Halton Transport

Halton Transport is a bus operator running within the Borough of Halton (including the towns of Widnes and Runcorn) and into the surrounding area, including Warrington, St Helens, Prescot, Huyton and Liverpool. The limited company "Halton Borough Transport Ltd" is wholly owned by Halton Borough Council, which makes it one of the few remaining municipal bus companies in the UK today.

History

 * Company history on the official website

Fleet
Halton Transport has a 100% low floor single-deck fleet of 60 buses as of July 2011. Three step-entrance Dennis Darts, which had been used almost exclusively on school services, were the last step-entrance vehicles owned.

The last Leyland Lynx left the fleet in October 2010. This model had formed part of the fleet for a total of twenty-four years, and the 36 examples purchased new between 1986 and 1992 included the last Lynx built.

Prior to this, Leyland Nationals had been purchased, which also included the last one built. Twenty were purchased new between 1972 and 1985 by Halton and its predecessor Widnes Corporation; they were joined by 27 secondhand examples between 1986 and 1989.

Main services
The table below shows the main service routes operated by Halton Transport, correct.

School services
Halton Transport also operate a number of schools services, including services to Gateacre Comprehensive School, Newton High School, Belle Vale School, Great Sankey High School and Riverside College Cronton campus.

Award of Cherry Sutton subsidy
Until January 2013, Widnes Commercial Motors Ltd., a small minibus outfit, were contracted to provide two subsidised services per hour between the Cherry Sutton estate in Hough Green, and Widnes. Following complaints of overcrowding and that the two services ran once per hour in convoy, the subsidy was awarded to Halton Transport, who are to provide these services from February 2013.

By prepending the reverse of WCM's number 13 route between Queensbury Way and Widnes to their route 26, an hourly circular service is to be created. Owing to the one-way system, this service will be unable to serve Widnes Health Care Resource Centre. However, an hourly circular route 26A is also to be introduced in the opposite direction, which will be able to do so.

New timetables were posted at some of the affected bus stops and along the Queensbury Way estate. These timetables were accompanied by a very brief statement informing passengers that these services will be operated by thirty-seat midibuses.