For other companies known as "Blue Bus", see Blue Bus (disambiguation)Blue Bus

Blue Bus is a bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

 operator based in Penwortham

Penwortham

-Landmarks:Penwortham Priory was built for the Rawsthorne family and redesigned by the Cumbrian architect George Webster. The priory was demolished due to the rapid expansion of the area and the need for new housing...

 area of Preston in the borough of South Ribble

South Ribble

South Ribble is a non-metropolitan district and borough of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland.In May 2007, the council was officially declared "Excellent" by the Audit Commission, gaining its place among the best 5 district councils in the country,-Overview:On 4 October 2007, a...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. It operates many routes, including services to Preston City Centre. The company is one of a diminishing number of independent bus companies running in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, many now part of larger groups.

History

Blue Bus of Penwortham was started up in early 2006, by Roger Jarvis. It occurred nine months after he sold Blue Bus of Bolton

Blue Bus of Bolton

Blue Bus and Coach Services Ltd was a large independent bus company serving the area of Greater Manchester. The company operated within the area covered by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, as well as areas of Lancashire and Merseyside...

 to Arriva North West and Wales in September 2005.

In a joint deal, Roger Jarvis bought Whittaker's Coach Travel from the original owner Richard Whittaker. Roger Jarvis revived the "Blue Bus" name from his original Blue Bus of Bolton.

As a result, Richard Whittaker set up his own bus rental company. This has expanded significantly, offering a range of modern vehicles, and both companies are now closely linked.

In June 2009, with Stagecoach taking over Preston Bus

Preston Bus

Preston Bus is a bus operator running within the city of Preston, England and into the surrounding area. In 2009, it was acquired by the Stagecoach Group and was rebranded Stagecoach in Preston, before they were subsequently ordered to sell the company as a result of competition concerns...

 bus usage of Stagecoach in Preston

Stagecoach in Preston

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...

 since the takeover in January had increased with better efficiency and a larger network. Blue Bus however suffered losses, forcing it to stop routes to Frenchwood and Broadgate. From 22 June 2009 it will now be operated by Stagecoach in Preston with half contract at first to Lancashire County Council with easy access buses. The service to Broadgate was originally Preston Bus and to Frenchwood was originally Stagecoach in Lancashire.

Routes

Blue Bus of Penwortham operates numerous bus services. As well as standard local and inter-urban bus services, the company operates various school contracts and four Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council

Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...

 financially supported services.

Standard services

• 110 Leyland
  Leyland, Lancashire
  Leyland is a town in the South Ribble borough of Lancashire, England, approximately six miles south of the city of Preston.Throughout the 20th and 21st century, the community has seen a large growth in industry, population and farming, due to the establishment of Leyland Motors, housing...
  
   - Seven Stars - Moss Side - Croston
  Croston
  -External links:**** chorley.gov.uk....
  
   - Bretherton
  Bretherton
  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. 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...
  
   - Tarleton
  Tarleton
  -Population :-Economy:As a result of soil on the former mossland, a major economic activity in Tarleton is market gardening, particularly growing salad crops....
  
   - Mere Brow - Crossens
  Crossens
  Crossens is the northernmost district of the town of Southport, Merseyside, England and part of the ancient parish of North Meols. Whilst most of the village is now within Merseyside, part of northern Crossens known as Fiddlers Ferry, is in West Lancashire...
  
   - Churchtown
  Churchtown, Sefton
  - Education :Churchtown has one primary school which is situated on St Cuthbert's Road and access is also available via Botanic Gardens The school is a "community school" but is closely associated with St Cuthbert's Church...
  
   - Southport
  Southport
  Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
  
  
• 111 Preston - Leyland
• 112 Preston - Lostock Hall
  Lostock Hall
  Lostock Hall is a small suburban village within the South Ribble borough of Lancashire, England. It is located on the south side of the River Ribble, some south of Preston and north of Leyland. It is bordered on its southeastern side by the interchange for the M6, M61 and M65 motorways...
  
   - Leyland - Croston - Bretherton

School buses

To cater for the hundreds of students travelling to school in the area every day, Blue Bus operate seven contracted services to various schools. Routes 312, 709, 776 and 787 connect to schools in towns and villages including Lower Adlington

Adlington, Lancashire

Adlington is a town and civil parish in Lancashire, England, near the West Pennine Moors and the town of Chorley. Six miles northwest of Bolton, it became a separate parish in 1842 then grew into a town around the textile industry. It has a population of 5,270.-Toponymy:The last element 'ington'...

, Bamber Bridge

Bamber Bridge

Bamber Bridge is a village to the south of Preston, Lancashire, England. The name derives from the Old English 'bēam' and 'brycg', which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". It is mentioned in an undated medieval document. The village is often referred to as "Brig" by residents...

, Brindle

Brindle, Lancashire

Brindle is a small village and civil parish of the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. It is in the centre of a triangle between Preston, Blackburn, and Chorley. The area has little industry. Brindle is one of the most affluent areas in Lancashire , with average earnings over 33% higher than...

, Charnock Richard

Charnock Richard

Charnock Richard is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, in England.-History:The village was named in the early 13th century by the local landowner, who gave the township his first name of Richard, to distinguish it from neighbouring Heath Charnock. The village is...

, Chorley

Chorley

Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...

, Farington

Farington

Farington is a small village and civil parish in the South Ribble local government district of Lancashire, England.-Geography:Situated to the immediate north of Leyland, Farington consists of villages, farms and mossland, modern residential development and an industrial area around the Leyland...

, Higher Walton

Higher Walton, Lancashire

Higher Walton is a village in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. It is on the old road between Blackburn and Preston where it crosses the River Darwen. The road, at this point, is now part of the A675. Nearby places include Walton-le-Dale, Coupe Green, and Bamber Bridge.The main road through the...

, Hoghton

Hoghton

Hoghton is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 867...

, Hutton

Hutton, Lancashire

Hutton is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is located south west of Preston, in the South Ribble borough and parliamentary constituency.-History:...

, Riley Green

Riley Green

Riley Green is a hamlet in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. It is located at the junction of the A675 and A6061 roads, between Preston, Blackburn and Chorley. The hamlet consists of a small number of houses and two pubs - the Royal Oak on the A6061, and the Boatyard on the A675 beside...

 and Tardy Gate as well as in the base town of Penwortham.

Fleet

Blue Bus runs around 15 vehicles on the various routes and contracts shown above.
The fleet mainly comprises smaller mini- or midibuses. Mercedes-Benz Vario

Mercedes-Benz Vario

The Mercedes-Benz Vario is a heavy van manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. Originally launched as the T2 in 1986, the Vario gained its current name when it was facelifted in 1996. The T2 van itself succeeded the Mercedes-Benz L van series.The bodyshell remained relatively unchanged since production...

s with Plaxton Beaver

Plaxton Beaver

The Plaxton Beaver, originally known as the Reeve Burgess Beaver, is a minibus body built by Plaxton. It was built at the Pilsley, Derbyshire factory of Plaxton's Reeve Burgess subsidiary from 1987-1991, at Plaxton's main Scarborough factory from 1991, and from 1995 at Anston in South Yorkshire.The...

 bodywork are partially prevalent, with various examples of the type. Both the Plaxton Beaver 1 and Beaver 2 models are operated. Some buses have the older Mercedes-Benz 709D chassis. Vehicles are 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, (as illustrated above) which are painted in pale blue.

Blue Bus was recently reported in the local papers in the area. Most of their fleet are not low floor, wheelchair accessible vehicles. Along with some other operators, the company was criticised by a disabled and paralysed woman, claiming a Blue Bus vehicle arrived but the driver said the ramp didn't work.
Some low floor buses were introduced in 2009, bringing back the 'Blue Buggy Bus' slogan from the old Bolton operation.

External links

• Traveline North West Details of all public transport services in the region.
• Carlberry Information of services.
• imr-transport pictures Images of fleet.