Harrogate Coach Travel operates local and regional bus services in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England.

History

Harrogate Coach Travel was established in February 2002 by Craig and Julie Temple. Initially, the company operated local bus services between

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

and

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

via

Green Hammerton Green Hammerton is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the A59 road, west of York and east of Harrogate. Along with nearby Kirk Hammerton, the village is served by railway station on the Ha ...

. The company later expanded, operating tendered services for both

North Yorkshire County Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the ...

and

West Yorkshire Metro Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE), at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yo ...

. In August 2010, the company expanded with the introduction of local services in and around the towns of

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

and

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 2011 c ...

, which were transferred from

First West Yorkshire First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Fir ...

and TLC Travel. In March 2011, the company was rebranded as Connexionsbuses. In April 2011, the X70 service was launched between Harrogate and

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

. At the same time, the company gained the contract for several local services in Harrogate from North Yorkshire County Council. The service between York and Ripon was lost, with a jointly-operated service commencing between York to Ripon and Wetherby, in partnership with Eddie Brown Tours. In 2013, the company took over operation of service 780 between Knaresborough and Wetherby, as well as service 923 between Otley and Tadcaster. In April 2014, local services 104, 110, 111 and 112 in Harrogate were replaced by services X4, X6, X6A and X12. Following the collapse of Eddie Brown Tours in December 2014, the company took over temporary operation of services 142 and 143 between York and Harrogate via Ripon – a short-term arrangement lasting until 5 January 2015. Following this, the services were taken over by

Transdev York 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 operato ...

. The company also took over short-term operation of services 56/56A and 57/57A between Harrogate and Ripon or Roecliffe, which was later transferred to The Harrogate Bus Company. In June 2016, the company took over operation of service 38 between Moortown and

White Rose Centre The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Mos ...

on a commercial basis, after Yorkshire Tiger withdrew the service. The service was withdrawn in September 2018 following competition from independent operator, SquarePeg Buses, as well as the expected implementation of a

low-emission zone A low-emission zone (LEZ) is a defined area where access by some polluting vehicles is restricted or deterred with the aim of improving air quality. This may favour vehicles such as bicycles, micromobility vehicles, (certain) alternative fuel v ...

in Leeds. In October 2018, the company commenced operation of route 64, which runs between

Aberford Aberford is a village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,059 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,180 at the 2011 Census. It is situated east, north east of Leed ...

and Leeds via

Cross Gates Cross Gates (often spelled Crossgates) is a suburb in east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits between Seacroft and Swarcliffe to the north, Whitkirk and Colton to the south, Killingbeck to the west and Austhorpe to the sout ...

, under contract to

First Leeds First West Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, and is made up of three sub-division brands: First Bradford, First Halifax, Calder Valley & Huddersfield and Fir ...

. As of January 2022, the service operates half-hourly on weekdays and Saturday, with First Leeds operating an hourly service during the evening and on Sunday. In November 2018, the company withdrew their operation in the

cathedral city City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the the Crown, monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of city, cities. , there are List of cities in the Un ...

, owing to the level of reimbursement for concessionary passes paid by North Yorkshire County Council. The company had operated local services in the city since September 2017, following the cessation of Shaun's Travel.

Fleet

Depots

As of May 2022, the company operates from a single depot in

Tockwith Tockwith is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, near the town of Wetherby and the city of York. There has been a village on the site since at least 1086 when ''Tocvi'' was mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''. To ...

Vehicles

As of June 2022, the fleet consists of 40 buses. The fleet consists mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

Wetherby Bus War

In 2011, the company became involved in a

bus war A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used i ...

with Transdev Harrogate & District. It concerned bus services operating in and around the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Preservation

Alongside service buses, the company also maintain a fleet of preserved heritage vehicles. As of October 2019, this consisted of a fleet of nine vehicles manufactured between 1971 and 1999 – most of which originally operated in and around Yorkshire.

Notes

References

External links

*
Connexionsbuses (Harrogate Coach Travel)
on

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...

Connexionsbuses
website {{Bus companies in Yorkshire, state=collapsed Bus operators in North Yorkshire Bus operators in West Yorkshire Companies based in Harrogate Transport companies established in 2002 2002 establishments in England