Harrogate Bus Company

The Harrogate Bus Company (formerly "Harrogate & District", and brand-name "Transdev in Harrogate") is a bus operator based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield.
History.
In 1906, The Harrogate Road Car Company was formed, initially operating steam buses, before adopting conventionally-fuelled vehicles 1911.
In 1924, the company was absorbed into Tilling & British Automobile Traction and renamed "Harrogate & District Road Car Company". Following the company's expansion the company was renamed "West Yorkshire Road Car Company" in 1927, to reflect the wider service area provided.
In 1948, along with other companies that were then part of the Tilling Group, West Yorkshire Road Car Company was nationalised. In 1968, West Yorkshire Road Car Company became part of the National Bus Company.
In 1987, West Yorkshire Road Car Company was sold in a management buyout, to former East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director Alan Stephenson's AJS Group. In December 1988, the business was split into smaller companies, one of which was Harrogate & District Transport Limited.
Harrogate Independent Travel was set up as an independent in 1986, following the deregulation of bus services, by a number of West Yorkshire's Harrogate drivers to challenge their employer. This company was purchased by AJS Group in April 1989.
In 1991, Harrogate & District Travel was one of a number of AJS Group subsidiaries sold to Blazefield Travel. In 1996, the Ripon operations of Cowie's United Automobile Services was purchased.
In January 2006, Harrogate & District Travel was included in the sale of Blazefield Holdings to Transdev, with the company re-branded as "Transdev in Harrogate". 
In July 2016, the company was again re-branded, now operating as "The Harrogate Bus Company".
Routes and brands.
The Harrogate Bus Company.
A rebrand of the company commenced in July 2016 from the former Transdev in Harrogate branding. This brought a new two tone Red livery. A number of different services operate under this brand including a number of school services operated by the company. This livery is also used as a base for other service brands including Harrogate Electrics, The 1, and The 7.
Harrogate Electrics.
A number local services running in and around Harrogate are operated by a fleet of 8 fully-electric, high-specification Volvo 7900E vehicles, branded in the two tone red "Harrogate Electrics" livery. The vehicles were introduced in July 2018, following a £1.7 million investment from Transdev, together with £2.25 million of funding granted from the Government's "Low Emission Bus Scheme".
The 1.
This is the brand used for routes between Harrogate and Knaresborough. Services include the 1 which operates just between the two towns, the 1A to Aspin, 1B to Eastfield, 1C to Carmires, and 1D to The Pastures. These services are operated by 9 Volvo B7RLE Eclipses in a two tone red livery, offering free WiFi, USB power, and next stop information.
The 7.
This is the brand used for route 7 between Harrogate, Wetherby, and Leeds. This service is operated by 7 Volvo B7RLE Eclipses in a two tone red livery, offering free WiFi, USB power, and next stop information.
36 Riding Redefined.
One of Blazefield's flagship services, it serves Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon upto every 10 minutes. This service is operated by 16 high-specification Volvo B5TL Gemini 3s in a Black and Red livery. Offering free Wifi, USB power, and next stop information.
Former operations.
A significant former route was the "Airport Xpress" 767 service, running from Harrogate to Leeds Bradford Airport. The service was operated by the then "Harrogate & District" from April 2005, until the contract was awarded to Dales & District, in April 2010. The link between Harrogate and Leeds Bradford Airport is now provided by the new Flyer A2 service of Yorkshire Coastliner, operating out of Idle, after taking over the contract from Yorkshire Tiger on 30 August 2020.
A re-tendering exercise carried out by North Yorkshire County Council in 2011, saw all council contracted routes operated by the company pass to other operators in the area, excluding the X59 service, which operated between Harrogate and Skipton. This service was operated commercially, and at a reduced frequency, for a short period, until it was withdrawn in March 2013.
Bus war.
In 2011, then "Transdev in Harrogate", became involved in a bus war with local independent operator, Connexionsbuses. The bus war concerned services operating around Wetherby Bus Station.