East Yorkshire (bus company)

East Yorkshire Motor Services (or East Yorkshire) is a bus and coach operator, running services to destinations across Yorkshire, including Bridlington, Hull, Scarborough and York.

East Yorkshire
A Coaster branded Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL.
ParentGo-Ahead Group
Founded5 October 1926
(93 years ago)
Headquarters252 Anlaby Road
Hull
East Riding of Yorkshire
HU3 2RS
Service area
Service typeBus and coach
Depots6
Fleet316 (as of December 2016)
Managing DirectorMartijn Gilbert
Websitehttps://www.eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk/

In and around Scarborough, services operate under the Scarborough Locals brand, having been formerly branded as Scarborough & District.[1]

Additionally, private hire coach services are operated under the name East Yorkshire Coaches.

East Yorkshire Motor Services was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018, becoming an operating division of Go North East.[2]

In March 2019, the new East Yorkshire branding was unveiled, alongside a new logo and corporate livery.[3]

History
Buses at Paragon Interchange, seen in May 2008.
Buses outside the depot at Scarborough, seen in May 2009.
Buses outside the depot at Hornsea, seen in June 2012.
A Finglands Coachways Northern Counties Palatine bodied Volvo Olympian, seen at Piccadilly Gardens in July 2008.

East Yorkshire Motor Services was originally made up of two companies, Lee & Beaulah, set up by Ernest John Lee, and Hull & District Motor Services, set up by H.A. Harvey.

In 1926, British Electric Traction bought the two companies, forming East Yorkshire Motor Services.[4]

In 1968, British Electric Traction was sold to the Transport Holding Company, which in turn, became the National Bus Company in 1969.

Until 1972, the livery of East Yorkshire was dark blue and primrose. The livery was then changed to blue and white, in the National Bus Company corporate layout. This proved to be short-lived, with the livery being replaced by National Bus Company poppy red.[5]

In the lead up to privatisation in 1987, East Yorkshire's fleet (which had dropped to 200 vehicles, and shared management with Lincolnshire Road Car) started to grow again.

United Automobile Services' depots in Scarborough and Pickering were transferred to East Yorkshire, with operations rebranded as Scarborough & District.[6][7]

In February 1987, East Yorkshire was sold in a management buyout, led by seven managers.[8]

Following the buyout, East Yorkshire began to expand, acquiring many independent operators in the local area, including Connor & Graham,[9] Cottingham Mini Coaches[10] and Primrose Valley Coaches.[11]

The liveries at privatisation were silver and blue, National Bus Company poppy red, and the National Bus Company minibus livery of silver, blue and red. The poppy red buses soon started receiving a red and grey livery.

The Hardwick's of Scarborough fleet was purchased from Wallace Arnold (Wallace Arnold's last bus company).

In Hull, some AEC Routemaster vehicles entered service in traditional pre-National Bus Company East Yorkshire blue, to compete with Kingston upon Hull City Transport.

East Yorkshire suffered competition in Bridlington, Hull and Scarborough from Applebys. In 1999, Applebys closed its Scarborough base, and was subsequently placed in to receivership shortly after.

In 2009, East Yorkshire won the coveted Large Bus Operator of the Year award (an award for bus operators running over 100 buses), at a presentation dinner attended by over 600 people from the bus and coach industry.

The award event was held by RouteOne, one of the industry's main national trade magazines.[12]

The company has also reached the final of the Large Bus Operator of the Year award in subsequent years (2011, 2013 and 2014).[13]

Out-of-area acquisitions

Finglands Coachways

East Yorkshire's first out-of-area expansion was in 1992, with the purchase of Finglands Coachways of Rusholme, with the original Stagecoach Manchester operation following in 1995.[14]

In August 2013, First announced that subject to regulatory approval by the Office of Fair Trading, it had agreed to purchase the bus operations of Finglands Coachways. The sale included the lease of Finglands's depot in Rusholme, as well as routes, and approximately 100 members of staff, but no vehicles.[15][16]

The deal was approved in January 2014, with First Greater Manchester taking over on operations in February 2014.[17][18][19]

In October 2013, East Yorkshire sold the Finglands coach charter business to Bullocks Coaches.[20]

Whittles Bus & Coach

Whittle Bus & Coach of Kidderminster was acquired by East Yorkshire in January 2004. This was the second major out-of-area acquisition for East Yorkshire, since the management buyout in February 1987.

The business operated 50 vehicles at the time of purchase, running bus services in predominantly rural areas in the counties of Shropshire and Worcestershire.[21]

In December 2014, the Whittles coach business was sold to Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel, along with nine coaches.[22][23][24]

Following the sale, the operation of National Express contracted services were transferred to other operators, with local bus services being withdrawn entirely in January 2015.[25][26]

Acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group

In June 2018, East Yorkshire was acquired by Go-Ahead, bringing an end to 30 years of family ownership. East Yorkshire will continue to run as a standalone company within Go North East.[27][28]

In late October 2018, £1 million was invested in new Ticketer smart ticketing machines, with the ability to accept contactless payments.[29]

In March 2019, a new livery and corporate branding was announced. The new livery is an evolution of the well known burgundy and cream colour scheme.

Under the changes, the trading name for the business became East Yorkshire, with a new typeface, and the white rose of Yorkshire replacing the letter O, to form part of the logo.

The new East Yorkshire brand was launched at an event at Hull City Football Club's KCOM Stadium, with two buses displayed in the new livery.[30]

East Yorkshire Coaches

Coaches are operated for hire, day trips and short holidays, with services running under the East Yorkshire Coaches name.

East Yorkshire Coaches also traded as Frodingham Coaches between November 2001 and October 2007, following the purchase of the company.[31]

The previous coaching operation, East Yorkshire Travel, was once a nationwide operator, but was sold to the Godfrey Burley Group in 1996.

East Yorkshire is also a National Express contractor, operating a number of routes to destinations across the country.

Fleet and operations

A large part of the East Yorkshire fleet is made up of vehicles manufactured by Alexander Dennis and Volvo. As of December 2016, the fleet consists of 316 buses and coaches.[32]

In May 2015, East Yorkshire was the first operator to take delivery of a MCV EvoSeti. Following further deliveries in January and September 2017, an additional 18 vehicles were added to the fleet.[33][34]

A heritage fleet is maintained by East Yorkshire, consisting of a Leyland PD2 open-top, and a Willowbrook bodied AEC Regent.[35]

Depots

As of March 2020, East Yorkshire operate from six bus depots:

Acquisitions

Moorsbus

East Yorkshire formerly operated Moorsbus services from the Hull depot, with the two duties usually operating with Wright Eclipse bodied Volvo B7RLE vehicles. In 2013, these services were withdrawn, following the withdrawal of funding for Moorsbus services.

In early 2014, East Yorkshire registered service ME1, Moors Explorer, which replaced the previous M13 and M14 services running from Hull.

The new Moors Explorer ME1 service runs from Hessle, Hull, Cottingham and Beverley to Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Danby, closely following the old route. The service is being run on a commercial basis by East Yorkshire, and has proved very popular with both local residents, as well as visitors to the North York Moors.

Documentary

East Yorkshire was the subject of an eight-part documentary series, On The Yorkshire Buses. The documentary originally aired on Channel 5 in July 2014, and was narrated by Simon Farnaby.[36][37]

References
  1. "Companies House extract company no 2133854 Scarborough & District Motor Services Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  2. "Go-Ahead Welcomes East Yorkshire Motor Services into Go North East". Go North East. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. "Go-Ahead unveils the new look for East Yorkshire". Transport Designed. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  4. "Companies House extract company no 216628 East Yorkshire Motor Services Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  5. "History". East Yorkshire Motor Services. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  6. "Companies House extract company no 2133854 Scarborough and District Motor Services Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. "WRAC chases United". Commercial Motor. 10 September 1987. p. 25. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  8. "Companies House extract company no 2065145 EYMS Group Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  9. "Companies House extract company no 546796 Connor and Graham Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  10. "Companies House extract company no 2142740 Whittle Coach & Bus Limited formerly East Yorkshire Railways Limited formerly EYMS Yesteryear Travel Limited formerly Cottingham Mini Coaches Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  11. "Companies House extract company no 2123369 EYMS Bus & Coach Training Limited formerly Primrose Valley Coaches Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  12. "UK Large Bus Operator of the Year". EYMS.co.uk. 9 October 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  13. "And the winner is..." EYMS.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  14. "Companies House extract company no 243051 Finglands Coachways Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  15. "FirstGroup plc Agree To Acquire Finglands Bus Operations In Manchester". FirstGroup. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  16. "Jobs saved as famous bus firm gears up for takeover". Manchester Evening News. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  17. "End of the road for Finglands as takeover deal reached". Manchester Evening News. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  18. "First given OFT approval to acquire Finglands bus operations in Manchester". FirstGroup. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  19. "First take over Finglands bus services". Transport for Greater Manchester. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  20. "EYMS sell Finglands' coaches". Bus & Coach Professional. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  21. "EYMS GROUP TO BUY WHITTLE'S BUS AND COACH BUSINESS IN KIDDERMINSTER". 9 January 2004. Archived from the original on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  22. "Johnsons to acquire Whittle's coach operation". Bus & Coach Buyer. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  23. "Johnsons New Owners of Whittles". Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  24. "Henley's Johnsons to buy Whittles". Route One. 18 December 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  25. "Whittle Coach & Bus Future" (PDF). Whittle Coach & Bus. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  26. "Johnsons acquires Whittle from EYMS Group". Transport News Brief. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  27. "East Yorkshire Motor Services Acquired By Go-Ahead". Yorkshire Coast Radio. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  28. Campbell, James (18 June 2018). "Hull bus company EYMS has been sold". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  29. "£1m Investment In Contactless Ticketing Proving Popular For Bus Users In East And North Yorkshire". Business Up North. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  30. "Go-Ahead has unveiled its new look for East Yorkshire Motor Services". Transport Designed. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  31. "Companies House extract company no 2288701 A Wilkinson Limited formerly Frodingham Coaches Limited". Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  32. "Fleet List". East Yorkshire Motor Services. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  33. "MCV unveils EvoSeti double decker". Bus & Coach Buyer. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  34. "12 MCV Volvos enter EYMS service". Buses. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  35. "Heritage Fleetlist". East Yorkshire Motor Services. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  36. "On The Yorkshire Buses". Ear ache voices. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  37. "EYMS filmed for documentary". Driffield Times & Post. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.

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