The vehicle is the first new service bus the independent business has ever bought. Painted in metallic silver to match the rest of the fleet, and with the Hargreaves name now proudly applied, the interior is to Alexander Dennis’s usual stock specification. It’s fitted throughout with CCTV equipment from Centrad.
The bus will mainly be used on contract and private hire work for local schools.
Hargreaves is a historic, family-run operator based in Hebden, Yorkshire. Established in 1911 with horse-drawn carriers, it’s still run from the same village, by Director Andrew Howick, his son Chris and daughter-in-law Katy, who are fourth- and fifth-generation descendants of the business’s founder.
Today Hargreaves operates a mixture of tours, private hire and school contracts, with a fleet of eight vehicles maintained in-house.
Handover of the new vehicle took place recently at Alexander Dennis’s facility in Scarborough. The bus is now in service, and already well received by passengers.
Chris Howick said: “We really like the specification of the product. Alexander Dennis buses have an impressive reputation, and we’re delighted to have the chance to buy new from such a renowned British brand.
“We’ve run a second-hand Enviro400 on school work for the last couple of years, and it’s always performed really well. That experience has given us the confidence to invest in this beautiful new bus.”
Katy Howick added: “The quality of the bus matches the quality of us as an operator. We have relationships with the local schools going back decades, back to the ‘70s, and we’ve always had a really good reputation for quality with them. The new arrival has already gone down well with our customers and local pupils.”
Martin Dunleavy, Regional Sales Manager for Alexander Dennis, said: “It’s a pleasure to hand over this bus to the Howick family, who run a beautiful small fleet and do the Yorkshire Dales proud. It’s an honour that they’ve selected Alexander Dennis for the latest addition to their fleet. Thank you to Andrew, Chris, Katy and the team for trusting us to deliver.”
