Blazefield & Ashmore

Sometimes, when things start to accelerate, they never seem to stop. Hot on the heels of the Transdev purchase of Yellow Buses comes news that Transdev today has scooped up Blazefield, the biggest independent bus group in the UK. This moves Transdev from a relatively though important minor to as good as major player in the UK.

The similarity regarding the two sales? No announcement on any purchase prices for either deal… yet.

The difference? Blazefield’s two senior managers remain. Not so at Yellow Buses, where news that John Ashmore left his post on 31 December 2005 is now in the public domain.

Ashmore had been in post a little over a year and replaced long-standing director and finally MD Roy Edgley. Ashmore joined at a time of great uncertainty (just as Bournemouth council announced it would sell Yellow Buses), but in spite of the difficulties he faced during a turbulent sale process and troublesome neighbour Wilts & Dorset’s continued forays into established Yellow Buses markets, Ashmore has got on with the job of holding things together, getting buses out and defending Yellow Buses position as best he could – with one arm tied behind his back. His departure was almost inevitable. In the words of the Neil Diamond song, “Don't you know, the higher the top, the longer the drop.” The decision was “by mutual agreement”. In classic positive Ashmore style, he commented “It has been my pleasure to work at Yellow Buses. I wish my colleagues success in building further upon the excellent reputation of the company.”

Father of five Ashmore had an amazing escape in November when he was unexpectedly confronted with four deer on the A31 dual carriageway at the Rufus Stone. The resultant crash wrote off his car but left him only with scratches.

Meanwhile, Transdev’s presence in Britain improved considerably at the sale, with a combined fleet of some 1,200 vehicles. Within the stable now come such names as Burnley & Pendle, Harrogate & District, Keighley & District, Lancashire United and Yorkshire Coastliner. Coastliner is Britain’s most profitable operator. Subsidiaries are known for their innovations, quality and the awards they have won and all have strong, local identities. They actually sit well with Yellow Buses and Transdev’s other UK subsidiaries.

Blazefield was formed 15 years ago.