Ulsterbus
Encyclopedia
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
operator in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and operates bus services outside Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. It is part of Translink
Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....
(the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company
Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company
The Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company is a government-owned body which was established in 1967 to take over the railway and bus services of the Ulster Transport Authority , namely Northern Ireland Railways and Ulsterbus...
- NITHCo), which also includes Northern Ireland Railways
Northern Ireland Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
, Metro Belfast
Metro (Belfast)
Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways....
and Flexibus.
Services
Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus services in Northern Ireland. It operates twenty-two bus stations (several of which, such as those at Belfast Europa and Bangor, form integrated transport interchanges with Northern Ireland Railways stations) and 1,100 buses. Ulsterbus is charged with transporting over 65,000 children per day to school. Every July and August, around 250 vehicles are usually de-taxed. This is because not as many are needed for service due to schools finishing for summer holidays.Ulsterbus is now in the process of modernising its fleet for better accessibility for disabled people. On 26 June 2006, Translink announced that the Leyland Leopard
Leyland Leopard
The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-deck bus and coach chassis built by Leyland between 1959 and 1982. It was popular with bus and coach operators throughout the British Isles...
, synonymous with Ulsterbus, will be phased out of service. These are being replaced by the Optare Solo
Optare Solo
The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
bus, amongst others.
Goldline
Goldline is the name given to the inter-city bus services operated by Ulsterbus. Up until the 1990s it had been called Ulsterbus Express and operated many of the same inter-city services as today, but the Belfast-Londonderry service was relaunched as the Maiden City Flyer with eight new coaches in about 1990, and has seen major expansion over the years: Belfast-Derry went from a thrice daily service in 1990 to half-hourly now, and many services have been expanded and introduced. Goldline services are operated from Belfast to major destinations in Northern Ireland, plus the Goldline Express Service 200 to Dublin (via Dublin AirportDublin Airport
Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...
). This service is worked jointly with Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...
service 001.
There are also a number of cross-channel (North Channel
North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
The North Channel is the strait which separates eastern Northern Ireland from southwestern Scotland...
) services to Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, operated in partnership with National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
under the Eurolines
Eurolines
Eurolines is a coach organisation, operating international bus routes within Europe and Morocco to over 500 destinations in over 25 countries. Rather than being a single company, Eurolines is a network of co-operating bus companies from all over Europe, offering integrated ticketing and extensive...
banner.
Ulsterbus Foyle
For many years, Derry's internal bus network was operated as Ulsterbus's Derry City Services. It was reorganised in September 2006 into Ulsterbus Foyle. In the same way that Translink MetroMetro (Belfast)
Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways....
was used to modernize routes in Belfast the Ulsterbus Foyle network now offers 13 set routes across the city into the popular suburban areas of the city. It is hoped that the new service will make transportation in Northern Ireland's second city a lot easier and will encourage people to make use of Derry's public transport system; meantime, regional services between Derry and other towns and villages were rebranded as Londonderry Country services, sharing a District Manager with Ulsterbus Foyle.
UniLink
Ulsterbus operate the "University Link" service between the two main campuses of Northern Ireland's largest universities, Queens University of Belfast, and University of Ulster at the Jordanstown campus. This service is regularly complained about by customers for high student fares and frequently absent services, despite a reasonable timetable.Private/contract hire
Ulsterbus offer a private and contract hire service, with virtually any type of bus in the current fleet available for hire.Day tours
Ulsterbus operate "day tours" to other parts of Northern Ireland, the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; mainly shopping and to some tourist attractions. They also have a private hire service which is in regular use by fans of the two old firm teams Rangers Football Club and Celtic Football Club going from Northern Ireland to Scotland.