Yorkshire Traction
 | |
|
| |
| Founded | March 1902 |
|---|---|
| Ceased operation | December 2005 |
| Headquarters | Barnsley |
| Service area | Yorkshire |
| Service type | Bus operator |
| Hubs | Barnsley and Rotherham |
| Fleet | 66 |
Yorkshire Traction[1] was a bus operator in Yorkshire that operated from 1902 until 2005.
History
In March 1902 the Barnsley & District Electric Traction Company Limited was formed. It operated trams around the Barnsley area until around 1930. In 1928, prior to the trams being withdrawn, the company was renamed from the Barnsley & District Traction Company Limited (the 'electric' part of the name being dropped some years earlier). The company was affectionately referred to as 'Tracky'.
In October 1968, Yorkshire Traction purchased Mexborough & Swinton Traction Company[2] and County Motors.[3][4]
As part of the privatisation of the National Bus Company, Yorkshire Transit was sold in January 1987 to a management buyout.[5][6] The business subsequently expanded through purchasing other operators including:
- Ridings Travel[7]
- Barnsley & District formed in July 1990 when Yorkshire Traction bought the bus business of Tom Jowitt Travel, Wombwell[8][9]
- Lincolnshire RoadCar Company[6][10]
- Lincoln City Transport
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Andrews (Sheffield) (merged with Yorkshire Terrier in 1998)
- Sheffield Omnibus (merged with Andrews (Sheffield) in 1996)
- South Riding (merged with Andrews (Sheffield) in 1995)
- Strathtay Scottish in May 1991[6]
- Meffans Coaches (a subsidiary of Strathtay)
- London Traveller 35% shareholding, sold in to Thorpes in October 2001[11]
In December 2005, Yorkshire Traction was sold to Stagecoach Yorkshire.[12][13] In May 2008, Stagecoach sold its Huddersfield operations to Centrebus Holdings and is now operated by Arriva Yorkshire as Yorkshire Tiger, while the part of the business remaining with Stagecoach was renamed Stagecoach Sheffield.[14]
Operations
The company operated services across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and into Leeds, Huddersfield and eventually, Sheffield. From the 1974 merger of Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster municipal bus companies until the mid-1990s, the operating area of South Yorkshire was split between South Yorkshire Transport and Yorkshire Traction with the former dominating Sheffield and Rotherham. Through the acquisitions of Sheffield Omnibus, South Riding, Andrews and Yorkshire Terrier in the early 1990s, the company gained a significant foothold in Sheffield.
Yorkshire Traction had for decades been a major regional operator of National Express services covering nationwide routes in addition to its regular and long established services in and out of London to Yorkshire towns and cities. It had also operated alongside National Travel, the short break holiday arm of National Bus Company. Upon privatisation, YTC launched Ridings Travel and became a popular choice for the short break coach holidaymaker within the region.
References
- ↑ Companies House extract company no 72962 Yorkshire Traction Company Limited formerly Mexborough & Swinton Traction Company Limited formerly Barnsley & District Electric Traction Company Limited
- ↑ Companies House extract company no 523376 Arriva North West Limited formerly North Western Road Car Company Limited formerly Mexborough & Swinton Traction Company Limited
- ↑ Yorkshire Traction absorbs local fleets Commercial Motor 25 October 1968 page 33
- ↑ Yorkshire Traction buys County Motors Commercial Motor 24 January 1969 page 27
- ↑ NBC sells 'Tracky' Commercial Motor 7 February 1987 page 18
- 1 2 3 YTC set to win Strathtay Commercial Motor 16 May 1991 page 20
- ↑ In Brief Commercial Motor 19 January 1989 page 14
- ↑ Companies House extract company no 2503122 Barnsley & District Traction Company Limited
- ↑ Tom Jowitt sells its bus business Commercial Motor 2 August 1990 page 16
- ↑ NBC sells off Lincs Road Car Commercial Motor 4 February 1988 page 16
- ↑ "Sovereign and Traction Sell Up in London". Buses (573): 5. December 2002.
- ↑ Stagecoach buys Yorkshire traction Bus & Coach Professional 15 December 2005
- ↑ About Stagecoach Sheffield Stagecoach
- ↑ Arriva unleashes its Yorkshire Tiger Bus & Coach Professional 9 October 2013
- John Banks Prestige Series No.36 Yorkshire Traction 2 *Venture Publications ISBN 978-1-905304-11-0
- John Banks Prestige Series No.5 Yorkshire Traction Venture Publications ISBN 978-1-898432-21-0
