Blackburn Bus Company

The Blackburn Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

History

In April 2001, Stagecoach sold their operations in Blackburn, Bolton and Clitheroe to the Blazefield Group, which rebranded them as Burnley & Pendle and Lancashire United. The sale was valued at £13 million. Prior to the sale, many of the newer vehicles purchased following earlier investment by Stagecoach were transferred to other subsidiaries, being replaced by older vehicles.

Following the sale, investment commenced with a fleet of 30 Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown single-deck vehicles introduced into service in September 2001. A number of service revisions followed and many marginal services were withdrawn, with a strategy of developing a network of high-quality trunk routes. Most of the company's contracted services with Lancashire County Council were terminated, with operations transferred to Northern Blue.

In August 2002, the company's depot in Bolton was sold to Blue Bus and Coach Services. The contracted services in Clitheroe were ceased, with the land sold to a housing developer. Operation of the majority of the contracted services in the area was transferred to Northern Blue.

In January 2006, French-based operator Transdev acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles. Unlike other subsidiaries within the group, Lancashire United retained the pre-acquisition name.

In August 2006, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council announced that after 125 years of municipal ownership, Blackburn Transport had been sold to Transdev Blazefield. The sale was finalised in January 2007.

In August 2007, Accrington Transport and Northern Blue were acquired, along with the transfer of staff and 65 vehicles. This resulted in services in Clitheroe being reacquired by Lancashire United for a second time. However, these services were subsequently withdrawn in June 2008. In September 2009, Transdev Northern Blue was integrated into the Transdev Burnley & Pendle business.

In July 2016, the company was again rebranded, now operating as The Blackburn Bus Company.

In April 2019, the company commemorated the centenary of Ribble Motor Services with a dedicated livery.

In June 2020, an Optare Versa pandemic.

Services and brands

The Blackburn Bus Company

A rebrand of the company commenced in July 2016, beginning with the introduction of a fleet of Optare Versa single-deck vehicles, branded in the two-tone blue The Blackburn Bus Company livery. The brand encompasses a number of local services in the area, as well as being used as a base for other route brands, including The 1 and 6 & 7.

The 1

Following a £2.5 million investment in the service, The 1 was rebranded in January 2020. The service, which operates between Blackburn and Darwen up to every ten minutes, with up to three buses per hour extending to Bolton, is served by a fleet of Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMC single-deck vehicles. Features include free WiFi, USB and wireless charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.

6 & 7

Following the arrival of a batch of Optare Versa

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases