Four days of free electric buses with Jubilee Freeway
Steve Ottley, Sara Ferguson and Matthew Chapman
'We're powering up your party for Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee' – that’s the message from Harrogate’s leading bus operator, The Harrogate Bus Company!
The bus firm is teaming up Harrogate BID – the Business Improvement District set up in 2019 to bring local firms together and provide extra incentives to attract more people to shop local – to provide free rides all day on all of the spa town’s zero emission Harrogate Electrics buses.
The ‘Jubilee Freeway’ initiative is part of the continued partnership between the town’s leading bus operator and Harrogate BID which has previously supported free journeys in the run-up to Christmas in previous years, as well as at the start of 2021.
Harrogate BID chair and business owner Sara Ferguson said:
“We are delighted to be able to extend our successful partnership with The Harrogate Bus Company to sponsor free journeys on its Harrogate Electrics buses across all four days of the Platinum Jubilee holiday – from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June.
“Harrogate will be celebrating in style with a four-day programme of events highlighting some of our town’s most iconic outdoor spaces and bringing local businesses together with residents and visitors from further afield. We want to make it as easy and economical as we can for families across Harrogate to come and be part of it.
“From our previous experience of supporting free travel, we know that the Harrogate Electrics buses play an important role in relieving traffic congestion and reducing emissions. We hope the added incentive of free travel throughout this four-day holiday will make it easier for everyone to come into town and join the Jubilee party!”
Free travel will be available for all journeys on the Harrogate Electrics town bus network on Thursday 2 June, Friday 3 June, Saturday 4 June and Sunday 5 June, including:
Routes 2A and 2B – serving Harrogate and Bilton
Route 3 – linking Harrogate and Jennyfield
Route 6 – between Harrogate and Pannal Ash
The Harrogate Bus Company CEO Alex Hornby said: “We’re thrilled that Harrogate BID is again working in partnership with us to provide free travel on all our Harrogate Electrics buses throughout the four-day Platinum Jubilee holiday.
“After a challenging time for us all through the pandemic and given the financial challenges facing many families, everyone can travel without paying a penny on our Jubilee Freeway buses, straight to the heart of Harrogate’s own Platinum party.
“This four-day celebration also creates a vital opportunity for Harrogate’s local economy as our local businesses continue rebuilding for the future. With free travel to the heart of town, it’s the ideal time to get together with family and friends and celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years of amazing service to our town, and to our nation.”
Harrogate BID is partnering with Destination Harrogate, the council-run visitor promotion agency, to stage a programme of events across all four days of the Jubilee holiday. Part of The Stray will be transformed into Jubilee Square, with live coverage of the Queen’s Jubilee Parade on giant video screens – making it the ideal spot for a family picnic.
The Square’s stage will also host entertainment including a Harrogate Mastermind quiz, dog show, live music, and family films on the big screen.
Meanwhile in the Valley Gardens, Harrogate Borough Council’s “Jubilee In The Gardens” free family festival will feature jugglers, magicians, children’s entertainers, and choirs, with an Artisan Market on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Sun Colonnades and Parlours, plus fairground rides, face painting and live music on all four days.
The party atmosphere will be completed by six teams of street entertainers who will perform across Harrogate town centre throughout the holiday, which will be decorated with more than 4km of bunting to mark the occasion.
Full information on all Harrogate Electrics zero emission bus routes is available online at: transdevbus.co.uk/harrogate and from the travel shop at Harrogate Bus Station – while a guide to Platinum Jubilee events in Harrogate and across the wider District is online at: visitharrogate.co.uk/jubilee and available from the Tourist Information Centre on Royal Baths Crescent.
