North Yorkshire Buses

The County of North Yorkshire evolved from the old North Riding of Yorkshire, expanding to take over a bit of the West Riding around the Selby area and the city of York itself. The area around Middlesbrough was lost to Cleveland for a while, but has now been "recaptured." North Yorkshire has long been the meeting point of many major bus operators. United Automobile Services dominated the north, West Riding Automobile Services the south; West Yorkshire Road Car had services in Harrogate and the city of York, while East Yorkshire Motor Services came into York and Scarborough from its home territory. Privatization and takeovers meant that municipal transport disappeared from North Yorkshire, but the result was that the county is today served by the country’s four largest bus groups—Stagecoach, Arriva, First, and Transdev. Britain’s largest independent, East Yorkshire Motor Services, also still operates into the county. There have been many smaller companies over the years providing public transport to the Yorkshire public, though some have vanished. Nevertheless, there is still a great variety of independents to be found. John Law has been photographing the county’s bus scene over many years and has amassed a vast collection of images, the best of which are presented here—from trams and trolleybuses to today’s low-floor buses.