Greetings from Yorkshire

Here at Transdev, our Yorkshire routes run deep – as does our pride at winning one of the bus industry’s most hotly-contested awards for our positive drive to promote our amazing bus network across the White Rose County.

We’re delighted to have been chosen by an independent judging panel to receive a coveted Gold prize at the UK Bus Awards – the nation’s biggest celebration of innovation and excellence among bus operators – for our unique approach aimed at changing outdated perceptions of bus travel, while wooing car drivers and leisure customers onto our smart branded buses.

Under the title ‘Greetings From Yorkshire’, we promote our routes as desirable leisure products, while boosting ticket deals, visibility, and accessibility to welcome customers back to bus with a premium quality and outstanding value for money product.

Alan Millar, Chair of the UK Bus Awards, commented: “After a tumultuous couple of years as a result of the pandemic, it’s fantastic to see the dedication, creativity and excellence of the UK bus industry have not diminished.”

Our success story goes back to 2018, when our Coastliner 840 over the North York Moors to Whitby was crowned as Britain’s Most Scenic Bus Route in a national poll. World TV coverage took our message to a huge global audience – and, to make our offer to potential new customers as stunning as the views from our buses, we forged new partnerships with visitor attractions along the journey, using a ‘Transdev Treats’ voucher alongside bus tickets bought from drivers and via the Transdev Go mobile app.

Our ‘Greetings from Yorkshire’ map (available free on buses, at bus stations and online) highlights exclusive ‘Transdev Treats’ discounts, while its artwork also features on promotional bus liveries and shopping bags sold at bus stations and our online ‘Transdev Boutique’. And our exclusive online Scenic Route Guides series highlights views and landmarks to look for throughout the journey from city to coast.

Like every leisure travel provider, we’ve faced the challenges posed by the global pandemic – including on our ‘City Sightseeing York’ branded open top tour buses in York. We now have a fresh fleet of high-spec, low-emission buses with new interiors, launched at York Minster with over 50 tourism and transport leaders on board.

Discounts for York residents and key workers help to attract locals and staycationers, plus Hallowe’en and Christmas themed tours partnered with local attractions. And our diverse team – including amazing people originally from Italy, Canada, France, and Ecuador – provide a knowledgeable and friendly welcome on board.

We also offer combined travel and tour discounts for customers arriving in York by Coastliner, and on Castle Line from Ryedale – joining tours to our network to offer simple, one-purchase leisure travel options in a way often overlooked by others.

In 2021, we delivered our best-ever tour performance, with 37% year-on-year customer growth – with all the signs pointing to an even better 2022 result when our figures come in.

Elsewhere, our fast-growing Team Pennine bus company now offers a ‘Great Northern Line’ branded route linking Halifax and Keighley.

Our brighter, better buses now connect the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, famed around the world as the setting for the much loved 1970 film The Railway Children and its 2022 sequel, The Railway Children Return, with two of West Yorkshire’s most diverse and visitor-friendly towns.

Meanwhile our BronteBus routes (formerly the complicated 500/664/665) between Keighley, Haworth, and Hebden Bridge, now feature destination-led branding to remind motorists that our buses are greener and cheaper.

Our track record shows our unique approach – creating buses that people are proud to be seen on – works. We’re delivering strong recovery in customer numbers and we’re aiming to grow further and faster in 2023 and beyond.

No wonder we’re proud of our Yorkshire routes!