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Blackpool Transport Services Ltd.Companies House extract company no 2003020
Blackpool Transport Services Limited is a bus and tram operator running within the boroughs of Blackpool and Fylde and into the surrounding area, including
Blackpool Transport has a fleet of 132 active vehicles as of September 2018. It is majority double deck and entirely low floor, with the last step entrance vehicles being replaced in July 2016. Most of the vehicles in the fleet were purchased new by Blackpool Transport, however thirteen vehicles in the current fleet were purchased from other operators. In 2016, a five-year plan to renew the majority of the fleet was announced, with the aim of no vehicle in the fleet being older than five years old in 2020.
On the double deck side of Blackpool Transport's fleet, the
Between 1933 and 2001, the fleet livery on the buses was green and cream, with different arrangements of the two colours decade after decade. From 2010 this livery was replaced with new black and yellow livery which replaced all of the route-specific liveries. Prior to the livery change each bus stop also featured the line colour and timetables were also colour-coded.
Route branding was discontinued in July 2010 when Blackpool Transport introduced major changes to its bus network, replaced by a new livery of black and yellow. The Line 6 service was axed in July 2010 after 84 years. Line 2 was axed in March 2015, with service 12/13 replacing parts of its route to Poulton via Staining. The 12/13 were axed a year later due to the withdrawal of LCC funding.
In 2015, Blackpool Transport unveiled a new premium brand, Palladium, on its bus network. All vehicles with Palladium specification are fitted with WiFi, e-leather seating, wood effect flooring and a grey and yellow livery. The first route to be upgraded was the 5, which received a batch of brand new Mercedes-Benz Citaros.
The 7 and 9/9A were upgraded in 2016, with the latter receiving a batch of brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro400Citys. Other routes which have been upgraded to Palladium standard are services 6, 9, 11 and 14, with a mix of refurbished and brand new high specification vehicles.
The 3 and 4 were upgraded in June 2018, with the introduction of eighteen new Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMCs.
Unofficial Blackpool Transport Tramcar Fleet List
British Trams Online Advertising has always been popular on trams, especially on the traditional trams.
File:Preserved Blackpool Transport bus 353 (UHG 353Y) 1982 Leyland Atlantean AN68 East Lancs, 2012 Teeside Running Day (3).jpg, Preserved
File:Blackpool Transport Services Limited car number 605 (5).jpg, Open-boat tram No. 605 in Blackpool in May 2009
File:Tram 642 at the Pleasure Beach - geograph.org.uk - 1578931.jpg, Centenary tram No. 642 at the Pleasure Beach in August 1990
File:Blackpool Tram 630 Brush Railcoach.jpg, Brush Railcoach tram No. 630 in Blackpool in October 2005
File:Trams 712 and 707 - geograph.org.uk - 779420.jpg, English Electric Balloon tram No. 712 and Millennium tram No. 707 at Sandcastle Water Park in July 1998
Official website
Flickr gallery tramsFlickr gallery buses
{{authority control Tram transport in England Bus operators in Lancashire Transport in Lancashire Transport in Blackpool Companies based in Blackpool Companies owned by municipalities of England 1885 establishments in England Transport companies established in 1885 British companies established in 1885
Blackpool Transport Services Limited is a bus and tram operator running within the boroughs of Blackpool and Fylde and into the surrounding area, including
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...
, Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation i ...
, Cleveleys and now Preston with the introduction of the 74 and 75, which were previously operated by Preston Bus. It is owned by Blackpool Borough Council.
History
Blackpool Transport was founded in 1885 by the town council. The tramway opened on 29 September 1885 using a conduit system to operate the trams using electricity. However, due to difficulties with this method of operation, 550V overhead wiring was installed over the tracks in 1899 to replace the conduit system. In the 1920s, the first bus services were added to transport operations in Blackpool. To comply with theTransport 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 ...
, in 1986 the assets were transferred to a new legal entity. Neighbouring operator Fylde Borough Transport, which at the time traded as Blue Buses, was taken over in 1994; it had previously been a council-owned operation itself, but spent five months in private ownership before Blackpool Transport's takeover.
The company's network was relaunched in April 2001 under the name Metro Coastlines. Along with the new name came a new colour-coded service: each core bus route was operated by vehicles painted in a livery heavily featuring that route's colour. There were twelve such core bus routes, and the historic tramway along the promenade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
also had its own variation of the livery.
On Monday 26 July 2010, Metro Coastlines branding was discontinued and the company resumed trading as Blackpool Transport. Buses had their Metro Coastlines logos removed and replaced with a new Tower and waves logo, along with a black and yellow colour scheme. The tramway now uses a purple and white colour scheme since 2012, based on Blackpool Council's main colour schemes. The Tower and waves logo does not feature on the Bombardier Flexity 2 trams but is featured at the top of the central doors on the modernised English Electric Balloon trams.
Bus fleet
Blackpool Transport has a fleet of 132 active vehicles as of September 2018. It is majority double deck and entirely low floor, with the last step entrance vehicles being replaced in July 2016. Most of the vehicles in the fleet were purchased new by Blackpool Transport, however thirteen vehicles in the current fleet were purchased from other operators. In 2016, a five-year plan to renew the majority of the fleet was announced, with the aim of no vehicle in the fleet being older than five years old in 2020.
On the double deck side of Blackpool Transport's fleet, the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2018, produced as an alternative to the standard Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodywork. The Enviro400 City is ...
is the most common type, with 55 examples in service as of June 2018, with further examples due in the near future. Also in the double deck fleet are 27 East Lancs
East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company went into administration for a short while in August 2007, before being bought by Darwen Group ...
bodied Dennis, TransBus and Alexander Dennis Trident IIs and eight East Lancs
East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company went into administration for a short while in August 2007, before being bought by Darwen Group ...
bodied DAF DB250LFs, with the latter purchased from Bus Vannin.
The most common single deck type is the Alexander Dennis Enviro200
The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative bu ...
, with eighteen examples in service. Other types include nine Volvo B7RLE
The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013.
Specifications
The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the B10BLE. In essence the B7RLE is the front section of t ...
s (Plaxton Centro
The Plaxton Centro was a low entry single-decker bus bodywork designed by Bluebird Vehicles and manufactured by Plaxton.Mercedes-Benz Citaro
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...
s.
Branding
Between 1933 and 2001, the fleet livery on the buses was green and cream, with different arrangements of the two colours decade after decade. From 2010 this livery was replaced with new black and yellow livery which replaced all of the route-specific liveries. Prior to the livery change each bus stop also featured the line colour and timetables were also colour-coded.
Route branding was discontinued in July 2010 when Blackpool Transport introduced major changes to its bus network, replaced by a new livery of black and yellow. The Line 6 service was axed in July 2010 after 84 years. Line 2 was axed in March 2015, with service 12/13 replacing parts of its route to Poulton via Staining. The 12/13 were axed a year later due to the withdrawal of LCC funding.
Palladium
In 2015, Blackpool Transport unveiled a new premium brand, Palladium, on its bus network. All vehicles with Palladium specification are fitted with WiFi, e-leather seating, wood effect flooring and a grey and yellow livery. The first route to be upgraded was the 5, which received a batch of brand new Mercedes-Benz Citaros.
The 7 and 9/9A were upgraded in 2016, with the latter receiving a batch of brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro400Citys. Other routes which have been upgraded to Palladium standard are services 6, 9, 11 and 14, with a mix of refurbished and brand new high specification vehicles.
The 3 and 4 were upgraded in June 2018, with the introduction of eighteen new Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMCs.
Routes
Since 2002 local bus services have not used the 1960s bus station located on Talbot Road, however bus stops north and southbound are located just outside of it, where the majority of the bus network serve here. The town centre Blackpool Transport offices were relocated to Market Street. With the new service changes, many services now serve different town centre stops. As of May 2017, Blackpool Transport operates sixteen routes on its network.Tram fleet
Blackpool Transport also operates the Blackpool Tramway, which currently has a varied fleet of eighteen modern Bombardier Flexity 2 articulated low floor trams, nine modernised 1930s double-deck English Electric Balloon cars and an assortment of various heritage trams.British Trams Online
Gallery
Buses
East Lancs
East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company went into administration for a short while in August 2007, before being bought by Darwen Group ...
bodied Leyland Atlantean AN68 No. 353 at Teesside Running Day in April 2012
File:Blackpool Transport Routemaster bus 528 ex-RM1357 (357 CLT), Blackpool, April 1994, cropped.jpg, AEC Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one ...
No. 528 in Blackpool in April 1994
File:Bus, Fleetwood - DSC06594.JPG, East Lancs 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 ...
No. 369 in Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...
in June 2010
File:Blackpool Transport 277 PL03BPZ (8803182776).jpg, Optare Solo M850 No. 277 in Blackpool in May 2013
Trams
References
External links
Official website
Flickr gallery trams
{{authority control Tram transport in England Bus operators in Lancashire Transport in Lancashire Transport in Blackpool Companies based in Blackpool Companies owned by municipalities of England 1885 establishments in England Transport companies established in 1885 British companies established in 1885