Ulsterbus - Ulsterbus Services - BUlsterbus - B Ulsterbus Services Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus services in Northern Ireland. It operates 1,100 buses and twenty-two bus stations, several of which, such as those at Belfast Europa and Bangor, form integrated transport interchanges with Northern Ireland Railways stations. Ulsterbus, as part of Translink, is charged with transporting over 55,000 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. Goldline Goldline is the name given to the inter-city express bus services operated by Ulsterbus. Originally launched as the 'Northern Ireland Express' in the 1970s, these services were rebranded to 'Goldline' in 1990, with the Belfast-Derry express service relaunched as the 'Maiden City Flyer' with eight new coaches in 1991. This service has seen major expansion over the years: Belfast-Derry 212 service went from a thrice daily service in 1990 to half-hourly frequency, and many services have been expanded and introduced. Goldline services are operated from Belfast to major destinations in Northern Ireland, plus the Goldline Express Services X1/X2 (previously Service 200) to Dublin (via Dublin Airport). This service was worked jointly with Bus Éireann service X1 (previously Service 001) until December 2020, where the service changed to be worked 100% by Translink. There are also a number of cross-channel (North Channel) services to Britain, operated in partnership with National Express under the Eurolines banner. Foyle Metro For many years, Derry's internal bus network was operated as Ulsterbus's Derry City Services. The network was relaunched as Ulsterbus Foyle on 4 September 2006 following a review and expansion of the city's bus routes and replacement of many of the city's older buses. Ulsterbus Foyle was later rebranded as Foyle Metro on 1st September 2017, with the buses branded in a deep red livery. The rebranded service now operates across 14 high-quality bus corridors with new timetables. It represents an investment of over £3m, consisting of 19 brand new buses and many others refurbished. In 2022, £30 million of funding from the Department for Infrastructure was acquired for the purchase of 38 battery electric buses, as well as charging equipment to be installed at the Foyle Metro's Pennyburn garage. The buses, ten being Wright StreetDeck Electroliner double-decks and 28 being Wright GB Kite Electroliner single-decks, were delivered in May 2023, with type training for drivers and charger installation taking place as late as July 2023 ahead of the rollout of the buses on city services, where they will replace existing diesel buses to enable the Foyle Metro fleet to be completely zero-emission. Ulsterbus Tours Ulsterbus previously operated a holiday coaching arm named 'Ulsterbus Tours', operating "day tours" to other parts of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and across the Irish Sea to Great Britain, mainly for shopping and visits to tourist attractions. Coaches could also be hired for sporting events such as Old Firm derbies and racing events such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Ulsterbus Tours was closed in September 2020 due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Translink. Ulsterbus Urby The Ulsterbus Urby service is an upgraded bus service offering USB charging, faster journeys, WiFi and leather seating, initially launched with 28 new Wright double decker buses in June 2018 to operate in Ballyclare, Bangor, Newtownards and Dromore. In September 2019, routes serving Ballygowan, Comber and Moneyreagh were upgraded to Urby routes with an investment of seven new buses. Ulsterbus Overview Ulsterbus Parent: Translink
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