Following on from the sale of Arriva’s Cannock depot and operations in January to Chaserider, the standalone Yorkshire Tiger operation of the Deutsche Bahn-owned group is the next to change ownership in the coming months
Transdev has signed an agreement to buy the West Yorkshire-based Yorkshire Tiger bus operations from Arriva UK Bus, with completion expected in the summer.
The announcement will not affect local bus services and Arriva employees are set to transition over to Transdev as part of the sale agreement.
Once complete, the sale is set to include Arriva’s two depots at Elland, near Halifax, and Waterloo in Huddersfield, as well as 61 buses. The agreement will also see Arriva’s 163 drivers, engineers, cleaning and support colleagues based at these two depots join Transdev’s family of over 1,200 people at eight operating centres across the region. The sole exceptions are the 231 and 232 Huddersfield – Wakefield routes, which are planned to remain within Arriva as part of its Yorkshire business.
Transdev said it is to begin a programme to welcome each and every one of the transferring colleagues to its operation through one-to-one meetings.
Yorkshire Tiger’s current day and season passes are expected to be integrated into Transdev’s range of tickets, while West Yorkshire Metro’s range of multi-operator tickets will continue to be valid on all its services.
Transdev Blazefield CEO Alex Hornby said: “We are thrilled to be growing our team and our company, and are really looking forward to serving this part of West Yorkshire for the first time. This demonstrates Transdev’s long-term commitment to develop our business here in the north of England, building on a clear track record of success. At this critical time for the bus, we believe it can play a key role in enabling our economic recovery, both locally and nationally.
“We’re looking forward to meeting all our new colleagues and new customers, as well as strengthening relationships with our local authority partners further. This presents a hugely exciting opportunity to all work together and improve the quality of bus travel further across Halifax and Huddersfield.”
Arriva Area Managing Director Patrick Sibley said: “Although we will be sad to hand over the operations of our Tiger business, we are delighted that it will be in the hands of Transdev, a well-known local bus company, who will take good care of the depots, customers and all employees.”
Arriva and Transdev are both paying tribute to the hard work of driving and support teams at its Halifax and Huddersfield depots throughout the pandemic as an important factor in securing the company’s future. Both Transdev and Arriva say they are committed to working together to ensure a smooth and effective transition for customers and colleagues over the coming months.
