Every route 99. 21 of 25.

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.

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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