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| Founded | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Penwortham |
| Service area | Preston |
| Service type | Bus services |
Blue Bus [1] was a bus operator based in Penwortham, Lancashire. It operated many routes, including services to Preston City Centre.
Blue Bus of Penwortham was formed by Roger Jarvis in early 2006, nine months after Jarvis sold Blue Bus of Bolton to Arriva North West and Wales in July 2005. [2] [3]
Roger Jarvis also purchased Whittaker's Coach Travel and revived the Blue Bus name from his former Blue Bus of Bolton operation. [2]
In June 2009, with Stagecoach having purchased Preston Bus, bus usage of Stagecoach in Preston since the takeover in January had increased with better efficiency and a larger network. Blue Bus however incurred losses, forcing it to cease operating routes to Frenchwood and Broadgate.
Blue Bus of Penwortham operated numerous bus services. As well as standard local and inter-urban bus services, the company operated various school contracts and four Lancashire County Council financially supported services.
To cater for the hundreds of students travelling to school in the Preston area every day, Blue Bus operated seven contracted services to various schools. Routes 312, 709, 776 and 787 operated to schools in towns and villages including Lower Adlington, Bamber Bridge, Brindle, Charnock Richard, Chorley, Farington, Higher Walton, Hoghton, Hutton, Riley Green and Tardy Gate as well as in the base town of Penwortham. [4]
The fleet consisted of smaller mini- or midibuses. Mercedes-Benz Varios with Plaxton Beaver bodywork were partially prevalent, with various examples of the type. Both the Plaxton Beaver 1 and Beaver 2 models were operated. Some buses had the older Mercedes-Benz 709D chassis. Vehicles were run in a cream livery with a blue and red skirt, with some others in a livery similar to the Blue Bus of Bolton livery, which were painted in pale blue. [5]
The Alexander ALX100 was a minibus body built by Alexander of the United Kingdom. Over 150 bodies were built between 1997 and 1999, exclusively on the Mercedes-Benz O814D Vario and O810D van chassis, and was fitted with seating capacities between 25 and 31 passengers.
Croston railway station serves the small village of Croston, near Chorley in Lancashire, England; the station is on the Ormskirk Branch Line 7 miles (11 km) south west of Preston. It is unstaffed and the old station buildings are now privately occupied.
Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in Inchinnan, near Paisley, Scotland. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by Arriva. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to McGill's Bus Services.
MTL Trust Holdings was an English bus, coach and train operator based in Liverpool. MTL was originally part of the MPTE. To comply with the Transport Act 1985, the bus operations were divested into a new independent company, Merseyside Transport Limited (MTL). Merseyside PTA retained shareholding, but the company was purchased by its management and staff in 1993. On 17 February 2000, MTL was purchased by Arriva.
Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-conquest origins and its early history was closely involved with the manor house Bank Hall and the families who lived there. Bretherton remained a rural community and today is largely residential with residents travelling to nearby towns for employment.
Preston Bus is a bus operator running within the city of Preston, England. It is a subsidiary of Rotala. It gained some notoriety in 2009 when the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell it.
The Burnley Bus Company is a bus operator running services in the boroughs of Burnley and Pendle, and into the surrounding areas including Accrington, Keighley and Manchester. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield.
The Blackburn Bus Company is a bus operator, running services in the boroughs of Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield. Commencing in July 2016, the business is progressively being rebranded from Lancashire United.
Chorley Interchange is a bus station located in the town of Chorley, Lancashire. The station links up to the nearby Chorley railway station, and replaces the former bus station, which was demolished in 2003. The station is owned by Lancashire County Council and operated by Stagecoach in Chorley.
Blue Bus was a large independent bus company serving Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.
Arriva Guildford & West Surrey is a bus operator based in Guildford, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva. The company operates services in West Sussex and Surrey, as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division. Services are run primarily centred on hubs at Guildford, Woking and Cranleigh.
Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West England based in Preston.
Arriva North West is a bus operator running services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
North Western Road Car Company was a bus operator based in Liverpool, England. The company operated between 1986 and 1998.
Avon Buses was a bus operator based in Prenton providing services in Merseyside and Cheshire, England.
Midland, previously known as Choice Travel was a bus company operating mostly in the Wolverhampton area of the West Midlands. Some services also operate in the Staffordshire area.
Glenvale Transport (GTL) was a bus company that operated services in Liverpool between July 2001 and July 2005.
Stagecoach in Preston was a network of bus routes running within the city of Preston, Lancashire and into the surrounding area. It was founded in 2009 after Stagecoach Group acquired Preston Bus that was founded in 1904. The company operated from the main depot on Deepdale Road and their other depot on Selbourne Street. In January 2011, the company was sold to Rotala, which now operates the services under the Preston Bus brand.
Preston is a city in Lancashire, around 50 kilometres (31 mi) North-west of Manchester.
Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire & South Lancashire is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and has its origins in the purchase of Ribble Motor Services in 1988 from the National Bus Company and Glenvale Transport in 2005. The head office of Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire is in Liverpool and was formed in 2011 following the merger of Stagecoach Merseyside and Ribble Motor Services which was the Chorley and Preston operations of Stagecoach North West.
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Bus companies operating in North West England | ||
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| Lancashire | ||
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