of AJS Group by Blazefield Group, following the sale of seven of the company's eight remaining bus firms at the time – a deal valued at £2.2 million.[2]

In October 1996, the company further expanded, following the transfer of Cowie Group's operations in the cathedral city of Ripon.[3]

In April 2005, the company was awarded the contract to operate service 767, which ran between Harrogate and Leeds Bradford Airport. The contract was subsequently awarded to Dales & District in April 2010. The route is now served by the Flyer A2 service, operated by Transdev York & Country. It was introduced in September 2020, as part of a joint partnership between Leeds Bradford Airport, Transdev Blazefield and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.[4][5][6][7][8]

In January 2006, French-based operator Transdev acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles.[9][10] Locally, the company was rebranded under the name Transdev in Harrogate.

In 2011, the company became involved in a bus war with local independent operator, Connexionsbuses. It concerned bus services operating in and around the market town of Wetherby.[11][12] In the same year, a retendering exercise by North Yorkshire County Council saw all of the company's council contracted routes transferred to other operators. An exception was service X59, which operated between Harrogate and Skipton via Bolton Abbey. Initially, the service was operated commercially and at a reduced frequency,[13] prior to its eventual withdrawal in March 2013.[14]

In July 2016, the company was again rebranded, now operating as The Harrogate Bus Company.[15][16]

In partnership with DalesBus, the service between Harrogate and Skipton was reintroduced in May 2021 – the first direct service between the two towns for eight years.[17][18][a] As of April 2022, four buses per day operate on summer Saturdays.

Services and branding

Branding: past and present

The Harrogate Bus Company

Following the rebrand of the company in 2016, a two-tone red livery was introduced for local bus services in and around the spa town of Harrogate. As well as serving as a corporate livery, it is also used as a base for other route brands including: Harrogate Electrics, The 1 (Knaresborough and Harrogate) and The 7 (Leeds, Wetherby and Harrogate).

Harrogate Electrics

Local services operating in and around Harrogate are operated by a fleet of eight high-specification, fully-electric Volvo 7900 single-deck vehicles in dedicated branding. The vehicles, which were announced in February 2017,[19] were introduced into service in July 2018. The project was funded partly by Transdev (£1.7 million), with a further £2.25 million of funding granted from the Government's Low Emission Bus Scheme.[20][21]

The 1

The 1 brand encompasses a group of routes (1, 1A, 1B, 1C,1D and 1N), which operate between Harrogate and Knaresborough via Starbeck. Routes operate at a combined ten minute frequency between Harrogate and Knaresborough, with services extending at a reduced frequency to Aspin (1A), Eastfield (1B), Carmires (1C) and The Pastures (1D). Services are operated by a fleet of nine Volvo B7RLE Eclipse single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone red livery. Features include free WiFi, USB charging and audio-visual next-stop information.

The 7

The 7 service operates between Harrogate and Leeds via Wetherby. It runs at a half-hourly frequency, and is operated by a fleet of seven Volvo B7RLE Eclipse single deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone red livery. Features include free WiFi, USB charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.

36

The 36 is one of the group's flagship services, running between Leeds and Harrogate via Harewood up to every ten minutes, with three buses per hour extending to Ripon via Ripley. The service is operated by a fleet of sixteen high-specification Volvo B5TL/Wright Gemini 3 double-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone black and red livery. Features include free Wifi, USB charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.[22]

Fleet and operations

Depots

As of April 2022, the company operates from a single depot at Starbeck.

Vehicles

Body Chassis Livery Route(s) No.
Wright Eclipse 2 Volvo B7RLE 1, 7 & Standard Local Routes Across Harrogate 22
Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 Volvo B5TL 36 Riding Redifined 36 "Riding Redefined" 16
Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 Volvo B9TL Standard (2 "We heart Harrogate) Local Routes Across Harrogate 04
Volvo 7900 Electric - Harrogate Electrics Harrogate Electrics 08
Plaxton President Volvo B7TL 1 Pride of the North & 1 Standard Local Routes Across Harrogate 03
Enviro400 MMC ADL E400MMC Sky Class (Ex CityZap) X99/X98 04
OmniDekka Scania N230UD Standard, 1 Starbus Various Routes Across Harrogate 04

As of April 2022, the fleet consists of 59 buses and one spare ticket machine. The fleet consists of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Volvo, as well as eight high specification, fully-electric Volvo 7900 single-deck buses.

Notes

  1. ^ The service was reintroduced as service 59.

1N is a night bus only available on Saturdays

References

  1. ^ "AJS swallows Challenger". Commercial Motor. 20 April 1989. p. 18.
  2. ^ "AJS sells remaining bus firms". Commercial Motor. 8 August 1991. p. 16.
  3. ^ Jenkinson, Keith A. (1999). Small is Beautiful: The Story of the AJS Group and Blazefield Holdings. Bradford: Autobus Review. ISBN 0907834426.
  4. ^ Dougall, Emily (8 September 2020). "Transdev Flyer takes off to Leeds Bradford Airport". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Transdev launches Flyer buses, connecting Yorkshire with Leeds Bradford Airport". Harrogate Informer. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  6. ^ Chalmers, Graham (1 September 2020). "New Flyer buses to 'revolutionise' Harrogate passengers' travel at Leeds Bradford airport". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Transdev Flyer airport venture takes to the roads in Yorkshire". Routeone. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  8. ^ Peat, Chris (1 September 2020). "Transdev's Flyer takes off". Bus & Coach Buyer. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Transdev acquires Blazefield Group". Bus & Coach Professional. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  10. ^ Briggs, Ian (9 January 2006). "A new stop for Blazefield". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Harrogate to Wetherby bus war breaks out". BBC News. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  12. ^ "War erupts over bus service". Harrogate Advertiser. 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  13. ^ "No plans to restore X59 bus service". Craven Herald & Pioneer. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  14. ^ Tate, Lesley (7 February 2013). "Skipton to Harrogate bus service is axed". Craven Herald & Pioneer. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Harrogate Bus Company celebrates 110 years of service". Coach & Bus Week. No. 1253. 16 August 2016. p. 10.
  16. ^ "Transdev rolls out two more rebrands". Buses. No. 738. September 2016. p. 9.
  17. ^ Maguire, Brogan (29 April 2021). "Launch of new scenic bus route from Harrogate to Skipton every Saturday". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  18. ^ Tate, Lesley (20 May 2021). "Summer bus services to Harrogate and Malham get underway this weekend". Craven Herald & Pioneer. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Volvo receives order for eight electric buses to Harrogate in the UK". Volvo Bus. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Harrogate to get electric bus fleet". Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  21. ^ Harrison, Matt (29 July 2018). "Power to the people! Harrogate's Electrics are live". Transport Designed. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  22. ^ "Transdev Harrogate redefines the 36". Bus & Coach Buyer. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2020.

External links

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