News, debate and discussion on Yorkshire's Bus Operations.
Bus operators include the likes of Arriva, First, Stagecoach, and large independents such as EYMS, Harrogate Coach Travel, Tates, TM Travel and Yorkshire Tiger.

From Saturday 31st August (today), Transdev York will no longer run the services shown below.
The services will be operated by Arriva from Monday.

24
York City Centre - Acomb

26
South Bank - York City Centre - Broadway - Fulford

27
York City Centre - Broadway - University of York

Some Transdev York Optare Solos have already begun to appear online, ready to be sold as shown here.

the buses that where to go to Bradford 69577 to 87 are stored at FSY now not sure whats happning with them

Proposed reductions to bus service subsidy


We are already committed to saving £94million over the four years ending 31 March 2015, but following recent announcements by the Government over future funding, we now need to find a further estimated £77million between 2015 and 2019.


Members of the council have agreed to start a number of public consultations on our proposals for saving this money.

Earlier this year we ran a consultation to gauge public support for reducing expenditure in particular areas. Reduced spending on concessionary fares and public transport were ranked high at that time. Whilst we are still committed to investing in public transport we have to look at reducing the amount of money we spend to support bus services in the county by £1.1million. However, no decision to withdraw bus subsidies will be taken without careful consideration of the results of this consultation exercise.


http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/busconsultation

http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/media/25641...ouncil.pdf

update on these 69577/78 are with First Greater Manchester at Queens Rd depot

hi mic, and idea what ultralows and flolines are remaining

nice to see you back on here!

(13 Dec 2013, 10:30 am)Michael Tinker wrote update on these 69577/78 are with First Greater Manchester at Queens Rd depot

not sure at moment i get west yorkshire transport news every 8 weeks so will be able to post more we will get this website better then SLF for real bus fans

one bus that was for Bradford 69587 is now in service with FSY

Bradfords 37365 out of use after engine fire earlier this year i suspect the cooling fan was broke

I will aim to keep you all up to date as best I can, and hopefully provoke some discussion across the area, as well as attracting new faces to the forum! Indeed I recently had a day out in West Yorkshire, the Metro Dayrover is great value especially the family one if there are 2 of you!

So to start the discussion off, we have the withdrawal of former Northumbria Coaches and Go North East Bluebird LMB NK53TJV at Yorkshire Tiger (the new name for Centrebus Yorkshire, now owned wholly by Arriva Yorkshire!), and also that Arriva Dart 1613 (S613KHN), withdrawn recently at Darlington, has found its way to Belle Isle depot in Yorkshire, being further stripped for parts.

First York add to versatile fleet

First York are about to take delivery of 6 brand new Optare Versa EV (electric) buses, which will be used on the new Park & Ride service to Poppleton. They are in silver base livery with lime green applied in current First livery style, and they also feature the current standard First interior with leather seats, wi-fi etc.

The 6 Optare Versa EV's are 11 metre examples and have 34 seats.

Registrations are as follows:
YD63VCM
YD63VCN
YD63VCO
YD63VCP
YD63VCT
YD63VCU
Not aware of fleet numbers being allocated yet.

Photos are available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10110677@N07/11677501703/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10110677@N07/11677018065/ (Interior Shot)

The new service is expected to start running in the spring.

(05 Jan 2014, 10:21 am)tyresmoke wrote First York add to versatile fleet

First York are about to take delivery of 6 brand new Optare Versa EV (electric) buses, which will be used on the new Park & Ride service to Poppleton. They are in silver base livery with lime green applied in current First livery style, and they also feature the current standard First interior with leather seats, wi-fi etc.

The 6 Optare Versa EV's are 11 metre examples and have 34 seats.

Registrations are as follows:
YD63VCM
YD63VCN
YD63VCO
YD63VCP
YD63VCT
YD63VCU
Not aware of fleet numbers being allocated yet.

Photos are available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10110677@N07/11677501703/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10110677@N07/11677018065/ (Interior Shot)

The new service is expected to start running in the spring.

Do you know how big the new P&R is compared to the existing ones?

Just thinking how busy the artics got (haven't used the P&R for a few years now) when they were running (if they aren't any longer).

(05 Jan 2014, 1:47 pm)andreos1 wrote Do you know how big the new P&R is compared to the existing ones?

Just thinking how busy the artics got (haven't used the P&R for a few years now) when they were running (if they aren't any longer).

It's going to be 600 spaces in Phase 1, expanding to 1250 spaces when the demand justifies it.
They're also building a new one at Askham Bar as it has outgrown the existing site!
The Citaro artics are still on there, and the current Volvo B7RLE are going through a refurbishment program at the present time.

A quick guide to York

We begin our look at the Yorkshire area with the capital of the region, York itself.

The dominant operator is First who operate the majority of the city routes with a fleet of 100, mainly Volvo, vehicles.

First’s city network comprises several high frequency routes alongside the traditional half hourly and hourly services to lesser populated parts of the suburbs. As with any city, the university plays a part in the routes and that’s where the competition is at its highest, with Transdev York having the contracted services around the University and its own high frequency route 44 linking the Uni with the city centre, operated by dedicated branded “Unibus” vehicles. This competes with First’s service 4.



First also run the high profile Park & Ride services, contracted to the council and operated in a completely separate silver based livery with a mix of Volvo B7RLE Eclipse and Mercedes Citaro articulated vehicles, these run on 5 high frequency, limited stop routes to the Park & Ride sites around the city. These are Service 2 to Clifton Moor, Service 3 to Askham Bar, Service 7 to McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, Service 8 to Grimston Bar and Service 9 to Monks Cross. Soon to be added to the Park & Ride network is a new site near Poppleton, which will be operated by a number of electric Optare Versa’s (as described above) which is due to start in the Spring.



Other large operators found in York are Arriva, who run York city services 24/26/27 with a fleet of hired Optare Solo's (soon to be replaced with new Optare Solo SR's). Also appearing from Arriva is service 415 run every half hour from Selby with branded VDL Gemini's, plus less frequent service 42. East Yorkshire also link York with Market Weighton and Hull with their “Wicstun Express” service X4 every 2 hours, plus service 45/46 towards Pocklington, running onwards to Market Weighton, Driffield and Bridlington along with express service X46 to Pocklington, Beverley and Hull. A number of other less frequent services also run including the 747 to Pocklington via Full Sutton.

Transdev York mainly run contracted services, both on behalf of the council and the university. Their high profile service is the “Unibus” 44. They also run a handful of other University shuttles (including the UB1 which is to be operated by an electric Solo soon) and they also hold the City Sightseeing franchise in York, operated by a mix of Dennis Tridents and Leyland Olympian’s!




Also operated from York is the “small” Coastliner service 844 using a variety of vehicles including Optare Versa and Volvo B7RLE/B10BLE, it links York and Leeds to give a higher frequency in between the existing Transdev Coastliner services. Coastliner serve York enroute to Malton (where their depot is right next to the bus station!), Pickering, Scarborough and Whitby, run by high specification Volvo B9TL Gemini’s, with these operating between Leeds and the coast all year round.




A number of other operators also serve York from the surrounding areas and it is also linked up by express coach operators National Express (who provide services 426/436, 530, 534 and 563) and Megabus (via the Megabusplus service to London).

Services from the north are primarily operated by Reliance Motor Services and Stephensons of Easingwold, who both run their own services into York.

Reliance operate a mixture of Volvo B6, B7 and B10 vehicles into York on services 30, 30X and 40 from Thirsk and Easingwold to York. They also operate a service 19 from York to Skelton. Stephensons operate a mix of ADL Enviro 200/300 and Scania Omnicity on their “Orange Zone” services 29, 31 and 31X from Easingwold and Helmsley. Also operated are contracted (via North Yorkshire County Council) “Blue Zone” services 180 and 181 which link York with Sheriff Hutton and Castle Howard, with onward connections to Malton.




Other less frequent (and often tendered) services link York with surrounding towns and villages, with a number of operators involved including local coach operator Eddie Brown who run a small number of contracted services with a fleet of Scania Solar’s and Optare Solo’s. These include the 142/143 to Ripon via Boroughbridge and the 412/413 to Wetherby which is shared with Harrogate Coach Travel (also known as Connexionsbuses). HCT also operate York council funded service 21 to Colton. They operate across a wide area of both North and West Yorkshire and can be found pretty much anywhere! They operate a mixed fleet of Scania Omnicity and Wright Axcess and a number of Optare Solo’s. Utopia Coaches operate NYCC funded service 37 to Tadcaster twice a day and service 422 to South Milford every 2 hours, primarily operated with Optare Solo’s.

Excellent work Scott, will you be covering Leeds too, as that's another place I'd like to visit this year.

(09 Jan 2014, 8:14 pm)Tom wrote Excellent work Scott, will you be covering Leeds too, as that's another place I'd like to visit this year.

I can try one lol - only problem with it is the formatting on a forum, wish I could put the pictures in differently. Maybe something to look at for the future.

Leeds is a great place to visit for photography as most of the city services serve the centre, the bus station isn't ideal for photos mind, though you can get most stuff at the exit through the majority of the day. The coach station on the back of it however is superb, with a diverse mix of operators, albeit all in National Express livery!
Megabus now leave from the bus station too.

(09 Jan 2014, 8:20 pm)tyresmoke wrote I can try one lol - only problem with it is the formatting on a forum, wish I could put the pictures in differently. Maybe something to look at for the future.

Leeds is a great place to visit for photography as most of the city services serve the centre, the bus station isn't ideal for photos mind, though you can get most stuff at the exit through the majority of the day. The coach station on the back of it however is superb, with a diverse mix of operators, albeit all in National Express livery!
Megabus now leave from the bus station too.

Yeah, I'll probably stay the night in Leeds as the Premier Inn's seem cheap enough, and get a good selection of photos.

And yeah, formatting on a forum isn't very good.

First Halifax now got 69578 to 87 in service some of the old B7s moving to York 66757/58 been 2

(09 Jan 2014, 8:27 pm)Tom wrote Yeah, I'll probably stay the night in Leeds as the Premier Inn's seem cheap enough, and get a good selection of photos.

And yeah, formatting on a forum isn't very good.

Yeah they are! There's a large selection of operators both in Leeds city itself and indeed around the suburbs (West Yorkshire dayrover is superb value!!) - I recently took Kuyoyo for a trip around West Yorkshire and we visited some of the less well known places, such as Wetherby and Ilkley! Got a diverse range of operators too, from First and Arriva over to the smaller players like Eddie Brown and Utopia!

(09 Jan 2014, 8:31 pm)tyresmoke wrote Yeah they are! There's a large selection of operators both in Leeds city itself and indeed around the suburbs (West Yorkshire dayrover is superb value!!) - I recently took Kuyoyo for a trip around West Yorkshire and we visited some of the less well known places, such as Wetherby and Ilkley! Got a diverse range of operators too, from First and Arriva over to the smaller players like Eddie Brown and Utopia!

That would be nice - How much is the West Yorkshire dayrover, might try it?

(09 Jan 2014, 8:43 pm)Tom wrote That would be nice - How much is the West Yorkshire dayrover, might try it?

£7.70 Train & Bus
£5.40 Bus only
£6.80 Train only

You can also get a Family Dayrover for £11.40 which can be used by 2 adults and no need to have children, making it around £5.70 each! Bargain for the area you can use them in! One of the plus points of having a PTE in charge.

(09 Jan 2014, 8:47 pm)tyresmoke wrote £7.70 Train & Bus
£5.40 Bus only
£6.80 Train only

You can also get a Family Dayrover for £11.40 which can be used by 2 adults and no need to have children, making it around £5.70 each! Bargain for the area you can use them in! One of the plus points of having a PTE in charge.

So I'm guessing a child one will be around £5 Train and Bus?

(09 Jan 2014, 8:58 pm)Tom wrote So I'm guessing a child one will be around £5 Train and Bus?

There isn't a child train & bus one, but there is a bus only one for £2.70... You'd need a Metro YP Photocard though...

(09 Jan 2014, 9:08 pm)tyresmoke wrote There isn't a child train & bus one, but there is a bus only one for £2.70... You'd need a Metro YP Photocard though...

Ah right, I don't have one of those, cheers anyway.

On the First York subject, B7TL 37045 (YJ06 XLV) and B7RLE 67754-63 (YJ05 KNV/W/X/Y/Z/VVA/B/C/D/E) are currently transferring from Halifax to York. These are to replace B7TL/ALX400 30954-65 (YJ51 RDO/CU/V/X/Z/O/DU/V/X/Y/AU/X) to Manchester ready for the Finglands takeover.

York are also due to take Wright Gemini 2 HEV 39001-5 (LK58 ECV/W/X/Y/Z) which remain with First after the sale of their London operation. They are currently back at Wrightbus in the process of being converted to single door as well as meeting DDA requirements in single door format.

http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/media/25641...ouncil.pdf

North Yorkshire County Council have agreed that cuts to bus services should go ahead as planned, to save £2.2m out of their £5.6m budget.

It will see major reductions across the whole area - although talks are ongoing with operators to try and provide as much as possible commercially, which I am sure parts of the network can be. Eddie Brown's Ripon City services for example maybe commercially viable.

I think a lot more could be done to promote the more rural services if they could all link up. Dales & District's Explorer ticket for example could be expanded into an all operator ticket valid across North Yorkshire. The operators themselves could set up (via the council, obviously) some linking ticket options like onto the 36 for example?!

In other news, TM Travel in Sheffield are about to take delivery of 3 new Optare Versa's for service 30 Sheffield-Crystal Peaks.

(24 Jan 2014, 3:32 pm)tyresmoke wrote http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/media/25641...ouncil.pdf

North Yorkshire County Council have agreed that cuts to bus services should go ahead as planned, to save £2.2m out of their £5.6m budget.

It will see major reductions across the whole area - although talks are ongoing with operators to try and provide as much as possible commercially, which I am sure parts of the network can be. Eddie Brown's Ripon City services for example maybe commercially viable.

I think a lot more could be done to promote the more rural services if they could all link up. Dales & District's Explorer ticket for example could be expanded into an all operator ticket valid across North Yorkshire. The operators themselves could set up (via the council, obviously) some linking ticket options like onto the 36 for example?!

In other news, TM Travel in Sheffield are about to take delivery of 3 new Optare Versa's for service 30 Sheffield-Crystal Peaks.

Trying not to get too political here, but if a company can run a service without subsidy once cuts take place, why cant they run it commercially prior to the cuts?
It really does my head in.

Either way, hopefully solutions can be found going forward for passengers across Yorkshire.

Found this for sale on eBay..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEYLAND-TIGER-...es_Coaches&hash=item27de80ff1e

Ex Arriva North West Marshall Capital's

7651 V651 DVU
7652 V652 DVU

Are being prepared to move to Yorkshire Tiger.

Should be nice seeing them in the local area shortly, will get pictures and maybe a ride on the pair of them.

Arriva Yorkshire have recently launched 4 new Optare Solo SR's into service in York on tendered services 24/26/27 following the loan of 4 plain white vehicles since they won the tender back in September 2013.

3050 YD63VDF
3051 YD63VDG
3052 YD63VDJ
3053 YD63VDK

They are 32 seaters, 8.9m length

Transdev York also have new electric Optare Solo YD63VDA for use on York University shuttle service UB1


TM Travel have also taken delivery of 3 new Optare Versa's for commercial service 30 between Sheffield and Crystal Peaks via Handsworth & Beighton

833 YD63VDT
834 YD63VDV
835 YD63VDX

They are 36 seaters and mark the first brand new vehicles received since Wellglade group bought TM Travel


TLC Travel have also been taking delivery of some new Optare Solo SR's for use on Todmorden local services which they've won on tender from WY Metro which started on 26th January.

90814 YD63VEA
90815 YD63VEB
90816 YD63VEF
90817 YD63VEH
90818 YD63VEK
90819 YD63VEL
Also fairly new here is older Solo YJ62FPT, numbered 90479.