In First West Yorkshire Buses the author, Scott Poole, documents the ups and downs of the First West Yorkshire operator.
Yorkshire Rider was originally formed in 1986, from the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, as part of the deregulation of local bus services. Later, in 1994, it became part of the Badgerline Group. In 1995 the merging of Bristol-based Badgerline and Scottish-based GRT Holding saw the creation of FirstBus in West Yorkshire and the introduction of a corporate logo. When the Yorkshire Rider fleet was divided into subsidiaries local liveries arrived, however by 1998 First were pushing for its ‘Willow Leaf’ livery and corporate interior as the standard. From 2004 the former West Yorkshire PTE vehicles were withdrawn and replaced by the standard Volvo/Wrightbus vehicles. The low-floor era brought in 120 Volvo/Alexander double-deckers and 20 Volvo saloons with Wrightbus bodies. Investment in Bradford and Leeds was apparent, eventually trickling down elsewhere. In 2012 First refreshed the livery with a more pastel colour scheme, as ninety-eight new buses arrived in Leeds from the Olympic Games. Newer vehicles were also cascaded into Halifax and Huddersfield.
Scott provides a concise history of the group, followed by a range of his previously unpublished images. The majority of photographs are displayed in two per-page format and they are all accompanied by a detailed caption.
191 photographs. 96 pages.