The West Yorkshire
Information Service was founded in 1951 to facilitate the collection and
distribution of information relating to the vehicles and activities of
the West Yorkshire Road Car Company Ltd. This was one of the very first
local enthusiasts' organisations formed for the sole purpose of studying
a single bus company. Good relations were established with the company
at the outset, thus making possible the provision of a comprehensive monthly
news bulletin giving particulars of all stock changes and transfers, together
with operating notes, news of sold vehicles, service changes and other
information.
The West Yorkshire
Road Car Company Ltd itself was based in Harrogate. It started life in
1906 as the Harrogate Road Car Company Ltd, being renamed the Harrogate
& District Road Car Company Ltd in 1924. As a result of the acquisition
of a number of other operators it was further renamed the West Yorkshire
Road Car Company Ltd in late 1927 and from then until 1990 provided bus
and coach services over a wide area of Yorkshire. It had main depots at
Bradford, Harrogate, Keighley, Leeds and York, together with a number of
sub-depots, and for much of its existence operated over 400 buses.
The privatisation
of the National Bus Company in the late 1980s resulted in many changes
taking place to the West Yorkshire company, the principal effect of which
was that it was broken up into smaller companies and the West Yorkshire
name disappeared. The West Yorkshire Information Service continued to cover
those companies operating the former West Yorkshire services - these being
Harrogate and District Travel, Keighley and District Travel, First in York
and Yorkshire Coastliner - and celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 2011.
Over the years the
Service has published a number of books; because of their limited print
run most are now out of stock but copies of the latest book are still available
- NOW AT A SPECIAL PRICE. Click here
for details.
Note that 2011 was the final year for the
WYIS. For 60 years it has recorded the history and events relating to the
West Yorkshire Road Car Company, but we took the reluctant decision to
close down after this year, for the simple reason that little remains to
record of the West Yorkshire Company. We will be ending with a Social Meeting
and commemorative final edition on 14 April 2012.
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