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 the village of Gregson Lane with Preston. Today, you’ll know the route as Transdev’s Hotline, which cuts a swathe across East Lancashire linking Preston with the Blackburn and Burnley.
Hotline is particularly scenic, passing close to some of Lancashire’s most famous landmarks including Hoghton Tower, the fortified Medieval hill-top manor house just west of Blackburn. A fleet of Wright Eclipse Gemini-bodied Volvo B7TLs, complete with coach-style leather seating and free WiFi are branded for the route, featuring a striking two-tone purple livery with glowing, bright red accents.
