Stagecoach in Hull

East Lancs E Type bodied Dennis Dominator in Hull in May 1995

Fleet in original Stagecoach livery in 2001

Stagecoach in Hull's origins can be traced back to the Hull City Council owned Hull Corporation Transport, which in addition to buses, also operated trams and trolleybuses in the city.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Hull Corporation Transport was renamed Kingston-upon-Hull City Transport (KHCT) and, as had been the case for decades, KHCT shared Hull's bus network with National Bus Company subsidiary East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS). To comply with the Transport Act 1985, in 1986 the assets of KHCT were transferred to a new legal entity.[2]

At this stage co-ordination/co-operation of the Hull bus network between KHCT and EYMS, which was now owned by its management, was deemed illegal and the two operators became engaged in fierce competition from the late 1980s to the early/mid 1990s.

EYMS began to operate on much of KHCT's network of services and KHCT's position was compounded by smaller-sized competitors entering Hull's bus network, including City Traveller, Connor & Graham, Metro Citybus and Pride of the Road/North Bank Travel. These operators focused on the more profitable corridors of Hull's bus network, with elderly second-hand vehicles and in some, not all, cases a low-fare down-market image.

These operators would eventually fade away, either going bankrupt or being taken over. in particular by EYMS. As a consequence KHCT was making losses and was itself subject to a hostile takeover bid from EYMS. The bid was rejected but, faced with escalating losses and increased competition, in December 1993 Hull City Council sold KHCT to Stockton-on-Tees based Cleveland Transit.[3] This deal saw KHCT's employees a 49% stake in the business. At the time Cleveland Transit was considered one of the emerging 'groups' within the British bus industry, with acquisitions in County Durham, Teesside, Yorkshire.

In November 1994 Cleveland Transit including KHCT was sold to Stagecoach.[3]

KHCT's blue and white livery, a modified version based on Cleveland Transit's green livery, was maintained by Stagecoach. However, by December 1995 KHCT been renamed Stagecoach Kingston Upon Hull, later Stagecoach in Hull, with the Stagecoach corporate livery being introduced by spring of 1996.

Until April 2013 Stagecoach in Hull operated services on the Cleveland Transit[4] when they were transferred to the Lincolnshire Road Car[1] licence.[5][6]

Upon retendering by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council in 2019, Stagecoach in Hull gained the contract to operate seasonal park and ride services in Bridlington, also launching a '99' bus service operating from Hull to Bridlington three times a day.[7][8]

• Stagecoach in Hull website