Ulsterbus Foyle
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Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and operates bus services outside
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. It is part of Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which also includes Northern Ireland Railways and Metro Belfast.


History

Ulsterbus was founded in 1967 with the creation of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, replacing the former Ulster Transport Authority. The founding of Ulsterbus coincided with the beginnings of
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, a conflict which intensified throughout the 1970s and 1980s and often saw Ulsterbus buses and employees caught in the crossfire. Drivers would often face hijackings, assaults and robberies while operating Ulsterbus services, their buses being turned into burning barricades or occasionally being bombed. Four Ulsterbus employees were killed in the 1972 Bloody Friday bombings when an IRA bomb exploded at the Oxford Street bus station. In total, 17 employees from both Ulsterbus and Citybus were killed during The Troubles, with 1,484 buses in total being maliciously destroyed from 1964 to the signing of the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
in 1998. Werner Heubeck was the first managing director of both Ulsterbus and Citybus, managing both companies throughout The Troubles from his appointment in 1965 until his retirement in 1988. A former Luftwaffe conscript, Heubeck became known for carrying bombs off buses and for making Northern Ireland's buses profitable and running to schedule despite the security situation, and received both an OBE in 1977 and a CBE on his retirement in 1988. The Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company was rebranded to Translink in 1996. Ulsterbus and Citybus, as well as Northern Ireland's rail services, were integrated into Translink and were subsequently rebranded. Translink have built and refurbished a number of bus stations served by Ulsterbus and have invested in a fully low-floor bus fleet, as well as introducing brands such as the Foyle Metro.


Services

Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus services in Northern Ireland. It operates 1,100 buses and twenty-two bus stations, several of which, such as those at Belfast Grand Central and Bangor, form integrated transport interchanges with Northern Ireland Railways stations. Ulsterbus, as part of Translink, is charged with transporting over 55,000 children per day across Northern Ireland to school. Every July and August, around 250 vehicles are usually de-taxed. This is because not as many are needed for service due to schools finishing for summer holidays.


Goldliner

Goldliner is the name given to the inter-city express bus services operated by Ulsterbus. Originally launched as the 'Northern Ireland Express' in the 1970s, these services were rebranded to 'Goldline' in 1990, with the
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
-
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
express service relaunched as the 'Maiden City Flyer' with eight new coaches in 1991. This service has seen major expansion over the years: Belfast-Derry 212 service went from a thrice daily service in 1990 to half-hourly frequency, and many services have been expanded and introduced. In 2021, these services were rebranded again to 'Goldliner' in line with the wider rebranding of Translink. Goldliner services are primarily operated from Belfast to major destinations in Northern Ireland, as well as 'Xpress' branded cross-border Goldline Express Services X1 (previously service 200) to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
(via Dublin Airport). This service was worked jointly with Bus Éireann's service X1 (previously service 001) until December 2020, after which Bus Éireann withdrew their X1. There is also a X2 operating express between Belfast and Dublin Airport without any intermediate stops between them. There are also a number of cross-channel ( North Channel) services to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, operated in partnership with
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
under the
Eurolines Eurolines is a brand of intercity bus service owned by an international non-profit organisation formed under Belgian law. Using the Eurolines brand, partner bus companies operate service in Europe and Morocco. History Eurolines was founded in ...
banner.


Foyle Metro

For many years,
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
's internal bus network was operated as Ulsterbus's Derry City Services. The network was relaunched as Ulsterbus Foyle on 4 September 2006 following a review and expansion of the city's bus routes and replacement of many of the city's older buses. Ulsterbus Foyle was later rebranded as Foyle Metro on 1 September 2017, with buses branded in a deep red livery. The rebranded service, representing an investment of over £3 million, included 19 brand new buses delivered and many others refurbished to operates across 14 quality bus corridors with new timetables. In 2022, £30 million of funding from the Department for Infrastructure was acquired for the purchase of 38
battery electric bus A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source. Battery electric buses offer the potential for z ...
es, as well as charging equipment to be installed at the Foyle Metro's Pennyburn garage. The buses, ten being
Wright StreetDeck Electroliner The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus manufactured by Wrightbus since 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler AG, Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subse ...
double-decks and 28 being Wright GB Kite Electroliner single-decks, were delivered in May 2023, with the fleet rolled out onto city services to replace existing diesel buses from August onwards, enabling the Foyle Metro fleet to be completely zero-emission.


Ulsterbus Tours

Ulsterbus previously operated a holiday coaching arm named 'Ulsterbus Tours', operating "day tours" to other parts of Northern Ireland, the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
and across the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, mainly for shopping and visits to tourist attractions. Coaches could also be hired for sporting events such as
Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
derbies and racing events such as the
Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlon ...
. Ulsterbus Tours was closed in September 2020 due to the financial impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
on Translink.


Urby

The Ulsterbus Urby service is an upgraded bus service offering USB charging, faster journeys, WiFi and leather seating, initially launched with 28 new Wright
double decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but Open top bus, open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are Coach (bus), coaches too for long-d ...
es in June 2018 to operate in
Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 10,850 according to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is part of, and ...
, Bangor,
Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...
and Dromore. In September 2019, routes serving Ballygowan, Comber and Moneyreagh were upgraded to Urby routes with an investment of seven new buses.


Incidents

In December 2015, a single-decker bus crashed into Strangford Lough after colliding with a wall on the Portaferry Road near
Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...
. No passengers were on board at the time and the driver of the bus sustained only minor injuries. The bus was recovered and put back onto land a few hours later. Two Ulsterbus Goldline coaches have suffered engine fires while in service; a coach bound for Belfast caught fire outside of
Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...
,
County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...
in November 2016, while another caught fire on the M2 in
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
in July 2021, which the company states was caused by "accidental ignition". An Urby bus was hijacked and set alight by "masked men" on the morning of 1 November 2021 in Newtownards. The bus had recently entered service in the Bowtown estate when hijackers held the driver at gunpoint and "muttered something about the (Northern Ireland) protocol" before setting the bus alight. No passengers were on board at the time, but the bus was totally destroyed and the driver left "badly shaken". The attack was widely condemned by members of the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
and all buses to the town were briefly suspended. A double-decker Urby school bus carrying 43 pupils from Strangford College overturned in a field near Carrowdore on 7 October 2024 after colliding with a post. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service declared a major incident at the scene due to the number of ambulances required to attend, with the incident resulting in four pupils being taken to hospital and the rest onboard being released with minor injuries.


Fleet

As of October 2021, the Ulsterbus fleet consists of nearly 1,100 buses and coaches, with buses predominantly bodied by Wrightbus of
Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...
. Prior to the advent of
low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a l ...
es, the Ulsterbus fleet mainly consisted of
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
-bodied Bristol REs,
Leyland Leopard The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engine design, mid-engined single-decker bus and single-decker bus, single-decker coach (bus), coach chassis manufactured by Leyland Bus, Leyland between 1959 and 1982. History The Leyland Leopard was introduced ...
s, Leyland Tigers and Volvo B10Ms. Many of these would be hijacked and maliciously destroyed throughout The Troubles, and as such, second-hand Bristol, Leyland and AEC buses were regularly purchased from bus operators in other parts of the UK. The last Leyland Tiger of a fleet of over 600 was handed over to the company in September 1993, with Ulsterbus moving over to the Volvo B10M following the closure of Leyland Bus. Most high-floor Ulsterbus buses were withdrawn by the mid-2000s; the last Leyland Leopards were finally withdrawn in 2006, with 681 being built for Ulsterbus and 228 of these being maliciously destroyed. Following an order for 40
Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new. It pioneered the design of rear-engined, front entrance ...
s in 1971, no further
double decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but Open top bus, open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are Coach (bus), coaches too for long-d ...
es were ordered, as they were seen as expensive to run and not offering good value for money at the time. In 2001, however, double decker buses were reintroduced to Northern Ireland through the purchase of 20 low-floor
Volvo B7TL The Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus chassis which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of the Volvo Olympian (its 3-axle version was replaced by the Volvo Super Olympian). It was built as the British bus operator ...
s with
Alexander ALX400 The Alexander ALX400 (later known as the TransBus ALX400 and the Alexander Dennis ALX400) is a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders (later by TransBus International/ Alexander Dennis). It was one of the ALX-s ...
bodywork for both Ulsterbus and Citybus.


References


External links

* {{authority control Bus operators in Northern Ireland Government-owned companies of Northern Ireland British brands