Keighley Bus Company
 | This article needs to be updated. (May 2020) |
 | |
 Keighley Bus Company's 1753 Wright Eclipse-bodied Volvo B7RLE Brontë Bus seen pulling into Keighley bus station | |
| Parent | Transdev Blazefield |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Keighley |
| Service area | West Yorkshire |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 27 (October 2013) |
| Hubs | |
| Fleet | 113 (October 2013) |
| Website | transdevbus.co.uk/keighley/ |
The Keighley Bus Company, [1] previously branded as Transdev in Keighley, is the main bus operator serving the town of Keighley, West Yorkshire and surrounding towns and villages. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield.
History[]
Keighley & District was part of the West Yorkshire Road Car Company[2][verification needed] owned by Tilling & British Automobile Traction.[citation needed]
In 1948, along with other companies that were then part of the Tilling Group, the West Yorkshire Road Car Company was nationalised. In 1968 West Yorkshire Road Car Company became part of the National Bus Company.[3]
In 1987 West Yorkshire Road Car Company was sold in a management buyout to former East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director Alan Stephenson's AJS Group and in December 1988 split into smaller companies, one of which was Keighley & District Travel Limited.[1][3]
In 1991 Keighley & District Travel was one of a number of AJS Group subsidiaries sold to Blazefield Travel.[4][5][6][7]
In January 2006 Keighley & District Travel was included in the sale of Blazefield Travel to Transdev.[8][9] Keighley & District was first rebranded as Transdev in Keighley, later becoming the Keighley Bus Company.[10]
Routes and brands[]
The Keighley Bus Company[]
A rebrand of the company commenced in 2016 from the former Transdev in Keighley branding. This brought a new two-tone green livery. A number of different services operate under this brand such as the 62, 67, and 72, as well as a number of school services operated by the company. This livery is also used for services including Brontë Bus and Keighley Jets.
AireLine[]
This is the brand for the 60 service that operates along the River Aire. AireLine serves Keighley, Bingley, Shipley, and Leeds. This service is operated using six Volvo B9TL Eclipse Geminis in a Red and Green Livery, offering free WiFi, USB power, and next stop information.[13]
Brontë Bus[]
This brand offers three services between Keighley and Haworth. Services include B1 to Stanbury, B2 to Oakworth, and B3 to Oxenhope and Hebden Bridge. This service is operated with 4 Volvo B7RLE Eclipses in a two-tone green livery, offering free WiFi and USB power.[14]
DalesWay[]
This is the brand for the 66 service that operates along the Yorkshire Dales. DalesWay serves Keighley, Cross Hills, and Skipton. This service is by 3 Volvo B9TL Eclipse Gemini 2s, offering next stop information with free WiFi and USB power.[15]
The Shuttle[]
This is the brand for the 662 service between Keighley, Bingley, Shipley, and Bradford. This service is operated using fourteen Volvo B7RLE Eclipses in a two-tone blue livery, offering free WiFi and USB power.[16]
Keighley Jets[]
This is the brand for 17 local services in and around Keighley. This service uses five Mellor Stratas and eight Optare Solos, all in a two-tone green livery, offering free WiFi, USB power, and next stop information.[17][18]
Wharfedale Links[]
In 2016, the Keighley Bus Company gained the contract for routes 963 (Wharfedale Hospital to Holt Park, 966 (Yeadon/Guiseley circular) and 967 (Leeds Bradford Airport to Menston). It uses the brand "Wharfedale Links" for these services. The Keighley Bus Company then gained the route 965 (Otley/Weston Circular) from First Leeds.[19]
Fleet[]
As at July 2021, the Keighley Bus Company operates a fleet of approximately 125 vehicles out of two depots, Suresnes Road (main depot) and Marriner Road (outstation/school buses).[20] Common types in the fleet include:
- Wright Eclipse
- Plaxton President
- Wright Renown
- Optare Solo SR
- BMC Condor
- Mellor Strata
Fleet history[]
DalesWay double-deckers[]
During 2020, DalesWay was upgraded to a double-decker bus route after a (pre-COVID) increase in passenger numbers, replacing the four-year-old Optare Versas. This saw the introduction of three temporary double-deckers formerly used on the X41 RedExpress Manchester service. These Volvo B7TLs showcased temporary DalesWay branding over the former RedExpress base colours. On Sunday 21 March 2021, these three were replaced by more permanent Volvo B9TLs now in service.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Companies House extract company no 2113404 Keighley & District Limited
- ^ Companies House extract company no 91413 Welwyn & Hatfield Line Bus Company Limited formerly AJS Developments Limited formerly West Yorkshire Road Car Company Limited
- ^ Jump up to: a b A brief history Harrogate Bus Company
- ^ Companies House extract company no 2188825 Blazefield Travel Group Limited
- ^ AJS sells remaining bus firms Commercial Motor August 1991
- ^ Jenkinson, Keith A (1999). Small is Beautiful, The Story of the AJS Group and Blazefield Holdings. Autobus Review Publications. ISBN 0907834426.
- ^ "First for Fearnley in UK Bus move". busandbcoach.com. 26 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
- ^ "Transdev acquires Blazefield Group". busandcoach.com. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
- ^ "A new stop for Blazefield". Yorkshire Post. 9 January 2006.
- ^ "Transdev rolls out two more rebrands". Buses Magazine. No. 738. September 2016. p. 9.
- ^ "Keighley bus company routes and brands". transdevbus.co.uk. 25 November 2020.
- ^ "The Keighley Bus Company – bustimes.org". bustimes.org. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ The Keighley Bus Company [@keighleybus] (19 July 2020). "