Blackpool Transport

See also: Blackpool tramway

Blackpool Transport

Current Logo
Founded	1885
Headquarters	Blackpool
Locale	Lancashire
Service area	Template:UK
Service type	Tramway, urban and interurban bus services, school bus
Destinations	Fleetwood, Lytham St Annes, Kirkham, Knott End, Poulton-le-Fylde
Fleet	131 buses, 75 trams
Operator	Blackpool Transport Services Ltd
Chief executive	Jane Cole
Web site	Official Website

Blackpool Transport Services (BTS) is a bus and tram operator running within the boroughs of Blackpool and Fylde and into the surrounding area, including Fleetwood, Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde and Kirkham, Preston. BTS is a limited company wholly owned by Blackpool Borough Council, which makes it one of the few remaining municipal bus companies in the UK today.

History

Blackpool Transport was founded in 1885 by the town council. It became an arm's length company in 1986. 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 also had its own variation of the livery.

On Monday 26 July 2010, Metro Coastlines branding was discontinued and the company went back to the older name of 'Blackpool Transport'. Buses have 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, based on Blackpool Council's main colour schemes. The Tower and waves logo does not feature on the trams.

Bus types

Blackpool Transport currently has a fleet of 140 vehicles as of September 2018. The fleet is primarily double deck. The mainstay of the Blackpool Transport fleet is the ADL Enviro 400C with 55 buses of this type currently in service.

In the single deck fleet the standard vehicle is the ADl Enviro 200 with 18 examples in service. Also operated are fourteen Plaxton bodied Volvo B7RLEs and 10 Mercedes Citaros.

In terms of double deckers in the fleet, the newest are the 55 ADL Enviro 400Cs.

Image	Chassis	Bodywork	Number	Built	Notes
Single deck
	ADL	ADL Enviro 200	18	2018
	Mercedes	Mercedes Citaro	10	2015
	Volvo B7RLE	Plaxton Centro	14	2010
Total (single deck)			42
Double deck
	ADL	ADL Enviro 400C	55	2016- 18
Total (double deck)			98
Total (all vehicles)			140

Fares

Fares on Blackpool Transport depend on the distance travelled, although there is a cap per journey. Most tickets can be purchased from the driver of the first bus boarded, or on trams from the conductor. Holders of an ENCTS bus pass may travel free on buses and trams (excluding Heritage Trams). Children under five also travel free. Drivers and conductors may also be able to give change in small denominations.

Bus routes and branding

Number 11 bus

Between 2001 and 2010 each line (service) had its own individual route colour which was painted with a contrasting colour of yellow, and there were also black generic painted buses which were used on any line if a branded vehicle couldn't be used for any reason. Each bus stop also featured the line colour and timetables were also colour-coded.

Route branding was discontinued on Monday 26 July 2010 when Blackpool Transport introduced major changes to its bus network, replaced by a new livery of black and yellow.

Since 2002 local bus services have not used the 1960s bus station located on Talbot Road. The town centre Blackpool Transport offices were relocated to Market Street. With the new service changes, many services now serve different town centre stops. Service 1 stops at North Pier and Blackpool Tower in both directions. Services 2 and 2C terminate at Corporation Street Stop C1. Services 5, 7 call at Market Street. Services 3, 4 now operate via Topping Street (northbound) and Clifton Street (southbound), Service 17 terminates at Market Street and Service 20 stops at Bank Hey Street.

Since 2015, the new palladium bus service has started with new paint jobs, new WiFi and e-leather seats. The current services operating palladium are, 3,4,5,6,7,9,11, 17 (Mostly) and on on occasion the 1, 17, 18, 19. The News Buses used are Citaros and ADL 400C's and 200's. Some are refurbished such as the Centro's Palladium Spec.

Route Number	North Terminus	Stops	South Terminus	Frequency Mon - Sat	Frequency Sun	Vehicle
Tram	Fleetwood Ferry	Victoria Street, London Road, Fisherman's Walk, Stanley Road, Lindel Road, Heathfield Road, Broadwater, Rossal Square, Rossal School, Rosall Beach, Thornton Gate, West Drive, Cleveleys, Anchorshome Lane, Little Bispham, Norbreck, Sandhurst Avenue, Bispham, Cavendish Road, Lowitter Avenue, Cabin, Cliffs Hotel, Gynin Square, Wilton Parade, Pleasant Street, North Pier, Tower, Central Pier, Manchester Square, St Chads Road, Waterloo Road, South Pier, Pleasure Beach, Burlington Road, Harrow Place	Starr Gate	Daytime - 10 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes	Daytime - 10 minutes Evening - 30 minutes	Bombardier Flexity 2
Service 1		Fleetwood Ferry, Thornton Gate, Broadwater, Cleveleys, Norbreck, Bispham, Blackpool Town Centre, South Shore, Harrowside, Pleasure Beach		Daytime - 20 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes	Daytime - 20 minutes Evening - 30 minutes	Single deck, double deck, Midibus
Service 2	Poulton-le-Fylde	Poulton-le-Fylde, Staining, Victoria Hospital, Devonshire Square, Town Centre, Blackpool Corporation Street.	Blackpool Town Centre	Daytime - 30 minutes Evenings - hourly	Daytime and evening - hourly
Service 2C	Knott End Ferry	Knott End, Stalmine, Hambleton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Blackpool Old Road, Grange Park,Victoria Hospital, Devonshire Square, Town Centre, Blackpool Corporation Street		Daytime - 30 minutes Evenings - hourly	Daytime and evening - hourly	double deck
Service 3	Cleveleys Park	Cleveleys, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Bispham, Blackpool Town Centre, Park Road, Penrose Avenue, Mereside	Mereside Tesco	Daytime - 20 minutes Evenings - hourly	Daytime and evening - hourly	Midibus
Service 4		Cleveleys, Norbreck, Little Bispham, Blackpool Town Centre, Whitegate Drive, Oxford Square, Marton, Mereside,		Daytime - 20 minutes Evenings - hourly	Daytime and evening - hourly	Midibus
Service 5	Victoria Hospital	Layton Square, Blackpool Town Centre, South Shore, Farmers Arms Pub, Lindale Gardens	Halfway House	Daytime - 10 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes	Daytime and evening - 30 minutes	Single deck/ Double Decker
Service 6	Grange Park Estate	Grange Park Estate, Layton Square, Blackpool Town Centre, Spen Corner, Mereside	Mereside tesco	Daytime - 15 minsEvenings - 30 minutes	Daytime and evening - 30 minutes	Single deck/double deck
Service 7	Cleveleys	Bispham Library, Devonshire Road, Blackpool Town Centre, Halfway House, Blackpool Airport, St. Annes Square, Lytham, Saltcotes Road	Saltcotes Road	Daytime - 15 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes	Daytime and evening - 30 minutes	double deck
Service 9		Blackpool and the Fylde College, Bispham village, Layton Square, Blackpool Town Centre	Blackpool Town Centre	Daytime - 10 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes/hourly	Daytime - 30 minutes Evening - 30 minutes/hourly	Double Deck
Service 11	Blackpool Town Centre	Blackpool Town Centre, Lytham Road, Blackpool Airport, St. Annes Square, Ansdell, Lytham Square, Saltcotes Road	Saltcotes Road	Daytime - 15 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes	Daytime and evening - 30 minutes	Single deck, double deck
Service 14	Fleetwood Ferry	Fleetwood Ferry Terminal, Four Lane Ends, Sixth Form College, Corporation Street"	Blackpool Town Centre	Daytime - 10 minutes Evenings - 30 minutes	Daytime - 20 minutes Evening - 30 minutes	double deck
Service 17	Blackpool Town Centre	Blackpool Town Centre (Market Street), Spen Corner, Common Edge Road, Spring Gardens, St Annes Square	St Annes Square	Daytime - 30 minutes Evenings - no service	Daytime - 30 minutes Evening - no service	Midibus, single deck, Double deck
Service 18		Blackpool Town Centre, Whitegate Drve, Royal Oak, Solaris Centre, Squires Gate, Highfield Road, St Georges School, Mereside Tesco	Mereside Tesco	All Day - Hourly	All Day - Hourly	Midi bus, Single Decker
Service 19		Blackpool Town Centre, Devonshire Square, Newton Drive, Victoria Hospital, Normoss, Staining	Staining	All Day - Hourly	All Day - Hourly	Single Decker

* Operates during the summer season only

All routes terminate or pass through Blackpool town centre, stopping at either Market Street, Corporation Street or Abingdon Street bus stops.

See also

• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

External links

Template:Commons category

• Official website
• Extensive photo collection (1)
• Extensive photo collection (2)

Template:Bus companies in North West England