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The West Yorkshire Road Car Company Ltd (WYRCC) was a major bus operator covering North- and West Yorkshire. The company was generally referred to as West Yorkshire. It originated in 1906, providing bus and coach services until the privatisation of the National Bus Company in the late 1980s resulted in the company being split into smaller companies and the West Yorkshire name disappearing. It had main depots at Harrogate (also the the Head Office), Bradford, Keighley, Leeds and York, together with a number of sub-depots.
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[edit] A Brief History
[edit] West Yorkshire
The Harrogate Road Car Company formed in 1906 running firstly steam buses in Harrogate, then petrol buses which were introduced in 1911. In 1924 the company was absorbed into the jointly-owned Tilling and British Automobile Traction (TBAT) group, and its name changed to Harrogate and District Road Car Company. With the company's expansion during the following years, its name was changed to West Yorkshire Road Car Company in 1927, to reflect its wider geographical spread.
In the 1930s joint arrangements with Keighley Corporation and York City Council resulted in the formation of Keighley-West Yorkshire and York-West Yorkshire (see below).
In 1948, along with other companies that were then part of the Tilling group, West Yorkshire Road Car Co was nationalised.
In 1967 it acquired the Samuel Ledgard bus company - a significant local independent operator.
In 1968 West Yorkshire Road Car Co became part of the National Bus Company, until privatisation in 1987.
When West Yorkshire Road Car Co returned to private ownership in 1987 it was split into smaller companies: Harrogate & District, Keighley & District and Yorkshire Coastliner. These companies continued under common ownership until 1991 when they was acquired by the Blazefield Group (now part of Transdev UK plc).[1]
[edit] Keighley-West Yorkshire
In 1930 negotiations between Keighley Corporation and West Yorkshire Road Car Co led to a joint company being formed called Keighley-West Yorkshire Services Ltd. This new company absorbed all the local services in and around Keighley, but West Yorkshire Road Car Co kept its longer distance routes.
The 1974 Local Government reorganisation led to Keighley Corporation's interest in the joint company passing to West Yorkshire Road Car Co, with 'Keighley' disappearing as part of the fleet name on local buses for the first time.[2]
[edit] York-West Yorkshire
In 1932 a joint venture with York City Council was formed, called York-West Yorkshire Joint Committee. When the National Bus Company was formed in 1968 it was operating three services in York: National Bus, West Yorkshire Road Car Co (rural areas, Leeds and the East coast), and the York-West Yorkshire joint service.
In 1980, 1981 and 1985 Transport Acts were introduced to gradually deregulate the bus companies. The joint service with York and the City Council could no longer operate and York City Council's interest was sold to West Yorkshire. [3]
[edit] Depots
WYRCC has had a number of operating depots during its existence. During the 1960s vehicles carried small coloured discs next to their fleet number to identify their home depot. The depots and colour codes were as follows:
- Bradford (Blue)
- Harrogate (Green)
- Otley (Green)
- Pateley Bridge (Green)
- Keighley (Grey)
- Grassington (Grey)
- Ilkley (Grey)
- Skipton (Grey)
- Leeds (Maroon)
- Wetherby (Maroon)
- York (Yellow)
- Malton (Yellow)
- Scarborough (Yellow)
[edit] Further information
[edit] References
- ^ Harrogate & District website. Harrogate & District, a brief history.[1] Retrieved 1 December 2006.
- ^ Keighley and District website. Keighley and District - a brief history. [2] Retrieved 30 November 2006.
- ^ First York website. History/Fleet List. [3] Retrieved 30 November 2006.
