Sunday 30th August 2026
I’m now in the final stretch of my relentless journey north through Britain sampling all 25 bus routes numbered 99 and it’s time for the second open-top bus ride of the series (the first being Ensignbus’s Shoeburyness to Leigh on Sea route (featured back in June) and this latest adventure is the third of three routes numbered 99 operated by parts of the Go-Ahead Group (see previously Woolwich/Bexleyheath and Cheltenham/Gloucester).
This 21st entry in Britain’s 25 route 99s is the popular open-top route linking North Bay and South Bay along the spectacular Scarborough seafront coastline.
It’s operated by East Yorkshire during a 24 week season between the end of March and the beginning of September albeit only running daily during the school holiday periods with it operating only at weekends outside these times.
Update: the season has been extended to 1st November running daily until 4th October then weekends until 24th October and then daily during half term week. Thanks to Nigel’s comment below.
The timetable provides for a 20 minute frequency at weekends during school term times stepped up to every 10 minutes each day during school holidays with a span of day between 10:00 and 18:55 in the former and to 20:15 in the latter.
Details of the route and timetable, but, strangely, not ticket prices, can be found in a leaflet that’s widely available around the town and on board buses. It also features half a dozen places of interest to visit along, or close to, the route
As you can see the route is branded as ‘beachcomber’ with an attractive blue and yellow livery together with appropriate slogans to encourage travel on the sides…
… and rears of the buses.
Buses on the route pause for a minute or two at the popular bus stops known as Newcastle Packet by the Old Harbour, roughly half way along the route, with a few minutes layover at either end.
I had a ride up and down the route on a lovely sunny Saturday lunch time and found some journeys to be very busy…
… while others not so well patronised.
However, for many years the route has seen competition from Shoreline Suncruisers which runs a parallel route numbered 109…
… but the intensity of the competitive battle in previous years has now eased and both operators seem to co-exist more happily with each other’s presence.
Shoreline Suncruisers use buses in various liveries reflecting their previous lives with former operators…
… but I saw at least one painted in very similar colours and branding to East Yorkshire’s ‘beachcomber’…
…which carried the brand name ‘Coast Cruiser 555’ for its route between Filey and Scarborough which runs every two hours during the school holidays. As you can see when the bus is used on the 109 along Scarborough’s seafront it’s not easy to tell it apart from East Yorkshire’s route 99.
An initiative from East Yorkshire for 2026 is a new open top route numbered 100 which runs hourly on a circular tour of the town, including the seafront, and includes a live commentary from an on-board guide/host.
The days of operation are similar to the ‘beachcomber’ 99 only running daily in the school holidays but its season started at the end of May rather than the end of March.
There’s a £9 fare for adults with children and seniors paying £4.50. The tour conveniently starts and finishes outside the town’s railway station where it has a six minute layover between journeys. I took a ride on part of the route after my route 99 adventure and despite the route being promoted in conjunction with ‘Great Scenic Journeys’ there was just me on board listening to the guide give his interesting commentary. I have my doubts whether this initiative will endure for another year.
But, I don’t have any doubts on the success of the seafront route 99. Scarborough’s bay and spectacular views of the cliffs are just made for a ride along the seafront on an open-top bus.
I’m sure most people’s holidays in Scarborough won’t be complete until they’ve enjoyed a ride on this route 99.
Roger French
Did you catch the previous 20 blogs in this series? 1 Eastbourne-Hastings, 2 Petworth-Chichester, 3 Woolwich-Bexleyheath, 4 Tilbury Town-Tilbury Ferry Terminal, 5 Chippenham-Swindon, 6 Ubley-Chew Valley, 7 Exmouth-Brixington-Exmouth, 8 Taunton-Chard, 9 Pontypridd town circular, 10 Cheltenham-Gloucester, 11 Leigh-on-Sea-Shoeburyness East Beach, 12 Malton-Chelmsford, 13 Lowestoft-Southwold-Halesworth, 14 Solihull-Kingshurst, 15 Telford-Shawbirch circular, 16 Newcastle-under-Lyme-Chell Heath, 17 Doncaster-Retford, 18 Barnsley-Denby Dale, 19 Manchester-Prestwich, 20 Whiston-Prescot.
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BusAndTrainUser 
Nice write up. You mentioned the prices for route 100 and commented that the leaflets, for 99, did not mention prices. You didn’t mention them either? What are they and do bus passes apply?
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Unfortunately I never found out about the ticket prices on the 99 as they’re not advertised anywhere that I could see, nor whether concessions are available so I regret I can’t help with this. (I used my Brighton & Hove/Go-Ahead retired staff pass which was accepted.)
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Two bits of info:
The service number traditionally was the 109 dating back to United days.
Secondly, the lookalike bus is a consequence of Ray Stenning designing similar liveries for different firms. The lookalike being originally for First Cymru in Tenby.
BW2
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We went to Scarborough last September and I was hoping to travel on East Yorkshire’s service but it had finished for the season. Shoreline was still running so we had no choice but had a friendly driver and enjoyed the ride. We had to pay a discounted fare with our ENTS passes.. I also remember riding on the United Auto centre entrance single deck Bristols back in the 1960s! The journey is spectacular so they had quarter lights to view the cliffs but sheltered the passengers from the east coast weather. In the 1960s most northern operators very much saw saw open top buses as being the domain of the sunny South Coast.
I hope the sudden and unexpected closure of the Spa cliff lift last week doesn’t affect the rider numbers as that’s how we accessed the terminus from our hotel.
Paul from Leicester.
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It seems that EY must have had a reasonably successful season with the 99, as it will now continue until 1st November rather than 6 September. Will run daily until 4 October, weekends of 10/11 and 17/18 October and daily during half-term holiday 24 October to 1 November.
See EY details of service changes from 6 Sept at https://www.eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk/service-changes-6th-september-2026
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Many thanks Nigel; have updated the text.
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The 99’s 10 minute frequency is very impressive. Perhaps the most frequent open-top service in the UK other than some city tours?
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The town tour might be better patronaged if that £9 fare gave EY dayrider in Scarborough area. Scarborough is interesting but like the Grand Hotel the visitors are not what they used to be. Loss of Plaxton from the town also noted.
The competing open top service is of note using a variety of second or more hand buses continuing a long tradition giving an older variety for those of us that like getting the best out of older buses. EY ones may not always be new but they have been consistent on livery and vehicle type.
JBC Prestatyn
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Plaxton (ADL) still employ c.400 people in the town.
BW2
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Thanks , I must have been thinking really of the coach bodies , for some reason I thought all the buses came out of scotland. the link to the EY service changes and news put me right with the new manufacturer stock (was that speculative by ADL or something to keep the factory ticking over?) on the York service . I note this had been carrying pedal cycles but the new buses (which might get a 2nd wheelchair space later) dont have that – was the carriage of bycycles due to the route being a rail replacement of the past ?
JBC Prestatyn
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Do they still put the castle outline on the body makers plaque ?
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It’s a nice touch of nostalgia to see that the EY Beachcomber livery is not just any old blue and yellow, but is essentially Riviera Blue and Primrose, the traditional EY coach livery used since the late 1940’s, albeit with a gap of a few years in NBC days.
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I have many happy memories of holidays in Scarborough as I grew up in Leeds.
Always liked to have a ride on the open top bus, in my time a Bristol VR. I’ve recently been able to revive that experience with an open top Bristol VR ride at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum – it was an ex Southdown one.
The other transport must at Scarborough is the North Bay Railway in Peasholme Park. It would be good if EYMS and the railway could do a combined ticket? A thought for 2027 perhaps?
Richard Warwick
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Hello, Roger. I have another Route 99 for you, which is operated by L&G in Sunderland on a route from the ASDA in Leechmere over the River Wear to Hylton Castle. It operates five round trips Monday to Saturday and is available on bustimes.org. It has its roots in the free buses to Asda which started in the 1980s and I am not sure whether journeys to the store itself are still free. It provides a useful link across the river via Barnes Park and the Royal Hospital so has utility beyond the Asda store. At Barnes Park northbound it is only service which serves a brand new shelter only used by the 99. I hope you will be able to ride it as a finale to your 99s odyssey!
Alex Nelson
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Many thanks Alex. It’s number 23 (of 25)😊
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There was a very interesting national television six-part (?) documentary on East Yorkshire, made I am guessing about a decade ago, and whilst still privately owned, thus pre-Covid. Surprisingly, unless I missed it, little mentioned in enthusiast circles including my own North Western and Yorkshire branch of the Omnibus Society. Sure to be corrected on that one, but I didn’t see anything in spite of several alerts from me!
It dealt with several special events the company handle annually such as the Hull Fair and how things are dealt with, giving quite an insight into operations rather than just the usual padded froth that programme makers normally do. If I recall correctly, one week was entirely about the then “109” and how matters were dealt with the very competitive Shoreline Suncruisers…… it was quite an eye-opener, and fortunate that EY and SS were not Stagecoach companies, or the “Office of Fair Trading” who spent most of their time watching Stagecoach’s every move, would have been raiding both of them the next day.
I learnt much.
Terence Uden
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I think both operators used the 109 number until East Yorkshire was bought by Go Ahead. In recent years since they introduced the Beachcomber brand I think the service had the nominal number of ‘RED’ with the 99 number and a refreshed livery being introduced this year
The competition with Shoreline Suncruisers has been going on for at least 30 years so there must be enough customers to go round
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Excellent. On Pictures of Scarborough Old and New on Facebook, 31st July is a very clever picture of a Beachcomber bus passing above the Beachcomber cafe by John Dade, well worth a look.
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