Football has gripped the nation over recent weeks, and last week Transdev got in on the act as England reached their first major tournament final for 55 years. On Friday 9 July, The Harrogate Bus Company unveiled its own tribute to team manager Gareth Southgate in his home town. Serving the area that Gareth has made his home, the operator has named one of its route 36 buses after him, to mark his achievement in leading the national side to the Euro 2020 final against Italy. The firm is also planning to offer the England boss the freedom of Harrogate with a year’s unlimited travel across its network of routes spanning the district.
The company charged £1 for all journeys on any of its services after 1500hrs on match day to enable fans to travel safely as they headed out to watch Sunday evening’s final.
The Harrogate Bus Company CEO Alex Hornby said: “We always like to celebrate one of our own, and they don’t come much bigger than Gareth Southgate’s amazing achievement in leading England to our first major tournament final since 1966. As well as naming one of our 36 buses after Gareth, we plan to offer him the freedom of our bus network for a year – no matter what the outcome of Sunday’s final is – as he’s done so much to lift everyone’s spirits after all the challenges of the last 14 months. We also wanted to do something special for the England supporters who’ve cheered their team on through one nerve-wracking match after another in Euro 2020.”
