From the Archives: Swift Spotlight

Front and Back - first series Swifts pass at Abingdon Street corner. 548 shows how these buses originally had vents below the windscreen. (Brian Turner)

Blackpool had standardised on Leyland Titans from 1932 to 1968 and by summer 1969 had a relatively homogeneous fleet - 50 PD2s and 90 PD3s, all but five with Metro Cammell bodywork. The last of streamlined centre loader buses were retired earlier in 1969. One Man operation had not been practised since 1964 when the solitary OMO service 18 and the two specially converted buses had been withdrawn.

Traditionally new buses went on the busiest routes, but with economies needed Blackpool followed the industry route of replacing short crew buses seating 63 with long wheelbase single deckers seating 47 with standing room making up the total capacity. The buses could, of course, be worked with a driver only and this achieved economies and saw the unusual practise of the newest buses on the quietest routes.

Blackpool first inspected a Leeds Corporation Swift in January 1967. It chose to order 15 AEC Swift chassis with bodies by Marshall of Cambridge. This was not the departure from Leyland stable that it may have seemed as Leyland by then owned AEC and the Swift shared a common chassis frame with Leyland's Panther. That said it was something of a departure for the conservative operator. The new buses became 541-555 (PFR541-555H) and the first to arrive was 544 which featured in official publicity and was licensed on 20 October 1969. 545 was licensed on 3 November so its likely that these two were used for driver training. 541-3/6-8 were licensed on 1 December. They entered service on Monday 8 December operating service 7C and 25A between Blackpool and Cleveleys that required four buses between them. Service 9 (Blackpool to College) soon followed taking the requirement up to six buses with 549 licensed from 15 January.


Swifts had short lives by Blackpool standards with most withdrawn at between 10 and 14 years. 546 is in its last year seen here on service 11C which used Swifts on Sundays. (Brian Turner)

The final seven did not arrive until the spring with 550/1/3/5 licensed on 2 April, 554 on 8 April and 552 on 5 May. On 4 May routes 7 and 7A were converted to OMO operating taking the weekday requirement to ten out of the fifteen buses. On a Sunday Swifts could also be seen on route 1 to Poulton - but the Sunday service came to an end later in the year.

Further Swifts were ordered for the 1971/2 programme. AEC quoted £4,150 per bus and Marshall £4,472 for the bodies. Delivery charges were £20 from AEC and £31 from Marshalls. Deliveries started in September with 558/9 licensed on 17th and 557/60 on 21st. 562 followed on 4 October, 556/61/5 on 6 October and 563/4 on 4 November. No further bus routes were converted until 20 December when routes 6A/B (Grange Park to Midgeland Road using two buses), 15A (Bispham to Hospital with five buses) and 16 (Town Centre to Wordsworth Avenue with 4 buses) were converted. 

The second and third batches had higher driving positions and different windscreens compared to 541 to 555. 556 was the first of the 1971 batch of ten seen here in April 1980 on route 12 (Brian Turner)

On Sundays Swift operation also extended to the 11C from December 1971, 6 during 1972, 5 and 23 from February 1973. During 1971 it was decided to replace the remaining PD2s with a batch of 30 further single deckers in 1973/4, though delivery delays meant that the buses did not appear until March 1974! The results of the tendering exercise were interesting:

• 1st Seddon RU - £10, 845
• 2nd AEC/Marshall - £11, 038  (28% higher than 556-565!)
• 3rd Leyland National - £11, 510.50 
• 4th AEC/Willowbrook - £12, 147
• 5th Metro Scania - £12, 774.05 

Note how the AEC/Marshall combination was not the cheapest. It was felt that the Seddon’s floor layout was not to Blackpool’s liking and the fact that 25 Swifts were already owned meant that AEC were awarded the contract as the maintenance savings from standardisation offset the extra purchase cost. The flagship Leyland National and Metro Scania were deemed “not to Blackpool’s specification in numerous ways”. 

566-579 were registered ready for 1st April 1974, 580-586 for May 587-589 in July and 590-595 in August. 6 May 1974 saw routes 2 (Blackpool to Poulton), 15 (Blackpool to Staining) and 12 (Blackpool to Airport) converted. Routes 3 (North Shore to Marton) and 26 (Town Centre  to South Pier) followed on 3 March 1975. 45 out of 55 Swifts were required for the basic service on routes 1, 2, 3/3A, 6B, 7/7A, 7B/7C, 9, 12, 15, 15A, 16, 25A and 26.

Route 25A was one of the first routes to use Swifts. Here 569 complete with original dash vent and Blackpool's added slip board holder. It is seen here on Dickson Road heading against the current one way flow of traffic in 1979 (Brian Turner)

Service reductions during the 1970s saw the vehicle requirement reduce and new Atlanteans took over duties on the 7/7A and 9. Swifts were then used to convert routes 19 South Pier to Mereside (Feb 1976) and 23/23A (Hospital to South Pier and Midgeland Road) to OPO. 

By 1983 the 29 surviving Swifts (and the four Lancets) provided routes:

• 2/2A (Blackpool to Poulton) 3 buses
• 3/3A (Cleveleys to Mereside/Midgeland Road) 4 buses which incorporated the 6B and 25A
• 8 (Blackpool to Whiteholme) 1 bus
• 16 (Blackpool to Wordsworth Avenue) 3 buses
• 19 (South Pier to Mereside) 1 bus
• 23/23A (Hospital to South Pier/Midgeland Road) 6 buses
• 26 (Town Centre to South Pier) 5 buses
• Plus Sunday services 5, 6 and 16B.

The 56th Swift

Blackpool owned a 56th Swift from September 1977 in the form of ex Southampton City Transport 2 (MTR420F) with Stachans body which was purchased for spares and spent three years in Rigby Road yard being cannibalised before sale for scrap in July 1980.

Swift Liveries

The Swifts were new in all-over cream with just the wheels in green. This was distinctive but stark. A handful of buses received the later off-white shades from 1977/8 but in early 1979 581 and 582 were outshopped with green roofs following the introduction of Leyland Atlanteans in green/off white. 558 and 559 followed with a green waistband and this was adopted as the new livery. 581/2 were modified to match during 1981.


The first and last of of the 1969/70 batch 541 - in original livery and 555 in the later livery on withdrawal in 1981 (Brian Turner)

All but 12 Swifts received the new livery - early withdrawals 541-7/50/1/3, 561 and 563 being the exceptions. The programme took four years to complete with 562 and then 588 as the last two to be treated. There is some suggestion that 574 and 575 received further repaints in February 1987 but this is not confirmed. The only other Swift repaint was 577 which received an all-over advert to Latusport Shop in July 1984.  

Swift withdrawals
Withdrawals of the Swifts began, surprisingly, with 561 which was parked up in early 1980 after just over eight years use while sister 558 was also parked up with accident damage. Routine withdrawals began, not surprisingly, with the initial batch. 544/5 were delicensed in August 1980 followed by 541-3/7 and 555 in March/April 1981. 552 declared its self redundant on 31 May 1981 while working service 11C when it collided with trees on Regent Road, while youthful 578 at just seven years and six months did likewise due to a collision with the depot doors on 20 September.

Accidents happen. Two 1981 withdrawals were unplanned. 552 on the right collided with trees on Regent Road while 578 hit the depot doors and was withdrawn before its eight birthday (Brian Turner)

551 - and newer sister 563 were withdrawn in September 1981, 546 came off in December. This left 548-550, 553 and 554 in use during 1982. 549/50 survived until July/August, 553/4 September/October and 548 survived as the last of its batch until April 1983. Four new Dennis Lancets in 1982, new Atlanteans purchased annually and the impact of service reductions saw off the Swifts.

In addition to 548, 1983 dawned with seven of the 1971 batch intact (556/7/9, 560/2/4/5). Inroads were soon made with 557/9/64 off by May and 562 by August along with 567/8 - the first of the final batch to succumb. Withdrawals then slowed with only 566 (of 1974) off in March 1984; 560 (of 1971) in May 1984 and 556 (of 1971) in January 1985. 

Swifts repose in Rigby Road Depot in February 1986 - most of these survived after deregulation (Brian Turner)

As at January 1986 565 of 1971 and 25 of the 30 1974 buses remained in use. 581 had been parked up in December 1985. The purchase of four second hand Leyland Nationals and six ex London Routemasters saw off 579/80/2/93 in February 1986 while 565/9/86 followed in March/April.

Deregulation saw new routes for the Swifts which appeared on the 4 (Blackpool-Mereside), 33 (Cleveleys-Marton Hypermarket) and revised services 2A, 15, 23-25 and the barely changed 26. 590 heads for the Hypermarket (now Asda on Vicarage Lane) on route 33 in October 1987. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

19 remained in use at deregulation (570-577, 583-585, 587-592 and 595). Buses began to be whittled down with 584 off in November 1986, 592 the following month, 595 in January and 577 in March. 572/91 also reached the end of the road in October 1987. The 11 survivors were to be replaced one for one by a batch of ex Strathclyde Buses Leyland Nationals - which were just five years younger. These entered service between December 1987 and February 1988 and 570/4 came off before the end of the year with 573/6/83 in January leaving 571, 585 and 587-590 into the final month. 571 and 590 are believed to have been the last to run, working route 4 on 29 February with 590 working the final 2300 from Bus Station to Mereside.

574 heads for Bispham on route 15 - normally the preserve of Leyland Nationals as the rota included trips to Preston on routes 180/2 (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)  

Swift Disposals

Disposals of the AEC Swifts generally fell into two categorises - pre deregulation sales direct to dealers for scrap and a post deregulation block sale to Wealden Omnibuses from where several buses went for further service.

36 Swifts were sold between 1981 and 1986 (541-569, 578-582, 586 and 593). Dealing with the exceptions first, 554 went for Preservation and 564/7/8 went to Stonier of Tunstall in 1984 via a dealer but did not operate for the firm. They were eventually sent for scrap. 562 went to Blackpool Airport in 1984 for use as part of fire brigade training exercises and was finally destroyed in 1997. 565 went to Lancashire Police for use as an exhibition unit but was out of use by 1989.  The remainder generally went to dealers for scrap. 


Leaving home - Swift 574 departs Rigby Road for the long journey to Kent in the ownership of Wealden PSV dealership (Brian Turner)

This left the 19 vehicles that were still in service at deregulation. Progressively withdrawn from service from December 1986 to February 1988 all remained in store at Rigby Road Depot at the start of April 1988. Wealden Omnibuses, a Kent based operator-dealer purchased all 19. It quickly find home for 12 buses -all of which had seen use in the last six months of operation. These were:

• 570 with Blue Saloon Guildford 5/88 - w/d 8/92.  Preserved by 5/96 (Graham Oliver and later LTT) (570 with Blue Saloon front and rear view)
• 571 with Weybus of Weymouth 5/88 then to Anglewish (Seaside Shuttle) of Portland in 10/88 w/d 5/89 and to Davies of Bridport as spares for 589 in 9/89 then scrapped 2/90
• 572/4/6 to Ogdens of St Helens 8/88 (572 briefly loaned to East Surrey Buses before the sale) all w/d summer 1989 and scrapped by end of year
• 573 Wealdens operating arm and loans to East Surrey, sold c3/90 to Raff of Gravesend then scrapped 8/90
• 583 Davies of Bridport, later back to Wealden and to Knotty, Staffs in 1993 - burnt out 1996 (583 with Knotty)
• 585 Bonner, Ongar 5/88 then to Raff Gravesend 12/89 and scrapped 7/90
• 587 to Inverclyde, Greenock 5/88 then by 9/88 to Cumbrae Coaches, Millport w/d 1/90 and scrapped
• 588 to Inverclyde, Greenock 5/88 w/d 11/88 and auctioned 5/89 scrapped 9/89 588 with Inverclyde
• 589 with Weybus of Weymouth 5/88 then to Anglewish (Seaside Shuttle) of Portland in 10/88 to Davies of Bridport 9/89, De Vinci's Nightclub, West Bay 5/90, preserved 1997 but not reported since early c2002 Flickr Picture of 589
• 590 Wealden hire fleet and loaned to East Surrey Buses. Last licensed 10/88

The rest were not fit for further use and Wealden had several moved to Fylde's Squires Gate depot for storage (Wealden used Fylde as a staging post for buses collected from Scotland). 575, 584, 591/2/4/5 all moved to Fylde - as did 583 briefly while at least 572 of the Ogdens trio called in at Fylde on prior to moving to St Helens. The six were gradually disposed of with 591/4 going in November 1988; 575/92 in February 1989, 584 around August 1989 and 595 around August 1990. 595 did move onto Wealden but the rest went straight for scrap. 

Preserved Swift 570 and AEC Routemaster 521 displayed together at the 2010 Blackpool Transport open day (Paul Turner)

Survivors
Most of the survivors after deregulation had short second lives with their new owners. Swifts were an acquired taste and required gentle nurturing. Knotty for example swore by them (others perhaps swore at them) but modified 583 to use a Leopard style air pedestal gear change to replace the automatic electric unit specified by Blackpool. Those wanting a cheap ready to run vehicle tended to be disappointed and at least one operator ceased due to maintenance problems. 1991 started with the following survivors:

• 554 (PFR554H) -with Wealden who purchased it from Graham Oliver and put it back in to bus service but by this time it had been placed in store. It was bought back by Graham in 1995 and passed to LTT in October 1996. It was restored to original cream in 1998 but after several years in store passed to Martin Gurr and Gary Conn in 2014 - it is now back in use after a full repaint and overhaul
• 562 (UFR562K) - shell at Blackpool Airport scrapped 1997
• 570 (OFR970M) - Blue Saloon, Guildford w/d 1992 but kept in store until sold in 1995. Preserved by Graham Oliver in 1996 it has since passed to LTT.
• 583 (OFR983M) - Davies of Bridport later to Wealden and to Knotty in 1993. Destroyed by fire in late 1996 as last Blackpool Swift in service
• 589 (OFR989M) - with Da Vinci's nightclub in Bridport, Dorset and for sale in 1995. Later bought by Graham Oliver for preservation but passed to another owner and used as a source of spares for a Birmingham example

Today just 554 and 570 survive. 554 returned to use in 2015 with its new owners while 570 has been prepared for MOT work by LTT.

Privately preserved Swift 554 operating on the free bus service at the 130 years of Blackpool Trams event on 27 September 2015 (Paul Turner)

From the Archives: Lost Routes - The 23 and 23A

South Pier terminus was used by the 23/23A from its inception in 1936 to its demise in 2001, albeit with periodic exceptions. Swift 579 lays over prior to a summer trip to the Zoo on the 23A in 1984  (Brian Turner)

Blackpool's town tramways were closed in two stages - 1936 for the Layton and Central Drive routes replaced by buses 22 and 23; and 1961-3 for Lytham Road (bus 12), Marton (bus 26) and Dickson Road (bus 25A). All of the tram replacement routes except for the 25A survived in a recognisable form until the Metro network changes in 2001.

The Layton tram route was extremely short, running from Talbot Square to Layton Cemetery and was an obvious bus conversion given the overlap with other bus routes and the development of housing areas beyond the Layton terminus. The Central Drive route was part of the Marton service with trams running from Central Station to Waterloo Hotel then either via Royal Oak to South Pier or to Marton Depot and onto Talbot Square.

The bus replacements followed the tram routes but differed in being linked across the Town Centre. Both the 22 and 23 ran from Layton via Talbot Road, Talbot Square, Central Station and Central Drive to Waterloo Hotel before the 22 turned left to Marton Depot and the 23 right to South Pier. Brand new centre entrance Leyland Titans contrasted with the traditional trams retained on these two routes. Route 22 was soon diverted to Halfway House but the 23 continued on the Layton to South Pier corridor for most of its life. Frequency was high with an eight minute frequency in 1939 and 1946 with six buses required.

The first extension took place in 1949 with buses carrying on from Layton to Bispham, initially terminating at Bristol Avenue and later Bispham Clinic with a short lived extension to Bispham Hotel. The eight minute headway was maintained but now needing eight buses.

In 1956 a significant change took place with the 22 and 23 swapping their northern sections - the 22 now running to Bispham and the 23 via Grange Road to Victoria Hospital. By 1958 the summer timetable still ran every eight minutes with seven buses; the winter every 10 minutes with six buses and winter evenings and Sundays four buses provided a 15 minute frequency.

Southern extensions commenced in 1961 with alternate journeys extended via Bond St, Clifton Drive and Highfield Road to Highfield Hotel. The remaining South Pier terminating journeys now showed 23A. The following year the 23 was further extended to Midgeland Road via Common Edge Lane and School Road replacing local service 10. 10 buses were now required for the summer 8 minute service, 6 on the 23 and 4 on the 23A. For about a year in 1964 the 23A was extended along Bond St and Clifton Drive to Starr Gate but otherwise continued to terminate at South Pier.

Victoria Hospital with Dennis Lancet 598 awaiting departure as two ladies give it a wide berth perhaps with a disparaging eye on the high entry steps (Brian Turner)

As with other services frequencies were progressively reduced with a 10 minute daytime service and 12 minute evening/Sunday service in Summer 1967 and a 12 minute daytime and 20 minute evening/Sunday service in winter 1968/9. Throughout the life of the 23/23A, extra seasonal short journeys ran from Layton to South Pier as service 24; rarely appearing in the timetables. In 1972, for example, the year round 24 minute evening/Sunday service was supplemented by the 24 in the summer to make a 12 minute service.

Midgeland Road turning circle was often occupied by a pair of Swifts on the 23 and the 3A. Here 583 leads a sister in the earlier plain cream livery (Brian Turner)

Leyland Titans continued to be the mainstays, generally PD2s rather than the larger PD3s as used on the 22/22A. Sunday journeys were converted to OMO in 1973. 1976 saw the withdrawal of the South Pier to Midgeland road section in favour of route 19 which now ran from Mereside-South Pier - Midgeland Road every 45 minutes. The 23A now ran every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 evenings/Sundays with just four buses needed. November 1977 saw conversion to OMO and route 23 once again ran to Midgeland Road once per hour. 5 buses were needed, but the 23A was inter worked with the now hourly 19 (once again South Pier to Mereside only) so a combined 6 buses operated the 19, 23, 23A cycle. On Sundays the 19 still covered the Midgeland Road section but this was later dropped.


Nationals appeared on the 23/23A from 1984 including 544 passing the Pleasure Beach in this March 1986 shot (Brian Turner)

From 1981 summer journeys were extended the short distance from Victoria Hospital to Blackpool Zoo and this pattern with a 15 minute daytime, 30 minute evening/Sunday service with an hourly Monday to Saturday only extension to Midgeland Road.

In the town centre the 23/23A served Market Street loading outside the town hall. This is ex Crosville 545 (CFM345S) in May 1986. (Brian Turner)

Deregulation saw major changes. A basic 15 minute service was provided from Hospital to Royal Oak provided by new services 23, 24 and 25. The 23 ran hourly via its previous route (Clifton Drive and Highfield Road) before turning down Lindale Gardens to terminate at Squires Gate Lane. The 24 also ran hourly but via Lytham Road, Watson Road and Welcome Inn to Mereside replacing the 19. The other two journeys ran as service 25 via Lytham Road, Watson Road, St. Annes Road to Halfway House replacing services 5/5A. Six single deckers were used. Evenings and Sundays saw a half hourly service on the 25 only. Fylde Borough won a county council contract for an hourly evening and Sunday service numbered 23A from South Pier to Mereside via Clifton Drive, Highfield Rd, Lindale Gardens, School Road, Midgeland Rd, Welcome Inn and Langdale Road to Mereside. This would use single deckers - particularly Bristol REs - but later minibuses appeared.

Swifts continued after deregulation, as the new fleetname shows. 576 crest Skew Bridge on its way to Halfway House on route 25. The 25A blind is redolent of the former Dickson Road tram replacement service and is shown as the correct number was not included on the old number blinds

As with most services in the deregulated era various tweaks took place which are summarised below:

• January 1987 - 23 extended to Halfway House returning via St. Annes Road with the 25 operating via Lindale Gardens on northbound journeys. 4 25 journeys diverted to Midgeland Road mainly to serve St Nicholas School
• April 1987 - daytime journeys extend from Hospital to Grange Park. 23 diverted at Highfield Road to Midgeland Road; alternate journeys on the 25 run clockwise and anticlockwise via St. Annes Rd/Lindale Gardens loop

In June 1988 the service was reduced to every 20 minutes with the Grange Park section withdrawn and the summer Zoo extension reinstated. Each route ran hourly with the 23 no longer serving Clifton Drive and diverted at Highfield Road to the Welcome Inn and onto Mereside. Evening and Sunday journeys on the 25 were curtailed to South Pier. Further change saw:

• Sept 1988 25 extended from Halfway House to Airport
• March 1989 23 serves Clifton Drive again; 25 diverted via Highfield Road to Midgeland Road; evening 25 extended to Halfway House and inter worked with the 22/22A
• July 1990 23 and 24 extended from Mereside turning circle to nearby new Tesco store

Deltas made their debut on the 23-25 in 1990. From April 1993 to November 1994 the routes terminated at Cleveleys Bus Station where 112 loads for the long run to Midgeland Road.

The withdrawal of the AEC Swifts saw increasing Leyland National operation but, surprisingly, double deckers took over in 1989 though this was short lived as March 1990 saw the first batch of new Optare Deltas enter service operating the 23-25 and 53 (Airport to Poulton). An unusual innovation in April 1993 saw the daytime services extended to Cleveleys with two extra buses required. All three services ran via Grange Park, Bispham Road and Bispham Clinic and then split to serve:

• 23 via Red Bank Road, Norbreck, Russel Avenue and Fleetwood Road to Cleveleys
• 24 via Ingthorpe Avenue, Ashfield Road, Warren Drive and Fleetwood Road to Cleveleys
• 25 via All Hallows Road and Fleetwood Road to Cleveleys

The November 1994 network change which co-ordinated the Blackpool and Fylde networks saw the Cleveleys extension withdrawn. Blackpool had taken over the contracted evening/Sunday 23A in March and integrated with its commercial journeys so that an hourly Hospital to Mereside service was provided (as 23) supplemented an hourly Hospital to South Pier service which took the 23A. While this reflected historical precedent it did mean that route 23 took two different routes depending on the time of day. At the same time the Sunday service was converted to minibus operation.

City Pacer 570 sits on Staining turning circle on route 23 in July 1998. Buses were scheduled to have 12 minutes layover here which was the only respite from otherwise tight schedules on these services

August 5 1996 saw the Deltas transferred onto services 12A and 26 while the 23-25 were converted to City Pacer minibus operation. All three routes were doubled in frequency giving a ten minute service from Hospital to Royal Oak. The 23 adopted the evening and Sunday route (Lindale Gardens and Midgeland Road) during the day and as a result the 25 was re-routed via Lytham Road, Highfield Road, Progress Way to Mereside. The 23 was extended from Hospital to Staining to allow the withdrawal of the 15 providing a half hourly service all day. 11 buses were required, with 4 in the evening and on Sundays. Minor changes followed:

• November 1996 - 25 via Lostock Gardens between Highfield Rd and Lindale Gardens and also via Welcome Inn and Cherry Tree Road instead of Progress Way
• January 1997 - 23 via Lostock Gardens and 25 via Acre Gate and Lennox Gate, 23/23A also serve Maternity Unit at Hospital.

Metrorider 592 stands in for a Solo on the 24 at the 2000/1 terminus at B&Q (Brian Turner)

The City Pacers were long in the tooth, but well suited to a tightly timed route. Metroriders were common on the Sunday service by the time the final batch had arrived in late 1998. 15 new Optare Solos arrived towards the end of 1999 and this allowed conversion of the 23-25 to low floor operation from the end of January 2000. The extra capacity allowed a reduction to every 15 minutes with the 23 and 24 dropping to hourly - they were also diverted to the new B&Q at Whitehills. The 25 still ran half hourly and took-over the daytime service to Staining from the 23. The evening/Sunday 23/23A continued as before. 

The introduction of Optare Solos in January 2000 brought improved quality to the services after several years with long in the tooth City Pacers. August 2000 sees 267 loading at the Maternity Unit at Victoria Hospital served by journeys to/from Staining only (Brian Turner)

The Staining extension saw the 23 (later the 25) replace route 15. Here Solo 265 heads through the village - a regular in the Britain in Bloom competition (Brian Turner)

The 23, 23A, 24 and 25 ceased operation after nearly 65 years on 29 April 2001 replaced by Line 5 from Staining to South Shore and routes 8, 8A and 9 from South Shore to Midgeland Road and Mereside. These lasted until November 2001 when they were revised to incorporate tendered services 10 and 53 with the 8 running Claremont to Manchester Square via Hospital, Mereside and the former 25 route; the 9 from Mereside to Poulton via the 23 and 53 routes and the 10 from Mereside to Pheasant's Wood via the 24 route Hospital and Cleveleys. These ended in April 2002 with parts replaced by the 2B/2C and later service 2A. Today the 10/17 and 15/6 cover much of the area previously served by the 23-25 in South Shore and Mereside, while the 5 provides the Hospital link

From the Archives: The Original 5

Route 5 originally used Church Street from Promenade to Winter Gardens. Northbound buses were diverted though Talbot Square in 1936 but it was not until 1976 that southbound journeys followed. Here 515 demonstrates the new route in 1985.

July 1926 saw the introduction of service 4 from Adelaide Street to Halfway House via Lytham Road, Watson Road and St. Annes Road with a 20 minute frequency provided. In 1927 this was joined by service 5 from Gynn Square via Warbreck Hill Road, Devonshire Road, Talbot Road, Queen Street, Promenade and then as route 4 to Halfway House. Both ran every 20 minutes combining to a 10 minute headway.

In 1929 the 5 was diverted to start at Hoo Hill (Windmill Hotel) and run via Layton, Caunce Street, Church Street and then onto the existing route to Halfway House. This replaced the stand-alone 7 to Hoo Hill and also route 4 - though this continued to be used for short workings until 1939. The 5 typically ran every 10 minutes with six or seven buses required and was one of the earlier routes to use Leyland Titans from 1934.  Economies in 1939 as World War II developed saw the 5 curtailed to run Hoo Hill (Plymouth Road) to Blackpool only. By the end of the year a through service had been reinstated at 20 minute intervals with shorts from Hoo Hill to Tower as service 5A to make a ten minute frequency.

PD3 518 has turned off the Promenade onto Lytham Road heading to Halfway House on route 5

The full ten minute service was finally restored in late 1946 and new centre entrance PD2s saw service from 1949. 1950 saw the service extended into the developing Grange Park council estate turning off Poulton Road onto Chepstow Road terminating at Dingle Avenue just beyond Fulwood Square. In 1955 the route was diverted at Chepstow Road onto Gateside Drive then Dinmore Avenue to Normoss Avenue close to the current Dinmore Hotel. In 1958 it was further extended along Dinmore Avenue to Easington Crescent and finally in 1960 to Pilling Crescent. The basic ten minute service continued, though this rose to 8 minutes in the summer season on weekdays after 1000 remaining every 10 minutes at other times. Winter evening services ran every 20 minutes and winter Sunday services ran every 15 minutes. 1962 saw a minor route change with the 5 now serving Manchester Square, previously it had left the Promenade at the Foxhall and served Tyldesley Road rejoining Lytham Road at the Coliseum Coach Station. The end of the Lytham Road trams may have facilitate this move.

The service frequency progressively reduced during the late 1960s with a winter daytime 12 minute frequency and a summer service every 10 minutes. Sundays saw a 30 minute frequency, supported in the summer by short workings from Grange Park to Manchester Square as service 5A. February 1973 saw the Sunday service converted to OMO with AEC Swifts and these journeys terminated at Easington Crescent instead of Pilling Crescent where a reversal was required.

From 1973 Sunday services used OMO single deckers, mainly Swifts but by 1986 Nationals such as 543 had joined in.

1976 saw alternate weekday services diverted to reach Halfway House via Lindale Gardens as service 5A (so the Sunday short workings became route 5B instead). Later that year changes in the Town Centre saw the direct route from Winter Gardens to the Promenade via Church Street closed to traffic. The 5 now ran via Clifton Street and Talbot Square, 40 years after journeys to Grange Parks had been diverted away from Church St via Talbot Square. The final frequency cut saw the service standardised at every 15 minutes daytimes and every 30 minutes evenings/Sundays in 1977 - though the summer Sunday short 5Bs continued until 1979. Thereafter the 5B designated depot workings.

Atlantean 327 is chased by Preston Corporation Olympian A33MRN, on its final day on demonstration with Blackpool before moving down the road to Fylde.

Atlanteans now supplemented the PD3s on the resolutely crew operated weekday services which needed six buses. Swifts and, later, Lancets and Nationals provided the three Sunday workings. 7 January 1986 saw the unexpected debut of the AEC Routemaster in Blackpool with RM1583 on hire from London Bus Sales and pressed straight into service on route 5/5A in faded London red with Harrods adverts. Later purchased it was joined by five sisters which saw regular use on the 5/5A, most initially in London red before later gaining retro red and white based loosely on the 1930s livery.

Deregulation saw major changes to the bus network and the end of route 5. The Grange Park section was replaced by an extension of service 6 with the Halfway House section partially replaced by routes 24 and 25.

Amazingly the London Routemasters were pressed into service without even losing their adverts let alone a repaint. 523 arrives at St Johns Church with the slip board on the dashboard reassuring doubtful passengers that this was a 5 to Grange Park

Fortunately 523's appearance did not put off the passengers who scramble aboard in a location since transformed by pedestrianisation.

Three days later, 16 May 1986 saw 522-525 all in service. At least 522 had received blinds to the traditional London Transport layout and font - though the intermediates had not been set. The two RMs contrast their faded domes, while 522 displays an array of numbers in the cab. "55" being its route (timecard), "522" its fleet number and "5" its service number, contradicting the blind.

Today
The Grange Park to Blackpool section continued as service 6 until 2010 when it was replaced by service 11 which today runs every 15 minutes Grange Park to Lytham. The Halfway House end was covered until 2001 by the 23/24/25 group and also from 1988 by the 12A (Bus Station to Lindale Gardens) - which followed the former 5 route between except using Highfield Road rather than Watson Road to link Lytham and St. Annes Roads. In 2001 the 23-5  and 12A were merged as a new Line 5 running via Central Drive, Waterloo Road, Lytham Road and Highfield Road with a loop at Halfway House/Lindale Gardens. With minor changes - including a recent withdrawal from Lindale Gardens - this remains as a tribute to the former 5.

From the Archives: The End of Stablity - the 6 bows out after 84 years

Blackpool's service 6 has been the epitome of stability. After the initial flurry of changes took place as the route developed in the 1920s it has only seen two fundamental changes the extensions to Mereside in 1954 and Grange Park in 1986 and had only three main vehicle types since 1934 - Titans, Atlanteans and Deltas - with others providing just a supporting role.

In February 1926 Blackpool Corporation started a new circular service from Adelaide Place via Central Drive, Grasmere Road to Condor Square then via Condor Grove, Whitegate Drive and Palatine Road back to Adelaide Place. The Whitegate Drive half was soon dropped leaving a basic Town Centre to Condor Square service which took service number 6 during the summer. From 1928 it was extended along Grasmere Road, Bloomfield Road, Hawes Side Lane and back to town via Watson Road, St. Annes Road and Central Drive with route 12 used for journeys in the opposite direction. This too lasted only a few months with the 6 now turning off Hawes Side Lane via Daggers Hall Lane to the junction with Vicarage Lane. A 20 minute service was provided off peak and 10 minutes at peak times.

Limited journeys continued along Vicarage Lane to the Welcome Inn from 1931 and by the mid 1930s all journeys terminated there. Double deck operation had been experimented with in 1927 with a Karrier and a Guy double decker but regular double deck operation commenced in 1934. 1939 saw a short extension to Cherry Tree Gardens and the following year saw the town centre terminus relocate to Corporation St. Service 6A was started during the war as a short working and later grew into a stand-alone service operating from Grange Park to Midgeland Road

The 6A and 6B developed from short workings of the 6 and did, prophetically, link Grange Park and Marton following the 5 route to Town then the 6 to Hawes Side in the 1950s and 1960s See this article for more about the 6A and 6B

The post war period saw the development of the large council housing estate at Sandham's Green - better known now as Mereside. Route 4 was introduced via Condor Square, Park Road, Penrose Avenue to Mereside in 1951, with the 6 extended from Cherry Tree Gardens in 1954 initially to Langdale Embayment (Mereside Shops) reaching Branstree Road in the 1960s. The development of the estate caused much friction between the Corporation and Ribble. The latter used Preston New Road for its Preston services and wished to protect this and capture the estate travel. License applications were therefore fraught, not helped by the poor roads initially and a restriction on double deck operations.

Although a simple short route, the 6 had a complicated operating pattern. In 1964 a 12 minute frequency was provided with a 48 minute round trip. At Corporation Street buses interworked with the 4 and 13. The 4 ran every 24 minutes, the 13 every 12 - co-ordinated with the 6 to Spen Corner before heading via Marton Drive to Lindale Gardens. 10 buses were needed, 6 of which worked a 6-4-13 cycle and 4 of which worked a 6-13 cycle. Blackpool for years helpfully arranged its route number blinds with 4, 6 and 13 in order!

Incidentally as if the 6 minute service 6/13 to Condor Square and Spen Corner wasn't enough, the 6A ran every 16 minutes (Fulwood Square-Midgeland Road via Common Edge Road and School Lane) and the 11C (Blackpool to St. Annes) every 20 minutes which was clearly impossible to co-ordinate!

The 6 settled in to stable mediocrity - by 1970 it was down to every 15 minutes but was put back to every 12 minutes in 1976 when the 13 ceased. Crew operated Leyland Titans held sway from 1934 to 1980 - with OPO AEC Swifts on Sundays from 1973 and some crew operated Atlanteans in the late 1970s but in December 1980 it was converted to full OPO operation using Atlanteans. During the 1970s - presumably before 1973 a turning circle was constructed on land adjacent to Clifton Road to replace the previous reversing manoeuvre.

The 1980s saw transport operators begin to consider different ways to promote their services. Fares promotions started on route 6 in January 1985 with a maximum fare of 40p between 9am and 3pm and after 6pm, with a 30p maximum Sunday fare - this compared to the then 53p maximum from Mereside to Town Centre.

February 1985 saw the introduction of the "SHUTTLE SIX" identity and the a new a "Saverstrip" ticket. These multi journey tickets were similar to the well known Manchester 'Clipper Card' scheme and allowed users to purchase 12 journeys for the price of 10 provided they travelled between the same two points - this even applied to the off peak 40p maximum. Five Atlanteans were dedicated to the service with their standard fleet livery adorned with a green skirt, two orange and one lemon stripe and large Shuttle Six lettering. 302, 303, 316, 317 and 321 were so treated and these five, plus conventionally painted Atlanteans 301, 351 and 352 were equipped with Saverstrip cancelling machines. The experiment ended after six months - the buses retained their livery but saw general service use before becoming early recipients of the new livery in spring 1987.

Deregulation of local bus services took place on Sunday 26 October and this involved the most significant change to service 6 in its life. The Mereside to Talbot Square service was extended via the route of service 5 to Grange Park (Easington Crescent) via Caunce St, Layton Road, Westcliffe Drive, Poulton Road, Chepstow Road, Gateside Drive and Dinmore Avenue. Buses ran every 15 minutes in the day and every 30 in the evenings and on Sundays. 7 Atlantes were required. This brought back memories of the 6A/6B which shared this route from the edge of Grange Park to Hawes Side Lane until their withdrawal in the 1970s.

Route branding returned to the service in September 1987 when the daytime frequency was increased to every 10 minutes (10 buses) and a Superman inspired "Super 6" identity was coined. Atlanteans 301/5/6 received a blue, white and red based livery and 309,322 and 360 received broadside adverts with the same branding. Matching timetables were produced, though the image ended in April 1989 with the withdrawal of the Atlanteans.

Little Marton Mill provides a suitable backdrop to many a Mereside photo and here Atlantean 317 passes Branstree Road junction in June 1988 as it heads towards the turning circle.

This improvement was not enough to ward off the attentions of Fylde, who were using there growing fleet of double deckers between school duties to irritate Blackpool Transport on its core services. March 1988 saw the introduction of a half hourly service 6 Monday to Friday off peak, Saturday and Sunday daytime which used various vehicles from the ubiquitous Atlantean to the odd Leopard and Bristol RE with minibuses preferred on Sundays. In addition their 11C - which followed the 6 from Hawes Side Lane to Blackpool was extended to Grange Park to compete on this corridor. Fylde's interest on the 6 ended in April 1989 when the two operators scaled back their competing actions.

Fylde's brief incursion on the 6 included the delights of new to Lytham Atlantean 77.

July 1990 saw the opening of a large Tesco superstore across Clifton Road from Mereside and several bus services were duly recast. Surprisingly only one bus per hour on the 6 was extended the short distance to the store - the other five still terminated on the turning circle. June 1991 saw an unusual northern extension. During the day one bus every 30 minutes was extended from Grange Park via Carleton and Castle Gardens to Poulton replacing the recently withdrawn 53 service. This added an 11th bus to the roster and lasted until March 2000

The November 1994 network change left the 6 alone - though the new Volvo Olympians initially saw regular use alongside Atlanteans and sometimes the older Olympians too. 6 February 1995 saw a change to Optare Delta operation  - releasing the double deckers to allow the 22/22A to revert to larger buses. At the same time the evening journeys were extended the short distance to Collegiate High School following regrettable problems caused while laying over at Easington Crescent.

March 2000 saw an increased evening and Sunday service with a bus every 20 minutes and then in April 2001 the Metro network was launched. The 6 became Line 6 but was barely changed, other than the introduction of a single direction loop at Mereside - buses now arriving via Poulton Road and turning onto Dinmore Road to wait at Pilling Crescent, then bypassing Easington Crescent and leaving the estate on Chepstow Road. The evening buses also followed this route and no longer went to Collegiate. All journeys now ran to Tesco. 

Dedicated Delta 114 passes the now rarely used turning circle to turn onto Clifton Road and into the Tesco store behind the photographer

June 2001 saw the allocation of dedicated bus to each Line route and Deltas 108-110, 112-117 were given Line 6 stickers to provide 9 out of the 10 workings. Repaints into the Metro livery of maroon and yellow commenced with 116 entering service so painted on 30 June. 115 then 116 followed. There was then a hiatus as 114 was undergoing refurbishment which saw the high backed seats replaced by bus seats and this did not return to use in Line 6 livery until January 2002. 113 and 112 followed in February and March; 108 in June (without bus seats), 110 in August and finally 109 in October.

A change in policy to brand the full PVR saw 118 transferred from Line 7 in March 2004. A further change saw 115-118 move onto Line 11 in May 2005 and 104-107 were then painted in Line 6 colours between May and August with 108-110/112-114 treated to full repaints in October and November. Finally in February 2009 103 was painted maroon to replace 110 which was withdrawn.

February 2010 saw the evening service reduced to every 30 minutes, however little did people realise that after service on 25 July the service would be withdrawn entirely with Line 11 replacing the Grange Park leg and Line 14 replacing the Mereside leg. 

The Last Day in the Life of the 6
Sunday 25 July 2010 marked the final day of Line 6. Not all of the branded buses survived through the final week. Nine out of the ten buses required on Friday were observed as pool fleet 101 and 123, branded 106-109 and 112, Excel 220 and Olympian 371. On Saturday, six branded Deltas 104, 106, 107, 108, 109 and 112 were joined by all three pool liveried examples 101, 102 and 123 and Solo 281. 

The Sunday Line 6 service required five buses and fittingly all five were branded Deltas. First bus out at around 0700 was 104 heading to Corporation St to start service to Grange Park followed 20 minutes later by 107. Around 0730 106 left via Yeadon Way to form the first bus from Mereside at 0740. 109 left depot at 0750 empty to Corporation Street for the 0755 to Grange Park and finally 112 left around 0750 empty to Mereside. The five buses then spent the morning and afternoon on a 20 minute frequency service. Two buses ran in at tea time, 109 finishing at Mereside at 1712 and 104 at 1812 both running back to depot via Yeadon Way. This left 106, 107 and 112 to provide the half hourly evening service. Their last three round trips were:

106 2200 Mereside - 2241 Grange Park - 2323 Mereside and depot
112 2230 Mereside - 2311 Grange Park - 2353 Mereside and depot
107 2300 Mereside - 2341 Grange Park - 0001 Market Street and depot.


So 107 performed the last rites for Line 6. It was, perhaps, fitting that first two Blackpool Deltas to enter service back on 5 March 1990 - 106/7 - signed off in style.

A new 6
Local independent Catch 22 Bus introduced a new service 6 on 3 November 2014 between Blackpool Clifton Street and Grange Park but via Talbot Road rather than the traditional Clifton Street route. This ran every 15 minutes with a half hourly Sunday service added in April 2015. 

Today

The 11 (Grange Park) and 14 (Mereside) continue to cover the former 6 route but its Deltas are long since gone. The six branded buses retired with the route, the remaining 11 branded buses lasting until August and the final bus retired in November 2010. Two remained as driver trainers until 2015.  

Round Up

Blog Update
As the blog heads towards 600 posts, I've realised its reached a point where most historic topics have been covered, yet newer readers may not wish to trawl through pages and pages to see the content. Some topics were covered several years ago and are worthy of an update. I plan to revisit some previously posted subjects, updated with new information where possible and include an index on the 'pages' section linked to the right of this post (for desktop viewers).  This will hopefully result in an easy to access and fairly comprehensive Blackpool Bus fleet and service history. 

News will continue to feature and I will endeavour to do some new historic posts - the history of "Ribble on the Fylde" is currently being research and compiled to make a series of posts to mark the closure of its final Fylde Coast depot at Fleetwood in April. 

Blackpool Transport News
An Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 single deck demonstrator has arrived for evaluation. Registered YX65RLO it is expected to see service. The refurbished Volvo single deckers are believed to be earmarked for service 7, the new double deckers are already confirmed for service 9, but are expected to swtich to the 14 on Sundays with single deckers used on the 9 instead.

Catch 22 Bus
Dennis Darts W366/9VHB have received partial repaints into allover turquoise and are expected to be dedicated to new route 24 (Cleveleys-Poulton). T143AUA is being prepared for a return to use after a period in store. 

Blackpool Transport Service Changes

Further details have been received about the BTS service changes in April. Route 3 will now serve Faraday Way to replace service 12/13 which is withdrawn completely. Service 9 will be extended to Victoria Hospital every 30 minutes - presumably via Newton Drive which lose the 12, 13, 15 and 16 and to retain a link between Cleveleys, Bispham and Victoria Hospital, albeit customers could change to service 5 at Layton.

Services 10 and 17 will extend from Blackpool to Poulton via the 12/13 (except for Staining), while southern circular 15/16 will be routed via Stanley Park, Zoo, Hospital, Staining, Marton Mere then as present route via South Shore to Blackpool (but direct along Whitegate Drive).

The 2C will be withdrawn in the evening, but continue to run Blackpool to Poulton on Sundays. This - and the 12/13 changes - will leave both Staining and Poulton without evening buses - the latter also losing the 42 and 84 services.

Meanwhile, Stagecoach has announced it will replace the Preston Bus Monday to Thursday evening journeys on service 68, though not the Sunday workings. It already works these commercially on Friday and Saturday. It appears LCC councillors voted for their proposed budget including the bus service cuts confirming the inevitable outcome. 

Palladium Centro

Centro 527 has been outshopped by Bus and Coach World Blackburn with its new interior and Palladium livery. A first photo is here on Gregg Collins Flickr page. 

Forthcoming New Services

The withdrawal of subsidised services by Lancashire County Council has seen most operators deregister their contracted services. Few will be replaced, but Coastal Coaches and Catch 22 Bus have stepped up with new services from 4 April and Blackpool Transport have registered various changes too.

Catch 22 will extend their service 22 from Cleveleys to Fleetwood. This will revert to a 30 minute frequency between Mereside and Cleveleys from 4 April and will be extended over the 84 route from Cleveleys to Fleetwood - with minor variations in Larkholme. The service will run from 0750 - 1720 from Fleetwood (Mon-Fri) and 0820-1750 from Cleveleys. Saturday first trips are 90 minutes later.

Their new service 24 will run from Cleveleys to Poulton again via the 84 route - but also serving the Hillylaid Road section of the 87. This will run half hourly Monday to Friday from Cleveleys (0750-1750) and from Poulton at 0750 to 1720. Saturday service will be hourly. 0820-1720, returning from Cleveleys half an hour later. Sunday service and some additional trips to Victoria Hospital are being considered according to the operator

Coastal's tenders are service 76 (Blackpool to St. Annes via Poulton and Kirkham), and the evening/Sunday part of the 78 (St. Annes to Wesham). It has, however, registered a new service 77 from St. Annes to Victoria Hospital via Mereside. Service 78 will extend from Wesham to Poulton every hour - presumably via the 76 route via Elswick. The 78 is commercial during the day, its not clear if evening/Sunday services will continue.

Blackpool Transport's changes affect all services. The 1, 4, 7, 11, 14 have a revised timetable with the 3, 9, 10 and 17 have route and timetable changes. The 12/13 are cancelled and the 2C replaced on a new registration. A new service 15 has been registered as "Blackpool to Blackpool via Staining" - happily returning the traditional number, while the existing 15/16 have route/timetable changes - presumably now all as service 16. Further detail will no doubt follow in due course.

Preston Bus has cancelled services 75 and 80, but so far no cancellation for the evening service 68 has been reported. Kirkby Lonsdale Minicoaches has cancelled the evening 42 from Lancaster. Presently KLMC has a remarkably large operating areas - based at Carnforth, most of its work is Lancaster based, but in addition to reaching Blackpool, operates a regular service into Skipton! Elite minicoaches has not yet cancelled the 87.

Trident fire damaged

Blackpool Transport Trident 318 suffered upper deck fire damage last night. Blackpool Gazette reports seats on the upper deck were set alight causing 3 metres of damage to the roof. 

Stagecoach may exit Fleetwood

Further to the recent post about the withdrawal of funding for tendered services, Stagecoach is faced with a reduction of its Fleetwood depot services to just three buses from the current nine. As a result commercial journeys on service 84 have been deregistered and the company is reportedly engaging with staff on the depot future. 

Stagecoach is the successor to Ribble Motor Services who's role as the major operator in Fleetwood commenced in January 1931 when they took over Lawrence Motor Services who had become the main operator having absorbed local competitors. The Lawrence depot at Birch Street was taken over and became Ribble's home in the town for 60 years.

The depot ran a network of town services in Fleetwood and local routes between Cleveleys and Thornton and from Fleetwood to Cleveleys. It contributed to interurban routes into Blackpool and Preston. At times these were linked across Preston with Fleetwood depot participating in long runs to Wigan. By 1959 28 vehicles were based at Birch Street for a peak vehicle requirement of 25. 17 of these were lowbridge double deckers - and 4 highbridge ones. 5 single deckers and 2 coaches completed the allocation.

Despite being one of Ribble's smaller depots, it continued to warrant investment. In the late 1960s it received an allocation of dual door ECW bodied Bristol REs for its town services to introduce one man operation. These were in turn replaced by the first Leyland Nationals of 1972. 1980 saw a network recast with the long established F-series local routes replaced by the 91, 93-95 in Thornton/Cleveleys and the 97/98 in Fleetwood. 

October 1986 - just before deregulation - saw the 1980 network replaced by 'Fleetwood Minilink'. 64 Mercedes Benz minibuses were introduced to Ribble in 1986 starting in Kendal in August. Fleetwood had 12 allocated - 512/3 with 'coach' seating and 541-550 with standard bus seating. A residual fleet of full size buses were retained for the Fleetwood-Blackpool services and schools work.

As well as Fleetwood, Ribble had two bases in Blackpool at Talbot Road and Devonshire Road. The former - traditionally a coach depot - was replaced by space at Coliseum Coach Station in 1986. Both this and Talbot Road closed in August 1988 with the work moving to Fleetwood. No less than 27 buses made the move, with overspill parking on the Pandoro docks compound in the town.

Ribble had contracted since deregulation, losing school and tendered work to Fylde and Blackpool. This continued despite the centralisation on Fleetwood with 34 vehicles left by August 1990. 8 were coaches (Leopards/Tigers), 4 single deckers, 10 double deckers and the 12 Mercedes minibuses from 1986. Fleetwood's work included remote work such as the 85 (Blackpool-Knott End) and 193 (Wesham to St. Annes) - though for some time this was worked out of Fylde's Squires Gate Depot. Some duties on 167/8 (Blackpool-Preston) were also worked.

April 1991 saw a dramatic reduction with all big bus worked moved away - mostly to Lancaster. Garstang allocation would work the 85 as an example. 17 Mercedes minibuses remained for town services which now included the Fleetwood-Blackpool links. This led to the end of Birch Street which closed on 31 August 1991 and the minibuses move to the current base on Sidings Road, Fleetwood.

The position then stabilised. Larger vehicles returned, initially Volvo B6s for the F4 (the current 84) and Stagecoach standard Olympians and Volvo B10Ms would also be based there for interurban work. 

The 1986 Minibuses were replaced in the 1990s with new buses, then later the B6s and these were replaced on the F4 by new Optare Solos in 2001. More Solos came in 2004 for the Fylde Villager Tendered service. By 2006 18 minibuses (mainly Solos) and 2 double deckers were based at Fleetwood.

Progressively the Fleetwood and Cleveleys town services were withdrawn with tendered services generally replacing them - most of which have evolved into just two routes the 74 and 87. The F4 remained and was increased to every 20 minutes, renumbered 84 in 2004 and extended to Blackpool. New Optare Versa buses were procured in 2008 with 8 needed for the 84. Solos remained for the Fylde and Wyre Villager work and 2 double deckers were outbased for the 68.

2009 saw the loss of the Fylde villager work but the gain of new service 74 which replaced various other services including parts of Blackpool's 2 and 16. Decline set in on service 84 with the withdrawal of the Poulton to Blackpool section in March 2012, the frequency was later reduced to half hourly and the Versa's moved away replaced by older Solos. A further reduction to 40 minutes took place at the start of January. 

Allocation had reduced to 12 by April 2012 - 2 Enviro 200s were used on the Wyre Village with Versa and Solos, plus 3 double deckers. A year later it was just with 4 Solos for the 84, 2 new Enviro 200s for Wyre Villager and 3 double deckers for the 68. 

November 2013 saw Stagecoach resume the tendered 74 from Cumfybus (they took it over in June 2012) using 3 Solos and a further bus ran the short lived 82 (Fleetwood to Poulton). The Enviro 200s followed the Versas out of the fleet soon after. The 68 work returned to Preston in summer 2014 leaving just ten Solos for the 74, 84 and 86/9.

The final date for the 74, 84, 86 and 89 is Saturday 2 April. Catch 22 Bus has announced a replacement for the 84 by extending its 22 from Cleveleys to Fleetwood and starting a new service between Cleveleys and Poulton that will also take in Hillylaid Road as served by the 87 presently.

Lancashire Bus Subsidy Under Threat Again

Following a reprieve in 2014, Lancashire County Council has once again proposed to completely withdraw from subsidised bus services as part of budget cuts from 2 April 2016. A consultation has been launched which lasts until 27 March - less than one week before the change is implemented! Click the Link here if you wish to participate

It is understood operators have received 12 weeks notice of the withdrawal of funding - and they have been invited to state what, if any, they would preserve commercially. Fylde Coast routes affected are:

• Blackpool Transport 2C between Poulton and Knott End - evenings/Sundays
• Blackpool Transport 12/13 between Bispham and Poulton - daily
• Kirkby Lonsdale 42 between Lancaster and Blackpool - evenings
• Stagecoach 61 short section at Peel/Whitehills Park
• Preston Bus 68 between Blackpool and Preston Sunday to Thursday evenings
• Stagecoach 74 between Blackpool and Fleetwood - complete service
• Preston Bus 75 between Fleetwood and Preston - complete service
• Coastal Coaches 76 between Blackpool and St. Annes - complete service
• Coastal Coaches 78 between Wesham and St. Annes - evenings/Sundays
• Waltons Coach Hire 79 between Lamaleach and Kirkham - complete service
• Preston Bus 80 between Preston and Myrescough College - complete service
• Stagecoach 86 between Fleetwood and Knott End - complete service
• ACE Travel 87 between Cleveleys and Poulton - complete service
• Stagecoach 89 between Knott End and Lancaster - complete service

Enviro 400 City for Blackpool

Blackpool Transport has placed the first provisional order for Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 City model. The double decker was launched recently as ADL's equivalent of the New Bus for London and features a glass panelled staircase. Blackpool's order is for service 9 and is understood to be for ten buses. The interior specification follows that of the Palladium Citaros purchased last year for service 5 with leather seats (for 72) and USB chargers. Euro 6 diesel engines are specified. 

The Enviros will be the first new double deckers for ten years - the longest such gap the fleet has experienced, beating the 9 year gap between the last PD3s and first Atlanteans

Happy New Year

Catch 22 898 on its last day on service 12 - 31 December 2015 - (David Umpleby)

2015 ended with the latest stage of DDA regulations affecting local buses. At the end of 2014 minibuses under 7.5t with a capacity of more than 22 needed to be compliant, now all single deckers do and from end of 2016 all double deckers likewise. These only apply to local bus services - hires, "closed door" contracts (i.e not available to general public), excursions and express services can use non compliant buses. Some limited exemptions of up to 20 days per year also apply.

Blackpool Transport had already withdrawn its last non DDA compliant single deckers in May, but Catch 22 bus marked the occasion by operating step entrance Volvo B10M 898 on service 12 during the Christmas period, culminating in a last duty on New Year's Eve. 898 is now relegated to private hire work. Red Rocket Express ceased after its Christmas operating period on Christmas eve and the two red Darts - 365 and 371 - appeared on service 12 alongside 898, Trident 51 and even ex Blackpool Atlantean 334. Dart 143 is now withdrawn, while ex Arriva 234 is unlikely to enter service here. MPDs 657/8 are under preparation for repaint having operated in blue during 2015.