Blackburn TransportCompanies 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_bus_536_(M536_RCW),_30_December_2008

Blackburn Transport's history can be traced back to 1881, when the Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Company commenced operating steam trams. From 1898, the routes were operated by Blackburn and Darwen councils. From 1899, work began on converting the network to electric trams. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white and red, national colours of Italy, with t ...

'. Twelve

Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new. It pioneered the design of rear-engined, front entranc ...

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

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 integral bus, marking it out from its van ...

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

Eastern Coach Works Eastern Coach WorksCompanies House extract company no 318856
...

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 ...

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 f ...

Council announced that after 125 years of municipal ownership, Blackburn Transport had been sold to Transdev Blazefield 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 2006Completed 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

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Flickr galleryOlive 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