Burnley Bus Company

The Burnley Bus Company
ParentTransdev Blazefield
FoundedAugust 1924; 100 years ago (1924-08)
HeadquartersHarrogate, North Yorkshire, England
Service area
Service typeBus
StationsBurnley Bus Station
Depots1
Fleet87 (April 2024)
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

The Burnley Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

History

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East Lancashire Coachbuilders bodied Bristol VR in Barnoldswick in April 1984

In August 1924, Burnley Corporation Transport operated their first bus service between Rawtenstall and Burnley Summit.[1] The Burnley, Colne & Nelson Joint Transport Committee was established in April 1933, merging the three municipal tramway and bus operations of the respective towns.[2][3] The tramway network was progressively abandoned, with the last line closing in May 1935.

Following local government reorganisation in April 1974, the boroughs of Colne and Nelson were amalgamated to form the present-day Borough of Pendle. Subsequently, the transport operation became known as the Burnley & Pendle Joint Transport Committee.

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 named the Burnley & Pendle Transport Company. Deregulation opened Burnley & Pendle's routes to competition from other operators, with Blackburn Transport, Tyrer Tours and Victoria Coaches establishing competing services. To stave off the competition, five AEC Routemaster double-deck vehicles were purchased, with each named after a character from the television series EastEnders.[4] Burnley & Pendle also successfully tendered a number of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive-contracted bus services, allowing for operations to extend to Blackburn, Bury, Manchester, Preston, Rawtenstall, Rochdale and Skipton.

Stagecoach and Blazefield ownership

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In April 1996, Pendle Borough Council sold their share of the company to Stagecoach Holdings. Burnley Council was unhappy with the decision, and stated that they would never consider selling their share.[5] In response, Stagecoach proposed up a multi-million pound investment plan for the area, but Burnley Council could not meet their share unless it cut other council-supported services. Burnley Council eventually reversed their decision in March 1997 and sold out to Stagecoach, a deal valued at £2.85 million (equivalent to £6,552,000 in 2023).[6] Initially branded Stagecoach Burnley & Pendle, the company was encompassed within Stagecoach Ribble in May 2000.

In April 2001, Stagecoach sold their operations in Blackburn, Bolton and Clitheroe to the Blazefield Group, which rebranded them as Burnley & Pendle and Lancashire United. The sale was valued at £13 million.[7][8] Following the sale, Blazefield purchased a total of 15 Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL double-deck and 25 Wright Renown bodied Volvo B10BLE single-deck vehicles for Burnley & Pendle as part of a fleet renewal programme; prior to the sale of Burnley & Pendle, many of the newer vehicles Stagecoach purchased for the fleet were transferred to other subsidiaries, with Burnley & Pendle receiving older vehicles as replacements.[9]

Transdev era

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In January 2006, French-based transport group Transdev acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles.[10][11] Locally, the company was rebranded under the name Transdev in Burnley & Pendle.

In August 2006, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council announced that after 125 years of municipal ownership, Blackburn Transport had been sold to Transdev Blazefield. The sale was finalised in January 2007.[12][13] This was followed in August 2007 by both Accrington Transport and Northern Blue being acquired, with both operators' staff and combined 65 vehicles transferring to Transdev.[14][15] After initially being maintained as a separate brand, in September 2009, Transdev Northern Blue was integrated into the Transdev Burnley & Pendle business.

In July 2017, the company was again rebranded, now operating as The Burnley Bus Company.[16][17][18]

Services and branding

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Branding: past and present

The Burnley Bus Company

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In July 2017, a rebrand of the company commenced. Starting with the introduction of a new fleet of Optare Versa single-deck vehicles for Mainline,[16][17][18] one of the vehicles was branded in the new two-tone orange livery. This was followed shortly after by a refurbished fleet of Wright Renown bodied Volvo B10BLE single-deck vehicles being repainted into the new livery.

Local bus services operating in and around the town of Burnley are encompassed within The Burnley Bus Company brand, with buses serving Stoops (1), Higherford, Nelson & Colne (2), Nelson (2A), Pike Hill (3), Worsthorne (4), Harle Syke and Rosegrove (5) and Accrington (9).

Mainline

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The Mainline brand encompasses six services, which operate between Accrington (M1), Clitheroe (M2) and Burnley via Padiham, as well as between Burnley and Trawden (M3), Keighley (M4), Barnoldswick (M5) and Skipton (M6) via Nelson and Colne. In July 2017, the services were rebranded and upgraded to a fleet of Optare Versa single-deck vehicles, branded in a two-tone orange and burgundy livery.[16][17][18] Features include free WiFi, USB and wireless charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.

The Witch Way

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For more information about this service, see The Witch Way.

The Witch Way is a flagship service, which operates between Burnley and Manchester via Rawtenstall and M66. The service is operated by a fleet of high-specification Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 MMC double-deck vehicles, which were introduced into service in December 2020,[19][20] replacing the former allocation of Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL double-deck vehicles introduced in October 2013.[21][22] Vehicles are branded in a two-tone orange and black livery, with features including free WiFi, USB and wireless charging, tables and audio-visual next stop announcements voiced by Coronation Street actress Jennie McAlpine.[23]

Former Services and Brands

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CityZap

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In November 2017, a limited-stop express service running directly between Leeds and Manchester via the M62 was introduced, branded as CityZap. Similar to the other CityZap service between York and Leeds operated by sister company Yorkshire Coastliner, the service aimed to attract motorists and provide a competitive alternative to the railway.[24][25]

The service was notable for its use of sat-nav equipment to choose the quickest route and avoid congestions.[26]

The service operated with a fleet of four Wright Eclipse Urban 2 bodied Volvo B7RLE vehicles, branded for the route in a silver/red livery, and featured free WiFi and USB charging capabilities.

The service was withdrawn in July 2018, owing to low passenger numbers.[27][28]

Fleet and operations

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Depots

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As of April 2022, the company operates from a single depot in Burnley, which it shares with Rosso.

Vehicles

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As of March 2024, the fleet consists of 79 buses. The fleet consists of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Wrightbus, Plaxton, Alexander Dennis and Optare, as well as minibuses manufactured by Mellor.

References

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  1. ^ "10 years' all-bus operation at Rawtenstall". The Commercial Motor. 30 January 1942. p. 24. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Municipal purchases and proposals". The Commercial Motor. 7 April 1933. p. 45. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Transport unification brings good results". The Commercial Motor. 11 February 1938. p. 86. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  4. ^ "More Bromley than Burnley". Buses. No. 806. Stamford: Key Publishing. 15 April 2022. p. 60. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Deal is struck with Stagecoach". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 29 August 1996. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Workers' dismay as Stagecoach axes jobs". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 9 April 1997. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  7. ^ "No change as depots sold". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 4 May 2001. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Stagecoach sells some North-West operations for £13 million" (Press release). Stagecoach Group. 26 April 2001. Archived from the original on 18 March 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  9. ^ Barrow, David (2 August 2001). "Trail-blazing in the North West". Coach & Bus Week. No. 485. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 26–27. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Transdev acquires Blazefield Group". Bus & Coach Professional. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  11. ^ Briggs, Ian (9 January 2006). "A new stop for Blazefield". The Yorkshire Post. Leeds. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Chester for sale and Blackburn for Blazefield". Bus & Coach Professional. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  13. ^ Bartlett, David (16 August 2006). "Burnley buys up Blackburn buses". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  14. ^ Watkinson, David (6 August 2007). "Bus firms in takeover". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Blazefield buys again in Lancashire". Bus & Coach Professional. 9 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  16. ^ a b c Quaynor, Aban (23 July 2017). "New modern buses are just the ticket for customers". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b c "£4.5m Versas revitalise Burnley Mainline". Buses. No. 750. Stamford: Key Publishing. 17 August 2017. p. 7. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Harrison, Matt (2 August 2017). "Mainline bursts into Burnley with a Big Bus Bash". Transport Designed. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Transdev Witchway route gets 'Sky Class' Enviro400 fleet". routeone. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  20. ^ Kelly, Robert (2 February 2021). "Transdev's £3.8 million investment on Sky Class buses 'will boost coronavirus recovery'". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  21. ^ "New buses in £3m. Witch Way investment". Burnley Express. 3 November 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  22. ^ "East Lancs brand's 10th anniversary". routeone. 27 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  23. ^ Harrigan, Joel (11 December 2020). "Corrie star Jennie McAlpine lends 'warm Northern voice' to new Witchway buses". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Transdev goes for second Zap and ups route 36". Buses. No. 752. 19 November 2017. p. 13.
  25. ^ Dougall, Emily (14 November 2017). "Transdev launches new Leeds-Manchester Cityzap express". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  26. ^ Nelson, Sara (8 February 2018). "Competition across the Pennines: can coach keep up?". Transport Focus. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  27. ^ Deakin, Tim (6 August 2018). "Cityzap ends Leeds to Manchester service". Routeone. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Transdev adds Jets and reduces Zap". Buses. No. 760. 21 June 2018. p. 18.
  • Catlow, A (November 1985). Burnley, Colne and Nelson. Curwen Institute. ISBN 978-0907941194.
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