History Of York Pullman

York Pullman is a name synonymous with travel in York. The history of the firm can be traced back to the early 1920s when garage owner Norman Pearce started operating a service between York and Stamford Bridge.

In 1926 Hartas Foxton joined forces with Pearce to establish the York Pullman Bus Company, adopting the maroon, yellow and cream livery of the old ‘Pullman’ railway carriages.

The company continued to expand and by 1938 it had outgrown its three garages in Lead Mill Lane, James Street and Piccadilly. A large area of derelict land was acquired in Navigation Road and a new depot constructed on the site of a former glassworks factory.

With the onset of war in 1939, the Piccadilly garage was requisitioned and would never fully return to Pullman use.

York Pullman continued to provide much needed bus services throughout the war years and in 1951 the firm moved into new premises and Bootham Tower became their new home.

Over the following decades, the firm continued to flourish and by the 1970s it was carrying over 1,000,000 passengers annually. In addition to offering service buses it also provided customers with an extensive day excursion programme as well as holidays.

With de-regulation came change and by 1990 the trading name of ‘York Pullman’ had been sold to Hull City Transport along with 20 coaches from the fleet.

The York Pullman name was finally resurrected by Tom James of K&J Travel of York in April 2007 and the firm, now known simply as The York Pullman Bus Company Ltd,  continues to flourish to date with more than 120 vehicles in operation.