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 Great Northern LineWright Eclipse 2 bodiedVolvo B7RLE at Showbus 2022 | |
| Parent | Transdev Blazefield |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 2021; 3 years ago (2021-07) |
| Headquarters | Harrogate,North Yorkshire England |
| Service area | West Yorkshire |
| Service type | Bus and coach |
| Depots | 2 |
| Fleet | 54 (at August 2023) |
| Managing Director | Henri Rohard[1] |
| Website | transdevbus |
Team Pennine operates both local and regional bus services inWest Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary ofTransdev Blazefield, which operates bus services acrossGreater Manchester,Lancashire,North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
In December 2005,Stagecoach Yorkshire purchased the operations ofYorkshire Traction inHuddersfield – a deal valued at £37 million.[2][3][4] At the time, with a total of 840 vehicles, The Traction Group was Britain's sixth-largest bus group and the largest of which to be privately owned.
In March 2008, it was reported thatArriva UK Bus were in discussions with Stagecoach Yorkshire to purchase their bus operations in Huddersfield.[5]
Arriva Yorkshire already operated services in the town, so purchasing Stagecoach's operations would enlarge their presence. At the time Arriva registered a trading name of K Line, registered on theArriva Yorkshire licence.
In May 2008, Centrebus Holdings was successful in purchasing the operations. Centrebus Holdings was owned by three directors ofCentrebus, who together owned 56%, with Arriva UK Bus owning the remaining 44%.[6] Despite the common name and livery, Centrebus Holdings has never been owned by Centrebus.[7]
In August 2008,Arriva Midlands sold theirHinckley depot to Centrebus Holdings.[8] In the following month, the company purchased the bus operations of Woods Coaches of Leicester.
Following the Arriva takeover in September 2013, the Hinckley-based operations were rebranded as Hinckley Bus.[9]
In 2019, the company's operations in Hinckley were amalgamated with the Leicester operations of Arriva Midlands, with the depot serving as an outstation for the company'sSouth Wigston depot.
Following the purchase of K-Line and Stagecoach Huddersfield, Centrebus Holdings became the second-largest bus operator in Huddersfield, afterFirst West Yorkshire. The company retained the K-Line brand, whilst operating the former Stagecoach services under the Huddersfield Bus Company brand. The Centrebus name was used for the rest of the operations in West Yorkshire.
In January 2010, Centrebus Holdings took over some contracted services previously operated by First West Yorkshire inCalderdale.[10] As a result, a new depot was established inElland.[11]
In April 2010, Centrebus Holdings obtained another service under the Huddersfield Bus Company division, taking over two routes (435 & 436) fromArriva Yorkshire. At the same time, the company extended further, taking over three routes servingLeeds Bradford Airport (737, 747 & 757).[12] Like the operations in Calderdale, these services operated under the Centrebus name, with a depot based on Kirkstall Road, Leeds.
The company would face early competition as First West Yorkshire continued to run service 757 between Leeds and Leeds Bradford Airport viaHorsforth, servingthe railway station in Leeds, whilst Centrebus served theCity bus station.
From July 2010, Centrebus were the only operator of route 757 after First West Yorkshire withdrew their service.[13] At the same time, Centrebus began to operate many more services in Bradford and Leeds, winning a number of contracts fromWest Yorkshire Metro.
In October 2010, a number of services formerly operated byHalifax Joint Committee (28A, 34 & 36) were taken over by Centrebus, with K-Line taking over service 31.[14]
In 2012, service A99, which ran during term-time on behalf of theUniversity of Bradford was taken over by Centrebus – having previously been operated by First West Yorkshire. At the same time, the service was made free to use for university students.
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In September 2013, Arriva UK Bus bought out its partners and rebranded the company Yorkshire Tiger.[15][16] The fleet was gradually repainted into a new brand identity, consisting of an orange base, featuring a tiger print pattern. In Calderdale, many of the contracted services were rebranded under a new sub-brand, Calder Cubs.
In December 2015, a fire at the company's Elland depot saw a total of ten vehicles destroyed.[17][18]
In June 2016, Yorkshire Tiger saw the loss of a number of contracts in and around Leeds. As such, the company's Kirkstall Road depot was closed and demolished, with the operation of theLeeds Bradford Airport network of services transferred to a dedicated depot atIdle. In January 2017, Yorkshire Tiger acquired a number of contracts in South Yorkshire, which saw the opening of a new depot opened atWombwell.
In May 2018, a number of contracts were gained in Bradford, with eightOptare Solo single-deck vehicles subsequently acquired fromArriva North East to operate these services, based at Idle. Four months later, the South Yorkshire contracts were re-tendered to other operators, which saw the closure of the recently opened depot at Wombwell. At the same time, a number of changes were made to the Huddersfield network, which saw the closure of the former K-Line depot at Honley, with all operations transferred to Waterloo.
In August 2020, Yorkshire Tiger ceased operation in Bradford,[19] opting not to re-bid for the Leeds Bradford Airport network of services, as well as withdrawing the network of local services in and around the town. The contract for the Leeds Bradford Airport network of services was transferred toTransdev York & Country, with the local services in Bradford re-tendered to TLC Travel – the former operator of most of the contracted services.
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In July 2014, Yorkshire Tiger rebranded their network of services linkingBradford,Harrogate andLeeds withLeeds Bradford Airport – an investment totalling £750,000. Investment saw the refurbishment and rebranding of the existing fleet ofScania OmniCity single-deck vehicles, as well as the introduction of a new fleet ofOptare Versa single-deck vehicles.[20] In July 2017, further investment saw the introduction of a fleet ofAlexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC single-deck vehicles.[21]
In September 2020, the contract for the network of Leeds Bradford Airport services was transferred toTransdev York & Country, with services rebranded Flyer and renumbered A1 (Horsforth & Leeds), A2 (Bradford & Harrogate) and A3 (Bradford,Guiseley &Shipley).[19][22][23][24][25][26]
Tiger Blue (formerly known as K-Line) was a bus operator based inHonley,West Yorkshire. The company operated a number of local bus services in and aroundKirklees.
Founded in 1980, the company initially operating out of a garage inKirkburton. Six years later, following thederegulation of bus services, the company began operating a number of commercial services inHuddersfield, as well as tendered services inElland.
In November 1993, K-Line was purchased by Pride of the Road Group, with operations transferred to a depot atHonley five years later.
In May 2008, K-Line was purchased by Centrebus Holdings.[27][28] However, it continued to trade as a separate entity from Centrebus. In January 2010, Centrebus Holdings took over some contracted services in Calderdale, which previously operated by First West Yorkshire.[10]
After Arriva wholly purchased Centrebus Holdings in September 2013, it was decided to rebrand most of the business as Yorkshire Tiger, whilst retaining K-Line as a separate brand.[29][30][31] In October 2014, Arriva rebranded K-Line as Tiger Blue – bringing the company in line with the overall Yorkshire Tiger brand.[32]
From June 2017, as a result of increased flexibility between the operation of what was traditionally Honley-based ex-K-Line routes and Waterloo-based former Huddersfield Bus Company routes, the Tiger Blue brand was gradually phased out. Subsequent repaints saw vehicles rebranded into the standard Yorkshire Tiger livery.
In September 2018, following reductions to a number of Waterloo-based services, the decision was made to combine operations in Huddersfield, resulting in the closure of the depot at Honley. Most routes formerly operated out of Honley were transferred to Waterloo, with the two fleets merged.
In April 2021,Transdev Blazefield agreed terms to purchase the business. The sale took effect on 25 July 2021, and included 163 staff, 69 vehicles and two depots. The business was subsequently rebrandedTeam Pennine.[33][34][35][36]
The Calder Country brand was introduced in November 2021 – representing an £800,000 investment in the area.[37][38] The brand encompasses five local bus services (530, 546, 561, 562 & 577), which operate in and aroundCalderdale, with destinations includingBarkisland,Boulderclough,Fountainhead,Halifax,Norland andSoyland. Services are operated by a fleet ofMellor Strata minibuses, branded in a two-tone pink livery. Features include free WiFi and audio-visual next stop announcements.
The Denby Darts brand encompasses three bus services (D1, D2 & D3), which operate betweenDenby Dale andHuddersfield viaSkelmanthorpe (D1) orShepley (D2 & D3). The D1 service was introduced in July 2021,[39][40] and operates half-hourly, with an hourly service during the evening and on Sunday. Services D2 and D3 were introduced in May 2022,[41] and operate at a two-hourly frequency (Monday–Saturday), with a combined hourly frequency on shared sections of route. Services are operated by a fleet ofAlexander Dennis Enviro 200 single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone pink livery. Features include free WiFi, USB charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.
The Great Northern Line brand operates hourly during a Monday to Saturday daytime betweenHalifax,Denholme,Cullingworth andKeighley, named after the historicGreat Northern Railway railway linking Halifax and Keighley via Denholme andOvenden.[42] The service is run by 2Wright Eclipse 2 single-deck vehicles, branded a two-tone pink livery. Features include USB charging and free WiFi.
The Holmfirth Explorer operates hourly (two-hourly on Sunday) betweenHolmfirth and Wakefield viaDenby Dale. It encompasses five former services into a single "easy to follow" service.[43] The service is operated by a fleet ofOptare Tempo single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone pink livery. Features include free WiFi, USB charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.
The HuddsQuick brand encompasses a number of local bus services operating in and around themarket town ofHuddersfield, with destinations includingBerry Brow,Brackenhall,Lindley,Lockwood andHuddersfield Royal Infirmary.[44][43] Services are operated by a fleet ofAlexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone pink livery. Features include free WiFi, USB charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.
The process of rebranding Yorkshire Tiger to Team Pennine commenced on 25 July 2021 when Team Pennine acquired the Yorkshire Tiger business fromArriva UK Bus. The first vehicle to receive this livery was a long wheel baseAlexander Dennis Enviro200. A number of local services are served by this branding such as 20 (Halifax to Pellon), 22 (Halifax to Claremount), 303/4 (Huddersfield toScapegoat Hill), 343 (Halifax toHuddersfield), 563/563A (Halifax toBrighouse) as well as many more services across Calderdale and Kirklees.
As of April 2022, the company operates from a depot inElland as well as another in Waterloo on the outskirts of Huddersfield.
As of August 2023, the fleet consisted of 54 buses. The fleet consists of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured byOptare,Alexander Dennis, andWrightbus, as well as minibuses manufactured byMellor.
Media related toTeam Pennine at Wikimedia Commons