Rosso (Rossendale Transport Limited) is a bus operator providing local services in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. It is a subsidiary of

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 operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

and West Yorkshire.

History

The company's history dates back to December 1907, when both Haslingden Corporation Transport and Rawtenstall Corporation Transport first ran a motor bus within their boroughs. In 1968, both undertakings merged to form the Rossendale Joint Transport Committee. Following local government reorganisation in April 1974, the boroughs were merged, along with nearby Bacup and Whitworth, forming the present-day

Borough of Rossendale Rossendale () is a district with borough status in Lancashire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and ...

. In 1986, as part of the deregulation of bus services and to comply with the Transport Act 1985, the company's assets were transferred to a new legal entity. The company expanded over the following twenty years, operating local buses in

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and

Rossendale Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district *Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency), a former parliamentary constitu ...

, as well as neighbouring Blackburn, Bolton,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...

. In September 1990, a new depot was established in Rochdale, in order to support new routes introduced in the town following the deregulation of bus services. In September 2008, the company's main depot and office facilities were moved from Rawtenstall to Haslingden, with the former buildings subsequently demolished. In early 2009, concerns were raised about the council's intentions, in relation to their continued ownership of the company. It culminated in a public protest outside Rawtenstall Town Hall, with the aim of dissuading Rossendale Borough Council from selling. In July 2009, the council announced that it was retaining its ownership of the company, with an acceptable valuation not having been met by any potentially interested parties. In August 2013, the network was rebranded, with a new livery design of red, orange, yellow and white. At the same time, the company was renamed Rosso. Following the granting of approval on 20 December 2017, the company was sold by

Rossendale Borough Council Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district *Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency), a former parliamentary constitu ...

on 12 January 2018. The sale saw the company's 240 staff and 102 vehicles join

– a move which saw the investment of £3 million in a new fleet of high-specification vehicles for routes in and around Bury, Rochdale and Rossendale. In April 2018, the company's Haslingden depot, which opened ten years earlier, was closed. Staff and vehicles were reassigned within the business to nearby depots across Lancashire.

Services and branding

464

The 464 service operates between

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

and

via Rawtenstall up to every 15 minutes, with a half-hourly frequency during the evening and on Sunday. This route is operated by a fleet of Optare Versa single-deck vehicles branded in a two-tone purple and pink livery. Features include free Wifi, USB and wireless charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.

Bury Bolts

The Bury Bolts brand encompasses a number of local services operating in and around the town of

. Services are operated by a fleet of Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone yellow livery. Routes Include:B1 (

- Woodhill - Burrs - Summerseat - Ramsbottom - Peel Brow), B2 (Bury - Fernhill - Chesham - Limefield - Nangreaves), B3 (Bury - Pimhole - Ferngrove) & B4 (Bury - Pimhole - Fairfield - Jericho - Heywood).

Irwell Line

The Irwell Line brand encompasses two services, which operate along the

Irwell Valley The Irwell Valley in North West England extends from the Forest of Rossendale through the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal. Geology Shallow seas covered most of south-east La ...

. The routes operate between Blackburn (481) or

(483) and

via Rawtenstall. Services are operated by a fleet of Volvo B7RLE/

Wright Eclipse Urban The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 1999 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desig ...

single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone teal and yellow livery. Features include free WiFi, USB charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.

Lakeline

The Lakeline brand encompasses two services (457 and 458), which operate between Littleborough and

via Smallbridge. Services are operated by a fleet of Wright Streetlite single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone blue and yellow livery. Features include free WiFi and USB charging.

Rochdale Runners

The Rochdale Runners brand encompasses a number of local services operating in and around the town of

. Services are operated by a fleet of Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone yellow livery.

Rossendale Rovers

Launched in January 2021, Rossendale Rovers is a brand encompassing a number of local services operating in and around the

Rossendale Valley The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, England, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries (between Rawtenstall a ...

. Services are operated by a fleet of Optare Solo single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone yellow livery. Features include audio-visual next stop announcements.

Tottington Line

Tottington Line is the brand for service 469, which operates between

and Tottington up to every 15 minutes, with a half-hourly service during the evening and on Sunday. The service is operated by a fleet of Wright Streetlite single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone green and yellow livery. Features include free WiFi and USB charging.

Trax

The Trax brand encompasses two services (467 and 468), which operate between

and

via Bamford at a combined half-hourly frequency. Services are operated by a fleet of Wright Streetlite single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone orange and yellow livery. Features include free WiFi and USB charging.

Fleet and operations

Depots

As of April 2022, the company operates from a single depot in

, as well as sharing

depot with The Burnley Bus Company.

Vehicles

As of April 2022, the fleet consists of in the region of 100 buses. The fleet consists of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis,

Optare Switch Mobility (originally called Optare) is an English bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company would be responsible for the EV operations of the group with ...

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

and

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...

References

Sources

* Postlethwaite, H. (2007). ''Rossendale Transport: A Centenary Celebration 1907–2007''. Venture Publications. .

External links

*
Rossendale Transport Limited
on Companies House
Rosso
website {{Transport in Greater Manchester Bus operators in Greater Manchester Bus operators in Lancashire Borough of Rossendale Transdev Transport companies established in 1907 1907 establishments in England