TRANSDEV has signed an agreement to buy the Yorkshire Tiger bus services in Halifax and Huddersfield from Arriva, with the deal including two depots, more than 50 buses and over 150 employees.

The announcement today does not affect its bus services in West Yorkshire and Arriva employees are expected to move over to Transdev as part of the sale.

Once complete, the sale is set to include Arriva’s two depots at Elland and Huddersfield, as well as 61 buses. The agreement will also see Arriva’s 163 drivers, engineers, cleaning and support staff based at these two depots join Transdev’s family of over 1,200 people at eight operating centres across the region.

The only exceptions are the 231 and 232 Huddersfield to Wakefield routes, which will remain within Arriva as part of its Yorkshire business.

Yorkshire Tiger’s current day and season passes are expected to be integrated into Transdev’s range of unlimited travel tickets, while West Yorkshire Metro’s range of multi-operator tickets will continue to be valid on all its services.

At this stage it is not known whether the Yorkshire Tiger brand with its distinctive orange buses will be lost to the streets of West Yorkshire.

Transdev is to begin one-to-one meetings with the affected employees in order to transfer staff over to its operation.

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 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.”

Both companies paid 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 are committed to working together to ensure a smooth and effective transition for customers and colleagues.

Transdev in Yorkshire has operating centres in Keighley, Bradford, Harrogate, York and Malton. Parent company Transdev is one of the largest public transport operators in Europe.