Transdev York & Country (also known as Yorkshire Coastliner) operates both local and regional bus services in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

and

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

History

The company was established in 1990, when the

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

-based services of AJS Group were sold to

Yorkshire Rider Yorkshire Rider was a bus company in West Yorkshire, England. History To comply with the Transport Act 1985, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive transferred its bus operations to an arms length company named Yorkshire Rider on 26 ...

. At the time, AJS Group retained the regional services between

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

and

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...

, Filey, Scarborough and

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cl ...

via York and Malton. In August 1991, Yorkshire Coastliner 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. In January 2006, French-based operator

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of ...

acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles. In August 2008, Top Line Travel and

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

were purchased. The company further expanded in February 2012, following the purchase of

York Pullman York Pullman is a bus operating company based in Rufforth, England. The first company to use the Pullman name was founded in 1926 by Norman Pearce and Hartas Foxton. The Yorkshire Pullman remained in use until the company was deregistered in 200 ...

's local bus operations. The sale included the transfer of 31 staff and 17 vehicles. In 2018, following the award of contracts by North Yorkshire County Council to replace those formerly operated by Stephensons of Easingwold, local services in and around York were rebranded York & Country, with vehicles subsequently rebranded in a two-tone blue livery.

Services and branding

CityZap

The CityZap brand was introduced on 27 March 2016, with services running direct between York and Leeds via the A64. As of April 2022, the service operated daily, with an hourly frequency during the day. There was no early morning or evening service. A second service, operated by Burnley Bus Company was launched in November 2017, running direct between Leeds and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. The service was subsequently withdrawn in July 2018, owing to low passenger numbers. In December 2020, four double-deck Alexander Dennis Enviro400MMC vehicles were introduced on services between York and Leeds – an investment of £1.4 million. Vehicles include free WiFi, USB and wireless charging, tables and audio-visual next stop announcements. The CityZap service ceased operations on 19 November 2022, with Transdev Blazefield claiming the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

had made running the express service unsustainable.

Coastliner

The Coastliner brand encompasses a group of regional services linking the cities of

and

with the towns and villages of Malton, Pickering and

Thornton-le-Dale Thornton-le-Dale (also called Thornton Dale) is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about east of Pickering on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The area of the village encompasses 39. ...

and coastal resorts of Scarborough and

. Services are operated by a fleet of Volvo B5TL/ Wright Gemini 3 double-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone blue livery. Vehicles include free WiFi, USB and wireless charging and audio-visual next stop announcements. In May 2018, the route of the 840 service, which runs between Leeds and Whitby, was voted as the "most scenic bus route in Britain" in an online poll.

Flyer

In September 2020, in partnership with

Leeds Bradford Airport Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and the ...

, Transdev Blazefield and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the company commenced operation of a network services centring around the airport. Operations were transferred from former operator, Yorkshire Tiger, including a depot at Idle,

. Services 737, 747 and 757 were subsequently rebranded Flyer and renumbered A1 (

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a population of 18,895 at the ...

), A2 (

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...

) and A3 (Bradford, Guiseley,

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...

& Shipley). As of April 2022, services are operated by a fleet of Optare Versa single-deck vehicles, branded in a yellow and purple livery. Vehicles include free WiFi, USB charging ports, audio-visual next stop announcements and additional luggage storage. Some vehicles are also fitted with wireless chargers.

York & Country

The York & Country brand encompasses local services operating in and around the cathedral city of York, with destinations including Acomb, Derwenthorpe, Fulford, Haxby and Rawcliffe. Some services extend beyond the city to Castle Howard and Malton in the east, as well as

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on t ...

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

and

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

in the west. Services are operated by a fleet of

Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC (sold as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200) is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014, as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMCs e ...

and Optare Versa single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone blue livery.

Fleet and operations

Depots

As of April 2022, the company operates from three depots across the region:

(Idle), Malton and

(Fulford).

Vehicles

As of May 2021, the fleet consists of 57 buses. The fleet consists mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis,

Optare Switch Mobility (originally called Optare) is an English bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company would be responsible for the EV operations of the group with ...

and Wrightbus.

Notes

References

External links

*
Transdev Blazefield Limited
an
Transdev York Limited
on

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are in ...

Transdev York & Country
website {{Transdev Bus operators in North Yorkshire Transdev Transport companies established in 1990 Transport in Yorkshire 1990 establishments in England Norton-on-Derwent