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Transdev Blazefield

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Transdev Blazefield

Transdev Blazefield's flagship Yorkshire Coastliner service in North Yorkshire
ParentTransdev
FoundedAugust 1991; 34 years ago (1991-08)
HeadquartersHarrogate, North Yorkshire
England
Service area
Service typeBus and coach
Depots9
Managing DirectorHenri Rohard[1]
Websitewww.transdevbus.co.uk

Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operator Transdev since January 2006.[2][3]

History

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AJS Group

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In September 1987, West Yorkshire Road Car Company was sold to AJS Group in a management buy-out from the National Bus Company, with the participation of former East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director, Alan Stephenson.[4] In April 1988, AJS acquired London Country North East from the National Bus Company, the last of 72 subsidiaries to be privatised.[5][6] Prior to the sale, the company was split into two new companies, County Bus & Coach and Sovereign Bus & Coach.[a]

In August 1989, operations in Bradford and Leeds were transferred to Yorkshire Rider. The remaining operations of the former West Yorkshire Road Car Company were subsequently split into smaller companies: Keighley & District, Harrogate & District and York City & District.[7][b] In July 1990, operation of local bus services in York were also transferred to Yorkshire Rider.[8]

AJS also acquired Cambridge Coach Services, which operated coach services from Cambridge, day tours, short breaks and charters.[9]: 15  The company began operations on 20 May 1990,[9]: 20  following the sale of Premier Travel Services bus operations to Cambus Holdings.[9]: 32 

Blazefield Group

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Keighley & District Northern Counties Palatine bodied Leyland Olympian

In August 1991, AJS was sold in a management buyout to a new company, Blazefield Holdings, owned by former directors, Giles Fearnley and Stuart Wilde, in a deal valued at £2.2 million (equivalent to £5,966,000 in 2023). The sale included seven of the company's eight remaining bus firms at the time, as well as 300 vehicles and 12 depots.[10] The sale did not include Cambridge Coach services, although that company continued to be operated by Blazefield Holdings while a buyer was sought between August and November 1991.[11] Initially, there were seven operating subsidiaries: Keighley & District, Harrogate & District, Harrogate Independent Travel, Sovereign Bus & Coach, Sovereign Harrow and Welwyn Hatfield Line.

Following the sale to the Blazefield Group, expansion soon followed, with the purchase of Cambridge Coach Services along with Lucketts of Watford, trading as Luckybus, in November 1991.[12] Ingfield of Settle was purchased in April 1992, and was merged with Keighley-based Northern Rose to form Ingfield–Northern Rose.[13]

In 1986, Harrogate Independent Travel had been 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 the AJS Group in April 1989,[14] before being merged with Harrogate & District in 1993. Harrogate & District further expanded in October 1996, following the acquisition of Cowie Group subsidiary United Automobile Services' Ripon operations.[15]

In 1994, Blazefield purchased Borehamwood Travel Services, acquiring a fleet of 22 AEC Routemasters as part of the company's fleet of 43 buses. The company was later renamed London Sovereign. In the same year, Ingfield–Northern Rose purchased Whaites Coaches of Settle. By this time, the group owned around 380 vehicles.

In 1998, Huntingdon & District was created following the purchase of Premier Buses from Julian Peddle.[16][17] A year later, Cambridge Coach Services was sold to National Express-owned Airlinks in 1999.[18]

In April 2001, the Stagecoach Group sold their Stagecoach North West operations in Blackburn, Bolton and Clitheroe to the Blazefield Group for £13 million (equivalent to £27,157,000 in 2023), which rebranded them as Burnley & Pendle and Lancashire United.[19] In August 2002, the depot in Bolton was sold to Blue Bus and Coach Services.[20]

Over the next three years, Blazefield gradually withdrew from its operations in the south of England.[21] In 2002, London Sovereign was sold to Transdev S.A., with Huntingdon & District sold to Cavalier Travel of Sutton Bridge the following year. In 2004, operations in St Albans were sold to Centrebus.[21] In early 2005, the Competition Commission cleared Blazefield's deal to sell what was left of London Sovereign to Arriva Shires & Essex.[22]

Transdev

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The Harrogate Bus Company's 36, another of Transdev Blazefield's flagship services

In January 2006, French-based operator Transdev acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles.[2][3]

In August 2006, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council announced that after 125 years of municipal ownership, Blackburn Transport had been sold to Transdev Blazefield. The sale was finalised in January 2007.[23][24] Eight months later, Accrington Transport and Northern Blue were acquired, along with the transfer of staff and 65 vehicles.[25][26]

In August 2008, Top Line Travel and Veolia Transport were purchased, giving the company a further foothold in the York area.[27] The company further expanded in February 2012 following the purchase of York Pullman's local bus operations, including the transfer of 31 staff and 17 vehicles.[28][29]

Following the granting of approval on 20 December 2017, Rossendale Transport Limited was sold by Rossendale Borough Council on 12 January 2018.[30][31][32] The sale saw the company's 240 staff and 102 vehicles join Transdev Blazefield, a move which saw the investment of £3 million in a new fleet of high-specification vehicles for routes in and around Bury, Rochdale and Rossendale.[33][34][35]

In August 2020, Transdev took over operation of Leeds Bradford Airport's bus route network from previous operator Yorkshire Tiger, branding the network as Flyer, alongside acquiring their depot in Idle.[36] In April 2021, Transdev agreed terms with Arriva to purchase the remainder of the Yorkshire Tiger operation in West Yorkshire. The sale was completed in July 2021, following which the operation was rebranded Team Pennine, with a two-tone pink livery introduced.[37][38][39]

In December 2024, Transdev announced the purchase of long-established bus operator Reliance Motor Services. The sale included seven routes and eleven vehicles.[40]

Fleet and operations

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As of October 2024, Transdev Blazefield has eight operating subsidiaries:

The company also operates key routes such as:

The company operates a total of 515 vehicles from ten depots across Yorkshire and the North West of England.

Notes

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  1. ^ County Bus & Coach was not included in the later sale to Blazefield Group.
  2. ^ Local bus operations within York later became part of First York.

References

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  1. ^ "Our new electric buses" (Press release). Transdev Blazefield. 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Transdev acquires Blazefield Group". Bus & Coach Professional. No. 120. Telford: Plum Publishing. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b Briggs, Ian (9 January 2006). "A new stop for Blazefield". The Yorkshire Post. Leeds. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  4. ^ "West Yorks goes private". Commercial Motor. Vol. 166, no. 4237. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. 3 September 1987. p. 24. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  5. ^ "NBC sale is completed with London Country NE". Commercial Motor. Vol. 168, no. 4266. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. 7 April 1988. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  6. ^ Morris, Stephen (September 1996). "NBC since NBC: a history of the former NBC subsidiaries". Buses Focus. Hershsam: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 46.
  7. ^ "WYRC in takeover deal". Commercial Motor. Vol. 170, no. 4329. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. 27 July 1989. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Rider takes control". Commercial Motor. Vol. 172, no. 4379. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. 26 July 1990. p. 19. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  9. ^ a b c Neale, Jim (2013). Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat. Burwell: Burbus Publications. ISBN 978-0-9575996-0-4.
  10. ^ "Former AJS directors snap up bus group". Coachmart. No. 652. Peterborough: Emap. 15 August 1991. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  11. ^ "AJS sells remaining bus firms". Commercial Motor. Vol. 174, no. 4432. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. 8 August 1991. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Blazefield acquires two more companies". Buses. No. 442. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. January 1992. p. 7. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Ingfield sold to Fearnley". Coach & Bus Week. No. 9. Peterborough: Emap. 16 April 1992. p. 6. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  14. ^ "AJS swallows Challenger". Commercial Motor. Vol. 170, no. 4315. Sutton: Reed Business Publishing. 20 April 1989. p. 18. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  15. ^ Jenkinson, Keith A. (1999). Small is Beautiful: The Story of the AJS Group and Blazefield Holdings. Bradford: Autobus Review. ISBN 0907834426.
  16. ^ "Premier Buses sold to Blazefield". Buses. No. 516. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. March 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  17. ^ Robinson, John (March 1998). "Huntingdon & District". Buses. No. 521. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  18. ^ Millar, Alan (December 2000). "Whatever happened to...? ...Cambridge Coach Services". Buses. No. 549. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 14. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  19. ^ Barrow, David (2 August 2001). "Trail-blazing in the North West". Coach & Bus Week. No. 485. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 26–27. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  20. ^ "Blue Bus set to take over United routes". The Bolton News. 26 June 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Blazefield sells up in the South". Bus & Coach Professional. Telford: Partnership Publishing. 9 July 2004. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  22. ^ "Clearance for Sovereign takeover". Bus & Coach Professional. No. 94. Telford: Plum Publishing. 10 December 2004. p. 5. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  23. ^ "Chester for sale and Blackburn for Blazefield". Bus & Coach Professional. No. 136. Telford: Plum Publishing. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  24. ^ Bartlett, David (16 August 2006). "Burnley buys up Blackburn buses". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  25. ^ Watkinson, David (6 August 2007). "Bus firms in takeover". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  26. ^ "Blazefield buys again in Lancashire". Bus & Coach Professional. No. 161. Telford: Plum Publishing. 9 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  27. ^ "Blazefield expands with York deal". Bus & Coach Professional. Telford: Plum Publishing. 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  28. ^ Liptrot, Katie (4 February 2012). "York bus firm sells vehicles to rival". The Press. York. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Transdev buys York Pullman's bus ops". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  30. ^ Green, Charlotte (15 December 2017). "Council-owned Rosso bus to be sold to private operator". Rossendale Free Press. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  31. ^ Marshall, Brad (15 December 2017). "Proposed takeover of Bury bus services announced". Bury Times. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  32. ^ Dougall, Emily (3 January 2018). "Rosso sale to Transdev confirmed". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  33. ^ "£3 million investment promised in Rossendale for bus users as Rossendale Borough Council approves the sale of Rosso to Transdev". Rosso (Press release). 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  34. ^ Athey, Neil (17 January 2018). "£3 million of investment ready to 'make East Lancs buses better'". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  35. ^ Dougall, Emily (6 November 2018). "Transdev invests £3m in 20 new Versas for Rosso". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Transdev Flyer takes off to Leeds Bradford Airport". Coach & Bus Week. No. 1439. Peterborough. 8 September 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  37. ^ Shand, Alistair (20 July 2021). "Summer deal expected as bus operator Transdev buys Yorkshire Tiger". Keighley News. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  38. ^ Deakin, Tim (26 July 2021). "Team Pennine plans outlined by Transdev as brand launches". routeone. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  39. ^ Jackson, Peter (27 July 2021). "Team Pennine takes to the road". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  40. ^ "Transdev buys Reliance routes and vehicles". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
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  • Media related to Transdev Group buses in the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons
  • Transdev Blazefield Limited on Companies House
  • Transdev Blazefield website
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