Northern Blue
Encyclopedia
Transdev Northern Blue was a bus
operator running around Burnley
in East Lancashire
. The company operated many school routes, along with a small number of commercial and subsidised bus services. In 2007, Northern Blue was absorbed by two other Transdev
companies; Lancashire United
and Burnley & Pendle
.
. Initially, the company began operating on Monday 15 November of that year, in competition with Blackburn Transport (BBT) from a base at the West End Business Park, Oswaldtwistle
. After 2 months fierce competition on BBT's mainline, service 346 (now spot on route 1) operating between Accrington and Darwen
via Blackburn, the Northern Blue boys eventually sold out their initial business to BBT and began to concentrate on school contracts and some coaching work.
In August 2000, the Status Group, which traded in the Lancashire area as Border Buses, decided to pull out of the area. They operated from a base in Burnley. Having already won some contracted service work in the Burnley area, Northern Blue acquired the Border Buses and Viscount Central businesses from them and took over their base at Dean Mill, Plumbe Street. Northern Blue dropped the Border Buses name but kept the Viscount Central name going for a number of years as it was felt that Viscount was well respected as a quality coach operator in the area.
The bus side of the business continued to trade as Northern Blue and was expanded greatly. A number of local bus services and school contracts have been operated, mainly on behalf of Lancashire County Council
.
The coaching unit and the Viscount Central name were sold in September 2005 to the Coach Centre, Accrington.
Northern Blue now operate a large number of school contract work on behalf of Lancashire County Council
as well as some commercial and non-commercial service work and now through their associated company, Lancashire County Transport Limited (trading as Accrington Transport) they operate a fair network of routes in the Hyndburn
, Clitheroe, Burnley, Nelson
and Bolton areas.
Also associated is the business of Blackburn with Darwen Transport Limited which operates school contracts from a small base on Grimshaw Street in Darwen. (Closed down on 31 July 2007 ).
As at July 2007 the company employed about 80 staff based at the 3 operating centres at Burnley, Accrington and Darwen.
It operated 30 vehicles from Burnley, 20 from Accrington and 8 from Darwen. The operating area extended from Chorley in the West, Todmorden
in the East, Clitheroe
in the North and Bolton
in the South.
The group of companies had operating licenses for 61 vehicles.
, a company itself owned by Transdev
. Transdev's other routes in the area are operated by two group companies - Lancashire United
and Burnley & Pendle
. As of 1st September the operations of Transdev Northern Blue has been merged into Transdev Burnley & Pendle.
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 running around Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
in East 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...
. The company operated many school routes, along with a small number of commercial and subsidised bus services. In 2007, Northern Blue was absorbed by two other Transdev
Transdev
Transdev was a major international public transport group based in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France and operating in several countries. Originally created as Société centrale pour l'équipement du territoire in 1955 and developing transportation activities since 1973, Transdev was a subsidiary...
companies; Lancashire United
Lancashire United
Transdev Lancashire United is an English bus operator, running mainly in and around the boroughs of Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. The company was founded in April 2001 following the buyout of Stagecoach Ribble by Blazefield Holdings and has since overcome other operators...
and Burnley & Pendle
Burnley & Pendle
Transdev Burnley & Pendle is a bus operator running within the boroughs of Burnley and Pendle, and into the surrounding areas including Accrington, Keighley and the high profile express service to Manchester...
.
History
Northern Blue was a trading name of Travelspeed Limited which was incorporated in July 1999 by two ex-employees of Blackburn TransportBlackburn Transport
Blackburn Transport was a British bus company that operated bus services within the Borough of Blackburn and Darwen and surrounding areas in Lancashire.-History:...
. Initially, the company began operating on Monday 15 November of that year, in competition with Blackburn Transport (BBT) from a base at the West End Business Park, Oswaldtwistle
Oswaldtwistle
Oswaldtwistle is a town within the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies on the course of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, east-southeast of Blackburn and is contiguous to Accrington.-History:...
. After 2 months fierce competition on BBT's mainline, service 346 (now spot on route 1) operating between Accrington and Darwen
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...
via Blackburn, the Northern Blue boys eventually sold out their initial business to BBT and began to concentrate on school contracts and some coaching work.
In August 2000, the Status Group, which traded in the Lancashire area as Border Buses, decided to pull out of the area. They operated from a base in Burnley. Having already won some contracted service work in the Burnley area, Northern Blue acquired the Border Buses and Viscount Central businesses from them and took over their base at Dean Mill, Plumbe Street. Northern Blue dropped the Border Buses name but kept the Viscount Central name going for a number of years as it was felt that Viscount was well respected as a quality coach operator in the area.
The bus side of the business continued to trade as Northern Blue and was expanded greatly. A number of local bus services and school contracts have been operated, mainly on behalf of 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...
.
The coaching unit and the Viscount Central name were sold in September 2005 to the Coach Centre, Accrington.
Northern Blue now operate a large number of school contract work on behalf of 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...
as well as some commercial and non-commercial service work and now through their associated company, Lancashire County Transport Limited (trading as Accrington Transport) they operate a fair network of routes in the Hyndburn
Hyndburn
Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington. The district is named after the River Hyndburn....
, Clitheroe, Burnley, Nelson
Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
and Bolton areas.
Also associated is the business of Blackburn with Darwen Transport Limited which operates school contracts from a small base on Grimshaw Street in Darwen. (Closed down on 31 July 2007 ).
As at July 2007 the company employed about 80 staff based at the 3 operating centres at Burnley, Accrington and Darwen.
It operated 30 vehicles from Burnley, 20 from Accrington and 8 from Darwen. The operating area extended from Chorley in the West, Todmorden
Todmorden
Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....
in the East, Clitheroe
Clitheroe
Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is 1½ miles from the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. It has a population of 14,697...
in the North and Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
in the South.
The group of companies had operating licenses for 61 vehicles.
Takeover
On 5 August 2007 the entire share capital of Travelspeed Limited trading as Northern Blue Buses and Lancashire County Transport Ltd trading as Accrington Transport (which owns Blackburn with Darwen Transport Limited) was acquired by Blazefield Holdings LimitedBlazefield Group
Transdev Blazefield is one of the main bus groups in England. Owner of several bus companies around the Yorkshire and Lancashire regions, since 2006 it has been part of the international transport company Transdev.-History:...
, a company itself owned by Transdev
Transdev
Transdev was a major international public transport group based in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France and operating in several countries. Originally created as Société centrale pour l'équipement du territoire in 1955 and developing transportation activities since 1973, Transdev was a subsidiary...
. Transdev's other routes in the area are operated by two group companies - Lancashire United
Lancashire United
Transdev Lancashire United is an English bus operator, running mainly in and around the boroughs of Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. The company was founded in April 2001 following the buyout of Stagecoach Ribble by Blazefield Holdings and has since overcome other operators...
and Burnley & Pendle
Burnley & Pendle
Transdev Burnley & Pendle is a bus operator running within the boroughs of Burnley and Pendle, and into the surrounding areas including Accrington, Keighley and the high profile express service to Manchester...
. As of 1st September the operations of Transdev Northern Blue has been merged into Transdev Burnley & Pendle.
Routes
| Number | Route |
| 3 | Ightenhill Circular(Circular) - Burnley |
| 8 | Burnley - Townely - Weir - Bacup |
| 74 | Nelson - Marsden Park Circular |
| 92 | Burnley - Todmorden |
| X4 | Colne, Nelson & Burnley to Blackpool & Fleetwood |
| X64 | Oswaldtwistle, Accrington, Great Harwood and Mellor to Fleetwood via Blackpool & Cleveleys |
| ASDA | Burnley from various local locations(Mon, Weds, Thurs & Fri only) |
Fleet
| Type | Body | Number |
| Optare Solo M850 | Optare | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Volvo B6-50 | Alexander Dash | 8 |
| Scania N112DRB | East lancashire | 1 |
| Scania N112DRB | Alexander RH | 6 |
| Scania N112DH | Alexander RH | 2 |
| Volvo B10M58 | Alexander Strider | 4 |
| Volvo B10M-62 | Plaxton Paragon | 1 |
| Volvo B10BLE | Wright Renown | 1 |
| Leyland Olympian | Northern Counties | 1 |
| Leyland Olympian | Alexander RL | 1 |
| Leyland Olympian | East Lancashire |
See also
- List of bus operators of the United Kingdom
- TransdevTransdevTransdev was a major international public transport group based in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France and operating in several countries. Originally created as Société centrale pour l'équipement du territoire in 1955 and developing transportation activities since 1973, Transdev was a subsidiary...
- Transdev Lancashire UnitedLancashire UnitedTransdev Lancashire United is an English bus operator, running mainly in and around the boroughs of Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. The company was founded in April 2001 following the buyout of Stagecoach Ribble by Blazefield Holdings and has since overcome other operators...
- Transdev Burnley & PendleBurnley & PendleTransdev Burnley & Pendle is a bus operator running within the boroughs of Burnley and Pendle, and into the surrounding areas including Accrington, Keighley and the high profile express service to Manchester...