York Pullman

York Pullman is a bus operating company based in Rufforth, and Hartas Foxton. Its name and livery of maroon, cream and yellow was derived from the luxury Pullman train carriages in use at the time.

In January 1930 Pearce left the company and Foxton became its sole owner, a position he retained until his death thirty years later. In 1938 Pullman opened a new depot in York's Navigation Road to complement its three existing sites, which were no longer large enough to hold the company's fleet. One of these garages, Piccadilly in York, was used by the government during World War II. In 1951 the company moved its headquarters to Bootham Tower.

Pullman continued to expand, and by the 1970s was carrying over one million passengers annually. In 1974 its fleet had increased to 30 vehicles and it was the largest operator of tours and excursions in York, with a small number of local bus services also operated. Coach services were deregulated in October 1980; Pullman introduced a service between York and London in conjunction with Epsom Coaches, but this proved unsuccessful and was quickly withdrawn. The Foxton family, which had retained control of the firm after Hartas Foxton's death in 1960, sold York Pullman to Reynard Coaches in January 1985.

The newly enlarged company, now owned by John and David Marsh, was renamed Reynard Pullman. Following the deregulation of bus services in October 1986, new services were introduced in competition with established operators. By 1988 the fleet stood at 47 vehicles, the majority of which were used on scheduled services in Harrogate, Tadcaster and York, in the latter case in competition with York City & District. The expansion proved short-lived, with the York Pullman name and 20 coaches sold to municipal operator Kingston-upon-Hull City Transport in February 1990. Later in the same year Reynard itself was acquired by Yorkshire Rider, which also took over York City & District to end competition in York.

KHCT began to face increased competition on its core network in the 1990s, and in 1993 it was decided to privatise the company. In readiness for this coaching activities were reduced, and York Pullman was sold to Durham Travel Services who expanded its operations to include school buses, open-top tours and contracted bus services, but in February 2000 sold its York operations to First York, who had earlier acquired Yorkshire Rider and were the dominant operator in the city. The York Pullman name was abandoned, and the office at Bootham Tower closed in October 2002, breaking the last link with the original company. Some of Pullman's older vehicles have been preserved.

Revival (2007–present)

K&J Logistics, a haulage firm which also operated a small number of buses, was formed in 2001 with a depot in Rufforth

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