Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, has officially opened a revitalized Calderdale headquarter and depot for Transdev UK’s fast growing Team Pennine, as the team looks forward to a second year of success on the road.
Total investment of £2.5 million in year one – plus hard work by Team Pennine’s 140 team members – has achieved an amazing turnaround in business performance since Transdev took over struggling predecessor Yorkshire Tiger in August 2021.
Team Pennine’s eye-catching pink buses have become a familiar sight on the streets of Kirklees, Calderdale and beyond, with customer numbers now back to over 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
A full refurbishment of Team Pennine’s depot in Elland has expanded facilities to include an Academy training center and customer service hub, plus an operational base for its expanding network of routes serving Calderdale – including several provided in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
We have ambitious plans for buses in West Yorkshire, with reduced fares and new services key to this. But we need to see that ambition matched by the bus operators, which is why I’m delighted to see Transdev investing in its people and facilities at these depots, and in the local network more broadly. I look forward to working with them to encourage more people back onto our vital bus services.
Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire
After unveiling a commemorative plaque to open the Elland depot, the Mayor toured Team Pennine’s new Academy training center, and its customer service hub set up to ensure travel information and advice is readily available to customers.
This is a proud moment for everyone at Team Pennine as this revitalized base for our Calderdale routes is opened by the Mayor, following our introduction as partners of cheaper fares across West Yorkshire for single journey and all-day travel. We value the importance of working in partnership here at Team Pennine, and we believe our shared road ahead will lead to a bright future for buses in this region. In Team Pennine’s first year, we’ve invested almost £1 million to deliver Halifax’s first new buses for seven years for our ‘Calder Country’ branded route network in and around the town. And there’s more to come – for us, the first twelve months are only the beginning. Our new Academy training center offers industry-leading facilities to new bus drivers, at a time when we are stepping up recruitment and creating jobs for local people – while our customer service hub will be our first point of contact for customer enquiries, benefiting from the knowledge that comes from being based right here in Calderdale. Right from day one, our colleagues here in Elland and at our Waterloo depot in Huddersfield welcomed us with open arms, just as keenly as we welcomed them. Drivers, cleaners, engineers, and duty managers make amazing things happen for our customers each day, and I couldn’t be prouder of every single one of them.
Alex Hornby, Transdev UK’s CEO
In Team Pennine’s first year, accidents involving its buses and people have been cut by 60%, while colleague turnover has reduced from 57% on day one to just 12% today.
Full details of all Team Pennine routes and ticket deals are available online at: transdevbus.co.uk/teampennine, and on the free to download Transdev Go mobile app.