Transdev Blazefield Explained

Transdev Blazefield
Parent:Transdev
Headquarters:Harrogate, North Yorkshire
England
Service Area:
Service Type:Bus and coach
Leader Type:Managing Director
Leader:Henri Rohard[1]
Depots:9

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

Blazefield Travel was formed in August 1991, following the sale of AJS Group, owned by former East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director, Alan Stephenson. The company was sold in a management buyout to former directors, Giles Fearnley and Stuart Wilde – a deal valued at £2.2 million. The sale included seven of the company's eight remaining bus firms at the time, as well as 300 vehicles and 12 depots.[4] Initially, there were seven operating subsidiaries: Keighley & District, Harrogate & District, Harrogate Independent Travel, Sovereign Bus & Coach, Sovereign Harrow and Welwyn Hatfield Line.

In September 1987, AJS Group purchased West Yorkshire Road Car Company from the National Bus Company.[5] In April 1988, London Country North East was sold by the National Bus Company, the last of 72 subsidiaries to be privatised.[6] [7] Prior to the sale, the company was split in two, with County Bus & Coach and Sovereign Bus & Coach.

In August 1989, operations in Bradford and Leeds were transferred to Yorkshire Rider. The remaining operations were subsequently split into smaller companies: Keighley & District, Harrogate & District and York City & District.[8] In July 1990, operation of local bus services in York were also transferred to Yorkshire Rider.[9]

Cambridge Coach Services was an operator of coach services, day tours, short breaks and charters.[10] The company began operations on 20 May 1990,[11] following the sale of Premier Travel Services to Cambus Holdings. Cambridge Coach Services was operated by Blazefield Holdings between August and November 1991.[12]

Following sale to the Blazefield Group, expansion soon followed, with the purchase of Cambridge Coach Services in November 1991, along with 14 vehicles and Lucketts of Watford trading as Luckybus (not to be confused with Lucketts Travel on the South Coast). Ingfield of Settle was purchased in April 1992, and was merged with Keighley-based Northern Rose to form Ingfield–Northern Rose.

In 1986, Harrogate Independent Travel was 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 AJS Group in April 1989,[13] before being merged with Harrogate & District in 1993. Harrogate & District further expanded in October 1996, following the transfer of bus operations in Ripon from Cowie Group.[14]

In 1994, Blazefield purchased Borehamwood Travel Services, along with 43 vehicles – 22 of which were AEC Routemasters. 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 with the operations of Premier Buses, owned by Julian Peddle. It was sold to Cavalier of Sutton Bridge in 2004.

In April 2001, Stagecoach sold their operations in Blackburn, Bolton and Clitheroe to the Blazefield Group, which rebranded them as Burnley & Pendle and Lancashire United. The sale was valued at £13 million.[15] In August 2002, the depot in Bolton was sold to Blue Bus and Coach Services.[16]

Over the next three years, Blazefield gradually withdrew from its operations in the south of England.[17] In 2002, London Sovereign was sold to Transdev S.A., with Huntingdon & District sold to Cavalier Travel the following year. In 2004, operations in St Albans were sold to Centrebus. In early 2005, the Competition Commission cleared Blazefield's deal to sell what was left of London Sovereign to Arriva Shires & Essex.[18]

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.[19] [20] Eight months later, Accrington Transport and Northern Blue were acquired, along with the transfer of staff and 65 vehicles.[21] [22]

In August 2008, Top Line Travel and Veolia Transport were purchased.[23] The company further expanded in February 2012, following the purchase of York Pullman's local bus operations. The sale included the transfer of 31 staff and 17 vehicles.[24] [25]

Following the granting of approval on 20 December 2017, Rossendale Transport Limited was sold by Rossendale Borough Council on 12 January 2018.[26] [27] [28] 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.[29] [30] [31]

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.[32] [33]

In April 2021, Transdev agreed terms with Arriva to purchase 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.[34] [35] [36]

Fleet and operations

As of April 2022, Transdev Blazefield has eight operating subsidiaries:

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

!Vehicle (Bodywork)!Chassis!Number!Operator(s)
Alexander Dennis Enviro200ADL E20D21The Burnley Bus Company
Team Pennine
Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMCADL E20D27The Blackburn Bus Company
Team Pennine
Yorkshire Coastliner
Alexander Dennis Enviro400ADL E40D12Rosso
Yorkshire Coastliner
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCADL E40D19The Burnley Bus Company
The Harrogate Bus Company
Yorkshire Coastliner
BMC CondorBMC 220LF4The Keighley Bus Company
East Lancs Myllennium VykingVolvo B7TL4Team Pennine
East Lancs OmniDekkaScania N230UD6The Harrogate Bus Company
Mellor StrataMercedes-Benz Sprinter5The Keighley Bus Company
Mello Strata UltraMercedes-Benz Sprinter29RossoTeam PennineThe Burnley Bus CompanyThe Keighley Bus CompanyYorkshire Coastliner
Optare Solo SRIntegral21The Keighley Bus Company
The Burnley Bus Company
Team Pennine
Optare TempoIntegral4Team Pennine
Optare VersaIntegral79FlyerRossoTeam PennineThe Blackburn Bus Company
The Burnley Bus Company
Yorkshire Coastliner
Plaxton CentroVolvo B7RLE6Rosso
Plaxton PresidentVDL DB250
Volvo B7TL
25Rosso
Team PennineThe Burnley Bus Company
The Keighley Bus Company
Yorkshire Coastliner
Volvo 7900eIntegral8The Harrogate Bus Company
Wright Eclipse 2Volvo B7RLE30Team PennineThe Blackburn Bus CompanyThe Harrogate Bus CompanyThe Keighley Bus Company
Wright Eclipse GeminiVolvo B7TL16Team PennineThe Blackburn Bus Company
The Burnley Bus Company
The Harrogate Bus Company
The Keighley Bus Company
Wright Eclipse GeminiVolvo B9TL9The Burnley Bus CompanyThe Keighley Bus Company
Wright Eclipse Gemini 2Volvo B9TL24RossoThe Blackburn Bus Company
The Harrogate Bus Company
The Keighley Bus Company
Yorkshire Coastliner
Wright Eclipse UrbanVolvo B7RLE44The Blackburn Bus CompanyThe Burnley Bus CompanyThe Harrogate Bus CompanyThe Keighley Bus Company
Wright Gemini 3Volvo B5TL29The Harrogate Bus Company
Yorkshire Coastliner
Wright RenownVolvo B10BLE4The Blackburn Bus Company
Wright StreetLiteIntegral8The Blackburn Bus Company

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 16 August 2023 . Our new electric buses . https://archive.today/20230817202625/https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/harrogate/our-new-electric-buses . 17 August 2023 . 17 August 2023 . Transdev.
  2. Web site: 7 January 2006 . Transdev Acquires Blazefield Group . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195107if_/http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage.aspx?id=448&categoryid=0 . 29 October 2013 . 21 April 2022 . Bus & Coach Professional.
  3. Web site: Briggs . Ian . 9 January 2006 . A new stop for Blazefield . https://web.archive.org/web/20160415092036/http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/a-new-stop-for-blazefield-1-2600335 . 15 April 2016 . 21 April 2022 . Yorkshire Post.
  4. Web site: 8 August 1991 . AJS sells remaining bus firms . . 16.
  5. Web site: 3 September 1987 . West Yorks goes private . . 24.
  6. Web site: 7 April 1988 . NBC sale is completed with London Country NE . . 16.
  7. Morris . Stephen . September 1996 . NBC since NBC: a history of the former NBC subsidiaries . Buses Focus . 46.
  8. Web site: 27 July 1989 . WYRC in takeover deal . . 16.
  9. Web site: 26 July 1990 . Rider takes control . . 19.
  10. Book: Neale, Jim . Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat . 2013 . Burbus Publications . 978-0-9575996-0-4 . Burwell . 15.
  11. Book: Neale, Jim . Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat . 2013 . Burbus Publications . 978-0-9575996-0-4 . Burwell . 20.
  12. Book: Neale, Jim . Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat . 2013 . Burbus Publications . 978-0-9575996-0-4 . Burwell . 32.
  13. Web site: 20 April 1989 . AJS swallows Challenger . . 18.
  14. Book: Jenkinson, Keith A. . Small is Beautiful: The Story of the AJS Group and Blazefield Holdings . Autobus Review . 1999 . 0907834426 . Bradford.
  15. Web site: 26 April 2001 . Stagecoach sells some North-West operations for £13 million . 25 April 2022 . Stagecoach.
  16. Web site: 26 June 2002 . Blue Bus set to take over United routes . 25 April 2022 . .
  17. Web site: 9 July 2004 . Blazefield sells up in the South . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120916205119/http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage.aspx?id=466&categoryid=0 . 16 September 2012 . 24 February 2013 . Bus & Coach Professional.
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/20050303004848/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/inquiries/completed/2005/arriva/prov_find_report.pdf The proposed acquisition by Arriva plc of the business of Sovereign Bus & Coach Company Ltd
  19. Web site: 21 August 2006 . Chester for sale and Blackburn for Blazefield . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812175010/http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage.aspx?id=939&categoryid=0 . 12 August 2014 . 25 April 2022 . Bus & Coach Professional.
  20. Web site: Bartlett . David . 16 August 2006 . Burnley buys up Blackburn buses . 25 April 2022 . .
  21. Web site: Watkinson . David . 6 August 2007 . Bus firms in takeover . 25 April 2022 . .
  22. Web site: 9 August 2007 . Blazefield buys again in Lancashire . https://web.archive.org/web/20120813175657/http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage.aspx?id=1509&categoryid=0 . 13 August 2012 . 25 April 2022 . Bus & Coach Professional.
  23. Web site: 4 June 2008 . Blazefield expands with York deal . https://web.archive.org/web/20131030154516/http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage.aspx?id=1958&categoryid=0 . 30 October 2013 . 21 April 2022 . Bus & Coach Professional.
  24. Web site: Liptrot . Katie . 4 February 2012 . York bus firm sells vehicles to rival . 21 April 2022 . .
  25. Web site: 7 February 2012 . Transdev buys York Pullman’s bus ops . 21 April 2022 . Coach & Bus Week .
  26. Web site: Green . Charlotte . 15 December 2017 . Council-owned Rosso bus to be sold to private operator . 24 April 2022 . .
  27. Web site: Marshall . Brad . 15 December 2017 . Proposed takeover of Bury bus services announced . 24 April 2022 . Bury Times .
  28. Web site: Dougall . Emily . 3 January 2018 . Rosso sale to Transdev confirmed . 24 April 2022 . Coach & Bus Week .
  29. Web site: 21 December 2017 . £3 million investment promised in Rossendale for bus users as Rossendale Borough Council approves the sale of Rosso to Transdev . https://web.archive.org/web/20171224213915/http://www.rossobus.com/feature-article.shtml?articleid=7925 . 24 December 2017 . 24 April 2022 . Rosso.
  30. Web site: Athey . Neil . 17 January 2018 . £3 million of investment ready to 'make East Lancs buses better' . 24 April 2022 . .
  31. Web site: Dougall . Emily . 6 November 2018 . Transdev invests £3m in 20 new Versas for Rosso . 24 April 2022 . Coach & Bus Week .
  32. Transdev Flyer takes off to Leeds Bradford Airport Coach & Bus Week issue 1439 8 September 2020 page 8
  33. Tiger Quits Bradford Buses issue 787 October 2020 page 30
  34. Web site: Shand . Alistair . 20 July 2021 . Summer deal expected as bus operator Transdev buys Yorkshire Tiger . 14 July 2021 . Keighley News.
  35. Web site: Deakin . Tim . 26 July 2021 . Team Pennine plans outlined by Transdev as brand launches . 27 April 2022 . Routeone .
  36. Web site: Jackson . Peter . 27 July 2021 . Team Pennine takes to the road . 27 April 2022 . Coach & Bus Week .