The Witch Way
Encyclopedia
The Witch Way is the current name for the long-standing bus route X43, which runs between Manchester
and Nelson
, England
. The service is currently operated by Transdev Burnley & Pendle.
The route has operated continuously since 1948. It was previously operated by Ribble Motor Services
, Stagecoach North West
and Burnley & Pendle
, while GM Buses
briefly competed with Stagecoach on the route. During its history it has served several places no longer on the present route, including Bury
, Colne
, Skipton
and the Trafford Centre
.
The service was rebranded as The Witch Way in 2005 to coincide with the introduction of new vehicles. It had previously been unbranded. Between 1982 and 1986 the route was known as Timesaver, with buses carrying dedicated liveries.
. In the early 1950s it was extended to start from Skipton. In 1978 the route was changed to use the new M66 motorway
, bypassing Bury. Some journeys continued to serve the traditional route, taking the number 743.
Ribble was taken over by the Stagecoach Group
in 1986. In 1992, in response to competition on route 192
, GM Buses
used its Charterplan coaching subsidiary to compete with the X43 between Manchester and Burnley. The competition ended in 1994 following Stagecoach's withdrawal from the 192. Stagecoach went on to acquire the southern half of GM Buses in 1996.
For a short time in the late 1990s the route operated through to Keighley
; this ceased in 1999. In 1998 the route was extended south of Manchester to the Trafford Centre
. A further change in 2000 saw the northern end of the X43 rerouted to avoid Barnoldswick
, prompting some criticism from local residents.
Stagecoach's operations in the Burnley area were sold to Blazefield Group
in 2001 and rebranded as Burnley & Pendle
. In June 2001 one X43 journey in each direction was extended through to Skipton and Hawes
on summer Sundays. This proved relatively successful, and the single-deck coach initially used was replaced by a double-decker. It continued to operate into 2003, but was withdrawn at the end of September. Fares on the route increased by 30% in the two years up to August 2004, prompting some passengers to abandon the route in favour of a car sharing scheme. Despite this, the route saw an average of 12% yearly growth between 2001 and 2004.
In August 2005 the route was upgraded with new vehicles and rebranded as The Witch Way. The service frequency was increased to every 20 minutes, with a Saturday frequency of every 30 minutes and a Sunday frequency of one bus per hour, while the extension to the Trafford Centre was withdrawn. The section of route between Nelson and Colne was also abandoned, prompting criticism from local councillors, although the parallel "Mainline" routes 20-29 were increased in frequency to partially replace these journeys.
Blazefield was bought by Transdev
in 2006. During the first six months after the new vehicles were introduced, passenger numbers on the remaining section of route increased by 24.1%, with total passenger numbers up by 16.1%. The route was shortlisted for a UK Bus Award in October 2006, going on to win the Viacom Outdoor Bus Marketing Campaign of the Year award.
In October 2011, the Witch Way services underwent a revamp with a increase of journeys between Burnley and Manchester, running every 15 minutes Monday-Saturday daytime, but with a reduction of journeys between Nelson and Manchester, running every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday daytime. The X44, which differed from the regular route by additionally serving Edenfield
, was also withdrawn from service, being partly replaced by the X8, which ran between Burnley, Rawtenstall and Manchester via Bacup
, and First Manchester
's X35 service, which was extended from Stubbins
.
and M66 motorway
. The routes also connect three notable educational establishments: Alder Grange Community and Technology School
, Burnley College
and Nelson and Colne College
. Another point of interest on the route is the Singing Ringing Tree
near Burnley..
On Sundays, one morning journey connects at Burnley with DalesBus service 872 to Grassington
via Skipton
(which is also operated by Burnley and Pendle), while one early evening 872 journey continues as a X43 from Nelson to Manchester.
. In the early 1960s these were replaced by new Leyland Leopard
buses. From 1974 coaches were used on the route, with Leyland Leopards again the preferred choice. In 1982 a small number were branded for the route, using the name Timesaver and the tagline Regular Motorway service.
In 1984 the route was converted to double-deck operation using new Leyland Olympian
double-deckers in a unique white and blue livery with Timesaver branding. More new vehicles four Leyland Tiger
coaches in a yellow and red livery also using the Timesaver name arrived a year later. The route branding was replaced by Stagecoach's corporate image of white with red, orange and blue stripes following their takeover of Ribble in 1986.
New Dennis Javelin
coaches were introduced to the X43 by Stagecoach in response to the competition from Charterplan in 1992. The route was marketed as The Mancunian, with the vehicles carrying the name alongside Stagecoach corporate livery. The route was briefly operated with articulated coaches in 1996, but this proved short-lived owing to restrictions on their use in Rawtenstall, with services returning to Javelin operation.
The Javelins were transferred away from the route shortly prior to Stagecoach's sale of the operation to Burnley & Pendle, and the service was briefly operated with 15-year-old Leyland Olympians. In July 2001 a fleet of 15 new low-floor Volvo B7TL
double-deckers, which included improved interiors and CCTV cameras, were introduced to the route at a total cost of £2 million.
In August 2005 the route was again re-launched, with 16 new Wright Eclipse Gemini
bodied Volvo B7TLs costing £3 million, again with unusual features including CCTV and leather seats. The new service took the branding "The Witch Way", with buses named after the Pendle witches from the 17th century, and was advertised with the slogan "business class as standard". The older B7TLs were displaced to Lancashire United
's routes X40 and X41.
There has been four alternative routes similar to the X43 have been operated in the past. When the X43 was diverted away from Bury in 1978, some journeys continued to serve the town. These were numbered 743 and were operated by Ribble with a mixture of coaches and buses. The X43's infrequent extension to Skipton was also transferred onto the 743. The route was withdrawn in 1985 due to a fall in passenger numbers which coincided with the rebranding of the main route as Timesaver.
A variation of the route operating via the Rossendale Valley
between Rawtenstall
and Burnley was introduced in 2002, taking the number X45. It was operated with route branded Volvo B10M
coaches, but was cancelled after a year because of low usage. In early 2002 the X43 journeys which extended beyond Manchester to the Trafford Centre were renumbered to X42 to distinguish them from the short workings. This pattern continued until the August 2005 rebranding, when the extension was withdrawn. The most recent variation was the X44, which ran until October 2011. The difference between the X43 and X44 was that the X44 ran via Edenfield between Rawtenstall and the M66 motorway. This allowed commuters and shoppers to travel to/from Manchester with the service running several journeys during the day Mondays to Saturdays. The service was partly replaced by the X8, which operates two weekday journeys to Manchester and four weekday journeys from Manchester, leaving Edenfield without a weekend service to Manchester.
. Four passengers and the car driver suffered minor injuries.
In September 2006 the driver of an X43 on the M60 motorway fell unconscious while the vehicle was moving. Irene King, a 47-year-old passenger, was able to take over control of the bus to prevent a serious accident. She won several awards for this action, including an award for Outstanding Bravery at the 2006 Pride of Britain Awards
, a Vodafone Life Savers Award, a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum, a Chief Constable's Commendation.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and 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....
, 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...
. The service is currently operated by Transdev Burnley & Pendle.
The route has operated continuously since 1948. It was previously operated by Ribble Motor Services
Ribble Motor Services
Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West of England, based in Preston. The company was started in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching from Carlisle to south Lancashire...
, Stagecoach North West
Stagecoach North West
Stagecoach North West is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and has its origins in the purchase of Cumberland in 1987 and Ribble in 1988 from the National Bus Company. The head office of Stagecoach North West is in Carlisle...
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...
, while GM Buses
GM Buses
GM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
briefly competed with Stagecoach on the route. During its history it has served several places no longer on the present route, including Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Colne
Colne
Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire...
, Skipton
Skipton
Skipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
and the Trafford Centre
Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre. It is the highest valued shopping centre in the...
.
The service was rebranded as The Witch Way in 2005 to coincide with the introduction of new vehicles. It had previously been unbranded. Between 1982 and 1986 the route was known as Timesaver, with buses carrying dedicated liveries.
History
The X43 was introduced between Manchester and Colne by Ribble Motor Services in 1948, replacing another route between Manchester and BurnleyBurnley
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 the early 1950s it was extended to start from Skipton. In 1978 the route was changed to use the new M66 motorway
M66 motorway
The M66 is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56.-Route:...
, bypassing Bury. Some journeys continued to serve the traditional route, taking the number 743.
Ribble was taken over by the Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
in 1986. In 1992, in response to competition on route 192
Greater Manchester bus route 192
Greater Manchester bus route 192 is a frequent and popular bus route running between Manchester city centre and Stockport, operated by Stagecoach Manchester. It carries over nine million passengers each year, and is often considered to be the busiest bus route in the country...
, GM Buses
GM Buses
GM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
used its Charterplan coaching subsidiary to compete with the X43 between Manchester and Burnley. The competition ended in 1994 following Stagecoach's withdrawal from the 192. Stagecoach went on to acquire the southern half of GM Buses in 1996.
For a short time in the late 1990s the route operated through to Keighley
Keighley
Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth...
; this ceased in 1999. In 1998 the route was extended south of Manchester to the Trafford Centre
Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre. It is the highest valued shopping centre in the...
. A further change in 2000 saw the northern end of the X43 rerouted to avoid Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick is a town and civil parish within the West Craven area of the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is built in the shadow of Weets Hill, and Stock Beck, a...
, prompting some criticism from local residents.
Stagecoach's operations in the Burnley area were sold to Blazefield Group
Blazefield 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:...
in 2001 and rebranded as 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...
. In June 2001 one X43 journey in each direction was extended through to Skipton and Hawes
Hawes
Hawes is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, being granted its market charter in 1699...
on summer Sundays. This proved relatively successful, and the single-deck coach initially used was replaced by a double-decker. It continued to operate into 2003, but was withdrawn at the end of September. Fares on the route increased by 30% in the two years up to August 2004, prompting some passengers to abandon the route in favour of a car sharing scheme. Despite this, the route saw an average of 12% yearly growth between 2001 and 2004.
In August 2005 the route was upgraded with new vehicles and rebranded as The Witch Way. The service frequency was increased to every 20 minutes, with a Saturday frequency of every 30 minutes and a Sunday frequency of one bus per hour, while the extension to the Trafford Centre was withdrawn. The section of route between Nelson and Colne was also abandoned, prompting criticism from local councillors, although the parallel "Mainline" routes 20-29 were increased in frequency to partially replace these journeys.
Blazefield was bought 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...
in 2006. During the first six months after the new vehicles were introduced, passenger numbers on the remaining section of route increased by 24.1%, with total passenger numbers up by 16.1%. The route was shortlisted for a UK Bus Award in October 2006, going on to win the Viacom Outdoor Bus Marketing Campaign of the Year award.
In October 2011, the Witch Way services underwent a revamp with a increase of journeys between Burnley and Manchester, running every 15 minutes Monday-Saturday daytime, but with a reduction of journeys between Nelson and Manchester, running every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday daytime. The X44, which differed from the regular route by additionally serving Edenfield
Edenfield
Edenfield is a village within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. Lying on the River Irwell, it is around north of Ramsbottom, south of Rawtenstall, and west of Norden, and has a total population of 2,080....
, was also withdrawn from service, being partly replaced by the X8, which ran between Burnley, Rawtenstall and Manchester via Bacup
Bacup
Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
, and First Manchester
First Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
's X35 service, which was extended from Stubbins
Stubbins
Stubbins is an industrial village in the southern part of the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire.It is half a mile north of Ramsbottom town centre on the A676 between Bolton and Edenfield. For local government purposes, it receives services from Rossendale Borough Council and Lancashire County Council...
.
Route description
The X43 currently runs between Nelson and Manchester, serving the intermediate communities of Burnley, Rawtenstall and Prestwich. The service make use of both the M60 motorwayM60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...
and M66 motorway
M66 motorway
The M66 is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56.-Route:...
. The routes also connect three notable educational establishments: Alder Grange Community and Technology School
Alder Grange Community and Technology School
Alder Grange Community and Technology School is a school in the east Lancashire town of Rawtenstall, England. It has specialist school status as a Technology College, held since 1993, and a second specialism in Applied Learning. In 2007 it was designated a High Performing Specialist School...
, Burnley College
Burnley College
Burnley College is a further education college based in Burnley, Lancashire.- New College Site :Situated on Princess Way , Burnley in Lancashire...
and Nelson and Colne College
Nelson and Colne College
Nelson & Colne College is situated in the town of Nelson, Lancashire, North West of England, providing Further Education to Pendle and the surrounding districts...
. Another point of interest on the route is the Singing Ringing Tree
Singing Ringing Tree (Panopticons)
The Singing Ringing Tree is a wind powered sound sculpture resembling a tree set in the landscape of the Pennine mountain range overlooking Burnley, in Lancashire....
near Burnley..
On Sundays, one morning journey connects at Burnley with DalesBus service 872 to Grassington
Grassington
Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England.The town is situated in Wharfedale around from Bolton Abbey and is surrounded by limestone scenery...
via Skipton
Skipton
Skipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
(which is also operated by Burnley and Pendle), while one early evening 872 journey continues as a X43 from Nelson to Manchester.
Vehicles and marketing
The X43 was initially served with a mixture of double-deck Leyland Titans and single-deck Leyland TigersLeyland Tiger (front-engined)
The Leyland Tiger was a heavyweight half-cab single-decker bus and coach chassis built by Leyland Motors between 1927 and 1968, except the period of World War II....
. In the early 1960s these were replaced by new Leyland Leopard
Leyland Leopard
The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-deck bus and coach chassis built by Leyland between 1959 and 1982. It was popular with bus and coach operators throughout the British Isles...
buses. From 1974 coaches were used on the route, with Leyland Leopards again the preferred choice. In 1982 a small number were branded for the route, using the name Timesaver and the tagline Regular Motorway service.
In 1984 the route was converted to double-deck operation using new Leyland Olympian
Leyland Olympian
The Leyland Olympian was a double-decker bus built by British Leyland/Leyland Bus in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production before the demise of Leyland Bus.-Construction:...
double-deckers in a unique white and blue livery with Timesaver branding. More new vehicles four Leyland Tiger
Leyland Tiger
The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis which was built between 1981 and 1993. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1920s and 1950s. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years...
coaches in a yellow and red livery also using the Timesaver name arrived a year later. The route branding was replaced by Stagecoach's corporate image of white with red, orange and blue stripes following their takeover of Ribble in 1986.
New Dennis Javelin
Dennis Javelin
The Dennis Javelin is an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. It was unveiled in 1986 and acted more or less as a modern replacement for the discontinued Bedford Y-series...
coaches were introduced to the X43 by Stagecoach in response to the competition from Charterplan in 1992. The route was marketed as The Mancunian, with the vehicles carrying the name alongside Stagecoach corporate livery. The route was briefly operated with articulated coaches in 1996, but this proved short-lived owing to restrictions on their use in Rawtenstall, with services returning to Javelin operation.
The Javelins were transferred away from the route shortly prior to Stagecoach's sale of the operation to Burnley & Pendle, and the service was briefly operated with 15-year-old Leyland Olympians. In July 2001 a fleet of 15 new low-floor Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
double-deckers, which included improved interiors and CCTV cameras, were introduced to the route at a total cost of £2 million.
In August 2005 the route was again re-launched, with 16 new Wright Eclipse Gemini
Wright Eclipse Gemini
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL and Volvo B5L Hybrid for use in the United Kingdom....
bodied Volvo B7TLs costing £3 million, again with unusual features including CCTV and leather seats. The new service took the branding "The Witch Way", with buses named after the Pendle witches from the 17th century, and was advertised with the slogan "business class as standard". The older B7TLs were displaced to 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...
's routes X40 and X41.
Variants
A variation of the route operating via the Rossendale Valley
Rossendale Valley
The Rossendale Valley is part of the Forest of Rossendale, an upland area of North West England, in Lancashire. The area is within the Borough of Rossendale...
between Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
and Burnley was introduced in 2002, taking the number X45. It was operated with route branded Volvo B10M
Volvo B10M
The Volvo B10M is a popular mid-engined bus and coach chassis built by Volvo between 1978 and 2001. It was built as the successor of the B58 and was equipped with a 9.6-litre horizontally-mounted Volvo THD100/THD101/THD102/THD103/THD104/DH10A diesel engine mounted under the floor, near the middle...
coaches, but was cancelled after a year because of low usage. In early 2002 the X43 journeys which extended beyond Manchester to the Trafford Centre were renumbered to X42 to distinguish them from the short workings. This pattern continued until the August 2005 rebranding, when the extension was withdrawn. The most recent variation was the X44, which ran until October 2011. The difference between the X43 and X44 was that the X44 ran via Edenfield between Rawtenstall and the M66 motorway. This allowed commuters and shoppers to travel to/from Manchester with the service running several journeys during the day Mondays to Saturdays. The service was partly replaced by the X8, which operates two weekday journeys to Manchester and four weekday journeys from Manchester, leaving Edenfield without a weekend service to Manchester.
Accidents
In November 1999 a vehicle travelling on the route from Keighley to Manchester was involved in a crash with a car travelling in the opposite direction in EarbyEarby
Earby is a small town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. It is north of Colne, from Skipton, and from Burnley. The parish had a population of 4,348 recorded in the 2001 census,...
. Four passengers and the car driver suffered minor injuries.
In September 2006 the driver of an X43 on the M60 motorway fell unconscious while the vehicle was moving. Irene King, a 47-year-old passenger, was able to take over control of the bus to prevent a serious accident. She won several awards for this action, including an award for Outstanding Bravery at the 2006 Pride of Britain Awards
Pride of Britain Awards
The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual event in the United Kingdom, honouring ordinary people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challenging situations....
, a Vodafone Life Savers Award, a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum, a Chief Constable's Commendation.