Blackburn Transport
[Companies House extract company no 2003022]
Intack Services Limited formerly Blackburn Borough Transport Limited was a
municipal bus company
A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom.
Most municipal bus companies disappeared between 1968 and 1974 before (o ...
based in
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...
from 1881 until 2007.
History
Blackburn Transport's history can be traced back to 1881, when the
Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Company commenced operating
steam tram
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. ...
s. From 1898, the routes were operated by Blackburn and Darwen councils. From 1899, work began on converting the network to
electric tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s. The last route to be electrified was completed on 4 December 1903.
Blackburn's fleet consisted of 48 double deck and 13 single deck trams. Buses started being introduced in 1929, when six routes were put into operation. Twelve vehicles (6
Leyland Tigers and 6
Leyland Titans) were put into service on these routes. Trams and buses operated together for the next 20 years.
The first tramway route was abandoned in favour of buses in 1935, although further plans to put more tramway routes out of action were put on hold due to the interruption of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, during which time, tramway maintenance deteriorated markedly. The tram system closed in September 1949.
Blackburn Corporation purchased 83 new buses to replace the defunct trams, and, as a result, it was a further seven years before any more new buses were required. From 1974, due to a re organisation within the local government, the company became known as Borough of Blackburn Transport.
The livery changed from being predominantly green to green at the bottom, then white and also a red roof, recalling the predominant colour of neighbouring Darwen Transport, which Blackburn had absorbed. As a result, they were given the nickname of '
Italian flag
The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...
'. Twelve
Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asi ...
s were the first vehicles to receive this new livery, a model of bus that would become a predominant feature of the fleet.
In 1983, the livery changed again. The 'traditional all green livery' style was brought back.
To comply with the
Transport Act 1985
The Transport Act 1985 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced privatised and deregulated bus services throughout Great Britain and came into effect in October of 1986.
The Act was created as a response to growing concern ...
, the Borough of Blackburn's bus operations were transferred to a separate company.
[ The livery underwent yet another change, with the predominantly green scheme being split by white stripes around the windows. Also in this year, the company began operating holiday trips under the Blackburn Coachlines brand.
In 1990, an all cream coloured, with dark green bands livery was introduced. At this time, the fleet was beginning to show its age, with the major part of the company's vehicles still being made up of ]Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asi ...
s, although some of the older buses had been replaced by 26 new MCW Metrorider
The MCW Metrorider, launched at the 1986 Motor Show, was a minibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann (MCW) between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths, 7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an bus manufacturing, integral bus, marking i ...
s in the end of the 1980s.
Second hand buses and some new models were bought consistently from 1999, although intake slowed again after 2005, due to falling profits.
In 2002, the ''MetroNetwork'' was introduced. This offered passengers a simpler view of the services network, known as 'tracks', and the fare structure was also amended, with the introduction of many fare-saving schemes. Some buses were given overall advertising to promote these features.
In 2003, the Blackburn Coachlines operation ceased. Also, the new ''Schools +'' services were introduced. These buses, mainly bodied Leyland Olympian
The Leyland Olympian was a 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1980 and 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production.
Construction
The Olympian had the same chassis and running gear as t ...
s were given a predominantly yellow livery, but with green relief. They were in full operation by August 2004.
The first introduction of route branded vehicles came in 2006, with the renaming of the old outer circle service the 'OC'. Two double decker buses were given a new orange, purple and yellow livery, and in a similar fashion to what Lancashire United have done, created a new, separate website for the service.
Takeover
On 16 August 2006, Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
Council announced that after 125 years of municipal ownership, Blackburn Transport had been sold to Transdev Blazefield
Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operato ...
which, following a number of delays, took place on 22 January 2007, with Blackburn Transport integrated into Lancashire United.[Burnley buys up Blackburn buses]
''Lancashire Telegraph'' 16 August 2006[Completed acquisition by Lancashire United Limited of the business and assets of Blackburn Borough Transport Limited]
Office of Fair Trading 24 April 2007
Olive Green & Ivory
Fleet
As at August 2006, the fleet comprised 124 buses.
[
]
Garage
Blackburn Transport operated out of a garage in Intack, Blackburn, with six buses out stationed on the Fylde Coast
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...
.[
]
References
External links
*
Flickr gallery
Olive Green & Ivory - history of Blackburn Transport
{{Blackburn with Darwen culture
Companies based in Blackburn
Former bus operators in Lancashire
Transport in Blackburn with Darwen
1881 establishments in England
2007 disestablishments in England