Wikipedia

Transdev Blazefield

(Redirected from AJS Group)

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]

Transdev Blazefield

ParentTransdev
FoundedAugust 1991; 33 years ago (1991-08)
HeadquartersHarrogate, North Yorkshire
England
Service area
Service typeBus and coach
Depots9
Managing DirectorHenri Rohard[1]
Websitewww.transdevbus.co.uk

History

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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.[a]

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][b] 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][4]

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.[17] 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

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As of October 2024, Transdev Blazefield has eight operating subsidiaries:

The company also operates key routes such as:

The company operates a total of 515 vehicles from ten depots across Yorkshire and the North West of England. The frontline fleet includes buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis (Enviro200, Enviro200 MMC and Enviro400 MMC), Mellor (Strata), Mercedes-Benz (eCitaro), Optare (Solo SR, Tempo and Versa), Plaxton (President), Volvo (7900e) and Wrightbus (Eclipse Gemini, Eclipse Urban).

Notes

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  1. ^ County Bus & Coach was not included in the later sale to Blazefield Group.
  2. ^ Local bus operations within York later became part of First York.

References

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  1. ^ "Our new electric buses". Transdev. 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Transdev Acquires Blazefield Group". Bus & Coach Professional. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b Briggs, Ian (9 January 2006). "A new stop for Blazefield". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b "AJS sells remaining bus firms". Commercial Motor. 8 August 1991. p. 16.
  5. ^ "West Yorks goes private". Commercial Motor. 3 September 1987. p. 24.
  6. ^ "NBC sale is completed with London Country NE". Commercial Motor. 7 April 1988. p. 16.
  7. ^ Morris, Stephen (September 1996). "NBC since NBC: a history of the former NBC subsidiaries". Buses Focus. p. 46.
  8. ^ "WYRC in takeover deal". Commercial Motor. 27 July 1989. p. 16.
  9. ^ "Rider takes control". Commercial Motor. 26 July 1990. p. 19.
  10. ^ Neale, Jim (2013). Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat. Burwell: Burbus Publications. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9575996-0-4.
  11. ^ Neale, Jim (2013). Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat. Burwell: Burbus Publications. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-9575996-0-4.
  12. ^ Neale, Jim (2013). Cambridge Coach Services from the Driver's Seat. Burwell: Burbus Publications. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-9575996-0-4.
  13. ^ "AJS swallows Challenger". Commercial Motor. 20 April 1989. p. 18.
  14. ^ Jenkinson, Keith A. (1999). Small is Beautiful: The Story of the AJS Group and Blazefield Holdings. Bradford: Autobus Review. ISBN 0907834426.
  15. ^ "Stagecoach sells some North-West operations for £13 million". Stagecoach. 26 April 2001. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Blue Bus set to take over United routes". The Bolton News. 26 June 2002. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Blazefield sells up in the South". Bus & Coach Professional. 9 July 2004. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  18. ^ The proposed acquisition by Arriva plc of the business of Sovereign Bus & Coach Company Ltd[usurped] Competition Commission December 2004
  19. ^ "Chester for sale and Blackburn for Blazefield". Bus & Coach Professional. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  20. ^ Bartlett, David (16 August 2006). "Burnley buys up Blackburn buses". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  21. ^ Watkinson, David (6 August 2007). "Bus firms in takeover". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  22. ^ "Blazefield buys again in Lancashire". Bus & Coach Professional. 9 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Blazefield expands with York deal". Bus & Coach Professional. 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  24. ^ Liptrot, Katie (4 February 2012). "York bus firm sells vehicles to rival". York Press. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Transdev buys York Pullman's bus ops". Coach & Bus Week. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  26. ^ Green, Charlotte (15 December 2017). "Council-owned Rosso bus to be sold to private operator". Rossendale Free Press. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  27. ^ Marshall, Brad (15 December 2017). "Proposed takeover of Bury bus services announced". Bury Times. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  28. ^ Dougall, Emily (3 January 2018). "Rosso sale to Transdev confirmed". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  29. ^ "£3 million investment promised in Rossendale for bus users as Rossendale Borough Council approves the sale of Rosso to Transdev". Rosso. 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  30. ^ Athey, Neil (17 January 2018). "£3 million of investment ready to 'make East Lancs buses better'". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  31. ^ Dougall, Emily (6 November 2018). "Transdev invests £3m in 20 new Versas for Rosso". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  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. ^ Shand, Alistair (20 July 2021). "Summer deal expected as bus operator Transdev buys Yorkshire Tiger". Keighley News. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  35. ^ Deakin, Tim (26 July 2021). "Team Pennine plans outlined by Transdev as brand launches". Routeone. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  36. ^ Jackson, Peter (27 July 2021). "Team Pennine takes to the road". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
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