A tale of Team Pennine

Team Pennine began with the acquisition of West Yorkshire-based operator Yorkshire Tiger.

We had big plans to turn around services that had seen better days with new buses, bigger and better branding that connected with the local community and to give our new customers the local services that they deserved.

In the year following the acquisition in July 2021, we invested £2.5m into the business and our people. Tired-looking buses which came with the deal have been progressively replaced and renewed with the signature Team Pennine identity and an eye-catching pink livery created by renowned UK design agency Best Impressions.

Five new branded bus routes have launched with the most successful, Holmfirth Explorer, attracting 14% more customers since its launch last September – while an investment of almost £1 million delivered Halifax’s first new buses for seven years, for a new ‘Calder Country’ network in and around the town.

A lot of hard work has gone into this revival by our 140 colleagues based at our two newly acquired depots at Waterloo in Huddersfield and Elland which is near Halifax. They’ve been integral to the roll-out of the new vehicles, improvement to the reputation inherited from Yorkshire Tiger and overall better level of service with journey cancellations halved. Customers have responded well, with numbers back to over 90% of pre-pandemic levels.

In the first year, 63% of the fleet had been replaced, beating the promise we had made for half of the buses inherited from Yorkshire Tiger to be replaced in year one. A quarter of our existing 60 buses have been refurbished to an ‘as new’ standard, too.

We’re further taking care of our new local community, with 24 low-emission buses introduced – bringing 38% of the fleet up to the toughest Euro VI emissions standards.

Delivering a safe and dependable service for the people of Kirklees and Calderdale districts and beyond is a top priority for us. In our first year accidents involving our buses and people have been cut by 60%, new team facilities opened at Elland and colleague turnover has reduced from 57% on day one to just 12% today.

We've worked with local business like Keighley Worth Valley Railway and developed relationships with notable stakeholders such as Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire to better integrate with our new community and address their needs.

Customers also benefit from improved information and ticketing, with better information including paper timetables as well as a new website and app from day one, improved connections and through ticketing onto other Transdev buses across the North – plus active participation in the West Yorkshire M Card any bus, anywhere ticket scheme, with cut-price fares for young people.

Team Pennine has really been a success story for our business, new colleagues and local community. We continue to further improve on what we’ve built so far and provide not only a vital, but a comfortable and integrated service for our customers.