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The Burnley Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
and
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, England. It is a subsidiary of
Transdev Blazefield Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operato ...
, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire,
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and
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.


History

In August 1924, Burnley Corporation Transport operated their first bus service between Rawtenstall and Burnley Summit. The Burnley, Colne & Nelson Joint Transport Committee was established in April 1933, merging the three municipal tramway and bus operations of the respective towns. 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 Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...
and
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
were amalgamated to form the present-day
Borough of Pendle Pendle is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Nelson, the borough's largest town. The borough also includes the towns of Barnoldswick, Brierfield, Colne and Earby along with the sur ...
. 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 Transport Act 1985 (c. 67) was an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced privatised and deregulated bus services throughout Great Britain and came into effect in October 1986. The act was created as a response to growing ...
, 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 The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...
double-deck vehicles were purchased, with each named after a character from the television series ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
''. Burnley & Pendle also successfully tendered a number of
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) was the Passenger transport executive, public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SE ...
-contracted bus services, allowing for operations to extend to
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
, Bury,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, Preston,
Rawtenstall Rawtenstall () is a town in the borough of Borough of Rossendale, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles (24 km) north of Manchester, 22 miles (35 km) east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston and 45 miles (70 km) south east of Lanca ...
,
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
and
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...
.


Stagecoach and Blazefield ownership

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. 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 (). Initially branded Stagecoach Burnley & Pendle, the company was encompassed within Stagecoach Ribble in May 2000. In April 2001, Stagecoach sold their operations in
Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
,
Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
and
Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...
to the
Blazefield Group Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operato ...
, which rebranded them as Burnley & Pendle and Lancashire United. The sale was valued at £13 million. Following the sale, Blazefield purchased a total of 15
Plaxton President The Plaxton President is a Low-floor bus, low floor double-decker bus coachwork, body built by Plaxton at the former Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company, Northern Counties factory in Wigan, England. It was first unveiled in 1997 on t ...
bodied
Volvo B7TL The Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus chassis which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of the Volvo Olympian (its 3-axle version was replaced by the Volvo Super Olympian). It was built as the British bus operator ...
double-deck and 25
Wright Renown The Wright Renown is a Low-floor bus, low floor single-decker bus body built on Volvo B10BLE chassis by Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Design Launched as the successor to the Wright Liberator body on the Volvo B10L chassis in 1997, ...
bodied
Volvo B10BLE The Volvo B10BLE is a rear-engined low-entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo in Sweden between 1993 and 2004. The first prototypes were built in 1992, but mass production started in 1993, only a year after the high-floor B10B. I ...
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.


Transdev era

In January 2006, French-based transport group
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...
acquired the Blazefield Group, along with 305 vehicles. Locally, the company was rebranded under the name Transdev in Burnley & Pendle. In August 2006,
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a co ...
announced that after 125 years of municipal ownership, Blackburn Transport had been sold to Transdev Blazefield. The sale was finalised in January 2007. 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. 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.


Services and branding


The Burnley Bus Company

In July 2017, a rebrand of the company commenced. Starting with the introduction of a new fleet of
Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018. 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 The Wright Renown is a Low-floor bus, low floor single-decker bus body built on Volvo B10BLE chassis by Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Design Launched as the successor to the Wright Liberator body on the Volvo B10L chassis in 1997, ...
bodied
Volvo B10BLE The Volvo B10BLE is a rear-engined low-entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo in Sweden between 1993 and 2004. The first prototypes were built in 1992, but mass production started in 1993, only a year after the high-floor B10B. I ...
single-deck vehicles being repainted into the new livery. Local bus services operating in and around the town of
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
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 Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
(9).


Mainline

The Mainline brand encompasses six services, which operate between Accrington (M1), Clitheroe (M2) and Burnley via
Padiham Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...
, as well as between Burnley and Trawden (M3),
Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...
(M4),
Barnoldswick Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic West Riding of Yorkshire, West Ri ...
(M5) and
Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...
(M6) via
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and
Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...
. In July 2017, the services were rebranded and upgraded to a fleet of
Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018. Features include free WiFi, USB and wireless charging and audio-visual next stop announcements.


The Witch Way

The Witch Way is a flagship service, which operates between Burnley and
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
via
Rawtenstall Rawtenstall () is a town in the borough of Borough of Rossendale, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles (24 km) north of Manchester, 22 miles (35 km) east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston and 45 miles (70 km) south east of Lanca ...
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, replacing the former allocation of
Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 2001 and 2021, based on the single-decker Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by th ...
bodied
Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo Buses, Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version ...
double-deck vehicles introduced in October 2013. 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 ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' actress
Jennie McAlpine Jennie Elizabeth McAlpine (born 12 February 1984) is an English television actress, comedian and businesswoman. She is known for her roles as Michelle Morley in Emmerdale and Fiz Brown in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street' ...
.


Former Services and Brands


CityZap

In November 2017, a
limited-stop In public transit, particularly bus, tram, or train transportation, a limited-stop (or sometimes referred to as semi-fast) service is a trip pattern that stops less frequently than a local service. Many limited-stop or semi-fast services are a co ...
express service running directly between
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
via the M62 was introduced, branded as CityZap. Similar to the other CityZap service between
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and Leeds operated by sister company
Yorkshire Coastliner Yorkshire Coastliner is a bus company that operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield. History The company was established in 1990, when the York-base ...
, the service aimed to attract motorists and provide a competitive alternative to the railway. The service was notable for its use of sat-nav equipment to choose the quickest route and avoid congestions. The service operated with a fleet of four Wright Eclipse Urban 2 bodied
Volvo B7RLE The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013, with production of the B7RLE continuing until 2018. Specifications The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the ...
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.


Fleet and operations


Depots

As of April 2022, the company operates from a single depot in
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, which it shares with
Rosso Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza Region, Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of the river zone allowing year-round navigation. The town is 204 km south of the capital Nouakc ...
.


Vehicles

As of March 2024, the fleet consists of 79 buses. The fleet consists of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by
Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Irish bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman Jo Bamf ...
, Plaxton,
Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom, with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, ...
and
Optare Switch Mobility (Optare until 2020) is a British bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company is responsible for the EV operations of the group with Ashok Leylan ...
, as well as minibuses manufactured by Mellor.


References

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnley and Pendle Bus operators in Lancashire Transport companies established in 1933 Transdev Transport in Burnley Transport in the Borough of Pendle 1933 establishments in England