Transdev Harrogate & District

The Harrogate Bus Company

Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL at Seacroft bus station in May 2011
Parent	Transdev Blazefield
Founded	1906
Headquarters	Harrogate
Service area	North Yorkshire
Service type	Bus services
Routes	13 (October 2013)
Hubs	Harrogate Leeds
Depots	1
Fleet	70 (October 2013)
Website	www.harrogatebus.co.uk

The Harrogate Bus Company is a bus operator based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield. Commencing in July 2016, the business is progressively being rebranded from Transdev in Harrogate.

In 1906 The Harrogate Road Car Company was formed, initially operating steam buses in Harrogate, and from 1911 petrol buses. In 1924 it was absorbed into Tilling & British Automobile Traction and renamed Harrogate & District Road Car Company. With the company's expansion during the following years, in 1927 it was renamed West Yorkshire Road Car Company, to reflect its wider geographical spread.

In 1948, along with other companies that were then part of the Tilling Group, West Yorkshire Road Car Company was nationalised. In 1968 West Yorkshire Road Car Company became part of the National Bus Company.

In 1987 West Yorkshire Road Car Company was sold in a management buyout to former East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director Alan Stephenson's AJS Group and in December 1988 split into smaller companies, one of which was Harrogate & District Transport Limited. In April 1989 Harrogate Independent Travel, which had been set up as an independent operator in January 1987 by 10 former Harrogate drivers to challenge their former employer, was purchased by AJS Group.

In 1991 Harrogate & District Travel was one of a number of AJS Group subsidiaries sold to Blazefield Travel. In 1996 Cowie's United Automobile Services operation in Ripon was purchased.

In January 2006 Harrogate & District Travel was included in the sale of Blazefield Holdings to Transdev. Harrogate & District was rebranded as Transdev in Harrogate. Starting from July 2016, Transdev in Harrogate was again rebranded to the Harrogate Bus Company.

As at June 2016, the Harrogate Bus Company operates 13 bus routes. The key marketed route is 36, a high frequency service between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds.