Following the deregulation of bus services and introduction of the Transport Act 1985, such joint ventures were prohibited, with West Yorkshire Road Car taking full ownership.

[10][11] In April 2009, the company launched a half-hourly express service, which ran between York and Leeds via Tadcaster and Seacroft – competing with Transdev Yorkshire Coastliner.

In the same month, a new site was opened at Poppleton Bar, with services operated by a fleet of fully-electric Optare Versa EVs.

[1][24] In May 2006, the company took delivery of eleven articulated Wright StreetCar vehicles, branded in the two-tone purple ftr livery.

[25][26] The scheme was largely unpopular with people in York for a number of reasons, including frequent problems with ticketing, pricing, punctuality, and the vehicles being excessively long.

Ahead of the introduction of the trial, bus stop areas had to be extended in order to accommodate the length of the longer, articulated vehicles.

[28][29] Following their victory at the 2011 local elections, the controlling Labour Party on the City of York Council set about to ensure that the articulated vehicles were replaced.

Following the introduction of a fleet of 21 fully-electric double-deck Optare MetroDecker EV battery electric double-decker buses in July 2020,[37][38] as well as a fleet of 12 Optare Versa EV midibuses introduced in 2014 and 2015,[39][15][40] which received new drivelines by Equipmake in 2023 following a prolonged period out of service,[41] the city boasts one of the largest zero-emission park and ride networks in the United Kingdom.

As of June 2024, the First York fleet consists 86 battery electric buses, which are based from a single depot on James Street.