AJS Group In September 1987,
West Yorkshire Road Car Company was sold to
AJS Group in a
management buy-out from the
National Bus Company, with the participation of former
East Yorkshire Motor Services managing director, Alan Stephenson. In April 1988, AJS acquired
London Country North East from the
National Bus Company, the last of 72 subsidiaries to be privatised. Prior to the sale, the company was split into two new companies,
County Bus & Coach and
Sovereign Bus & Coach. In August 1989, operations in
Bradford and
Leeds were transferred to
Yorkshire Rider. The remaining operations of the former West Yorkshire Road Car Company were subsequently split into smaller companies:
Keighley & District,
Harrogate & District and
York City & District. In July 1990, operation of local bus services in
York were also transferred to Yorkshire Rider. AJS also acquired Cambridge Coach Services, which operated coach services from
Cambridge, day tours, short breaks and charters. The company began operations on 20 May 1990, The sale did not include Cambridge Coach services, although that company continued to be operated by Blazefield Holdings while a buyer was sought between August and November 1991. Initially, there were seven operating subsidiaries:
Keighley & District,
Harrogate & District, Harrogate Independent Travel,
Sovereign Bus & Coach,
Sovereign Harrow and Welwyn Hatfield Line. Following the sale to the Blazefield Group, expansion soon followed, with the purchase of Cambridge Coach Services along with Lucketts of
Watford, trading as Luckybus, in November 1991. Ingfield of Settle was purchased in April 1992, and was merged with Keighley-based Northern Rose to form Ingfield–Northern Rose. In 1986, Harrogate Independent Travel had been set up by a number of West Yorkshire Road Car Company drivers, in a bid to challenge their former employer. The company was subsequently purchased by the AJS Group in April 1989, before being merged with Harrogate & District in 1993. Harrogate & District further expanded in October 1996, following the acquisition of
Cowie Group subsidiary
United Automobile Services'
Ripon operations. In 1994, Blazefield purchased
Borehamwood Travel Services, acquiring a fleet of 22
AEC Routemasters as part of the company's fleet of 43 buses. The company was later renamed
London Sovereign. In the same year, Ingfield–Northern Rose purchased Whaites Coaches of Settle. By this time, the group owned around 380 vehicles. In 1998, Huntingdon & District was created following the purchase of Premier Buses from
Julian Peddle. A year later, Cambridge Coach Services was sold to
National Express-owned
Airlinks in 1999. In April 2001, the
Stagecoach Group sold their
Stagecoach North West operations in
Blackburn,
Bolton and
Clitheroe to the Blazefield Group for £13 million (), which rebranded them as
Burnley & Pendle and
Lancashire United. In August 2002, the depot in
Bolton was sold to
Blue Bus and Coach Services. Over the next three years, Blazefield gradually withdrew from its operations in the south of England. In 2002,
London Sovereign was sold to
Transdev S.A., with Huntingdon & District sold to Cavalier Travel of
Sutton Bridge the following year. In 2004, operations in
St Albans were sold to
Centrebus.
Transdev 's
36, another of Transdev Blazefield's flagship services In January 2006, French-based operator
Transdev acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles. Eight months later, Accrington Transport and
Northern Blue were acquired, along with the transfer of staff and 65 vehicles. In August 2008, Top Line Travel and
Veolia Transport were purchased, giving the company a further foothold in the York area. The company further expanded in February 2012 following the purchase of
York Pullman's local bus operations, including the transfer of 31 staff and 17 vehicles. Following the granting of approval on 20 December 2017,
Rossendale Transport Limited was sold by
Rossendale Borough Council on 12 January 2018. The sale saw the company's 240 staff and 102 vehicles join Transdev Blazefield, a move which saw the investment of £3 million in a new fleet of high-specification vehicles for routes in and around
Bury,
Rochdale and
Rossendale. In August 2020, Transdev took over operation of
Leeds Bradford Airport's bus route network from previous operator
Yorkshire Tiger, branding the network as
Flyer, alongside acquiring their depot in
Idle. In April 2021, Transdev agreed terms with
Arriva to purchase the remainder of the Yorkshire Tiger operation in West Yorkshire. The sale was completed in July 2021, following which the operation was rebranded
Team Pennine, with a two-tone pink livery introduced. In December 2024, Transdev announced the purchase of long-established bus operator
Reliance Motor Services. The sale included seven routes and eleven vehicles. ==Fleet and operations==