"New jobs created in North Yorkshire as we take over routes from Stephensons"
Press release from TransdevThere's great news for jobs and bus passengers in Malton, York and the wider county of North Yorkshire today, with the news that we have been awarded new contracts to replace services formerly run by a collapsed bus firm.
North Yorkshire County Council has confirmed that a package of bus services formerly run by Stephensons of Easingwold has been awarded to Transdev, and as a result, we'll run 2 daytime services and 3 school services under contract to the county council from Monday 19 February.
The award for the contract means that a rapid expansion of the driving team is required at our depot in York, with a new team of drivers required to run the new services.
Our CEO, Alex Hornby, said: “The announcement is great news, both for passengers and for the local economy. We're delighted that as a result of winning this contract, we'll be able to create new jobs at our depot on Hospital Fields Road in York. We'll be taking on a team of up to 4 new drivers to expand our current team and make sure we can provide a stable and high quality service on these routes.”
“We were delighted to welcome a number of former Stephensons drivers into the Transdev family following the collapse during January, and with the news that we'll be running these routes on a permanent basis, we're hoping to open our arms to more ex-Stephensons colleagues.
“We're also delighted for customers, as it ends uncertainty and secures their bus services after the previous operator went into liquidation.
“When that happened we stepped in straight away to take over some of the services involved, and we're delighted that in awarding these new contracts, the county council has recognised that we are in a position to operate and develop these services for the longer term.
The contract award will be complemented by the creation of an exciting new identity for buses across York and the wider county, with the creation of a new local brand to sit alongside the popular Coastliner and Cityzap brands: York & Country. The new identity reflects our recent expansion in York and further into the North Yorkshire countryside, with the new routes branded York & Country alongside other existing routes based at our York & Malton bus depots.
The new services which we'll be running from Monday 19 February are:
- • 181 Malton – Castle Howard
- • 194 Malton – Hovingham
- • 195R Hovingham – Malton schools
- • 226R Acklam – Norton College
- • 256R Easingwold – Ryedale School
The announcement ends a period of uncertainty for bus passengers in the York, Malton and Easingwold areas after Easingwold-based based Stephensons ceased trading during January 2018.
The sudden closure left commuters unaware as services were withdrawn in towns and villages in York and North Yorkshire. Transdev stepped in to cover a number of former Stephensons services, including the 29 and 31/31X, connecting Kirkbymoorside with Easingwold and York. The award of new contracts to Transdev means passengers can look forward to a dependable and high quality service in the months ahead.
Our CEO, Alex, added: “We have a very experienced and customer-focused team at our York depot and we're looking forward to providing the best service for our current and new passengers using these services. The full range of Transdev day, weekly and monthly tickets will also be available, including via our app, Transdev Go, making travel on these routes great value.”
