#AYearOfBuses 152: Hotline Preston – Burnley
Welcome to June! Today’s winner on #AYearOfBuses is a route steeped in history, being the first route which Ribble Motor Services ran when they were formed in 1919. Named after the river flowing through Preston, Ribble began in 1919 when three entrepreneurs bought out James Hodson, who’d started a bus service nine years earlier linking […]
#AYearOfBuses 125: Preston – Bolton
It’s back to Preston’s iconic Grade II-listed bus station for day 125 on #AYearOfBuses! Stagecoach Merseyside and Lancashire’s flagship Gold 125 links the northern city of Preston with the large southern-Lancashire towns of Chorley and Bolton using those signature luxurious, high-spec double-deck Scanias. We mentioned the 125 back on day 114 of #AYearOfBuses, adding that […]
#AYearOfBuses 111: Preston – Leyland
Once the staple of long-standing independent, Fishwicks of Leyland, today on #AYearOfBuses we’re taking a look at Preston’s 111. John Fishwick & Sons started a motor bus route, ferrying customers from their newly-adopted hometown of Leyland to nearby Preston in 1910. It was the birth of a long-standing independent, and the 111 stayed with Fishwick […]
Transdev unveils centenary bus to commemorate Ribble 100
Iconic Ribble red and cream colours have returned to Lancashire’s roads to mark 100 years of Ribble. It was a familiar sight across the North West – the gleaming red and cream livery of the once mighty Ribble bus company ruled the roads across the Red Rose County and beyond. The Ribble story began in […]
#AYearOfBuses 68: Preston – Blackpool
Day 68 on #AYearOfBuses takes us back to Blackpool, for the second of Stagecoach’s routes connecting Preston with the seaside. Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire now run the 68, which runs as part of a small network centred on the North West seaside resort of Blackpool. A former Ribble route, the 68 runs 7 […]
#AYearOfBuses 61: X61 Blackpool – Manchester – Preston
Today’s entry on #AYearOfBuses marks the sadly now-deceased, long-standing former Ribble route linking the city of Manchester with the seaside resort of Blackpool. Blackpool is the ‘go-to’ British seaside resort of choice for most Mancunians, and ever since the 1950s, the city had enjoyed a bus link with the town. The X61 was undoubtedly the […]
#AYearOfBuses 59: Preston – Blackburn
It’s a tale of two rivals today, as we take a look at Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire’s interurban route connecting the city of Preston with Blackburn on #AYearOfBuses. The 59 is one of two main routes connecting the east Lancashire town of Blackburn with Preston, the other being Transdev’s Hotline 152. The 59 takes […]
#AYearOfBuses 2: X2 Preston – Southport – Liverpool
Day two on #AYearOfBuses takes us to Merseyside – it’s Stagecoach’s recently-upgraded X2, running every 30 mins between Preston, Southport and Liverpool. In 2018, Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire splashed out £4 million for a fleet of brand new Enviro400MMCs for the X2, featuring deluxe e-leather seats, tables, LED reading lights, free WiFi and […]