Public transport in the Fylde is available for three modes of transport—bus, rail and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to the Fylde, a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England, without their own vehicle, to travel around much of the area's 64 square miles (170 km2).

Although Blackpool, the most populous settlement in the Fylde, has an airport, Blackpool Airport, it is no longer used for commercial flights.

As of 2023, eight operators provide bus and coach services in the Fylde, the largest being Blackpool Transport, which also operates the Blackpool tram network. With Blackpool being the main transport hub, most of Blackpool Transport's twenty bus routes have stops in the town. Services with the most frequency include three of "the 5s" (the 5, 5A and 5B), which serve Blackpool Victoria Hospital every fifteen minutes; the 5C, meanwhile, travels to Knott End-on-Sea, via Poulton-le-Fylde, every forty minutes. Coastal routes include the 1 (Fleetwood to Blackpool's North Pier), 7 (Cleveleys to Blackpool) and 11 (Lytham to Blackpool). The 7 and 11 run every ten minutes or so, while the longer route number 1 is every half hour. The 853 serves Myerscough College.[1]

The next most popular operator is Transpora North West, which replaced Nuttall's Coaches in 2007. It runs eleven routes, many of which serve the Fylde's numerous schools. One of its most popular regular services is the 24, which runs between Fleetwood and Blackpool town centre via Thornton and Poulton-le-Fylde.[2]

The Fylde is home to ten railway stations, each of which is on one of the two Blackpool branch lines. The two train operators are Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains.

Bus

Eight bus operators serve the Fylde: Archway Travel, Blackpool Transport, Coastal Coaches, Cumfybus, Preston Bus, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire, Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire and Transpora North West.[3]

Blackpool Transport

An Optare Solo M950 running the former 2C (now the 5C) route between Knott-End-on-Sea and Blackpool town centre in 2013

Established in 1885, Blackpool Transport serves Lytham, St Annes-on-the-Sea, Blackpool, Bispham, Thornton, Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Poulton-le-Fylde and Knott-End-on-Sea.[3] Its main bus interchange is on Market Street and Corporation Street in Blackpool town centre.

There are twenty routes in operation:[4]

Route Frequency Origin and destinaton
1 30 mins Fleetwood to Blackpool's North Pier
1A 30 mins Cleveleys to St Annes (seasonal)
3 15 mins Mereside Tesco to Cleveleys Crescent via Blackpool
3A 15 mins Mereside Tesco to Cleveleys Park via Blackpool
5 15 mins Blackpool Victoria Hospital to Poulon-le-Fylde via Halfway House
5A 15 mins Blackpool to Staining via Layton and Blackpool Victoria Hospital
5B 15 mins Blackpool to Blackpool Zoo via Blackpool Victoria Hospital
5C 40 mins Blackpool to Knott End-on-Sea via Poulton-le-Fylde
6 20 mins Mereside to Department of War Pensions Peel Park via Blackpool town centre and Layton
7 9 mins Cleveleys to Blackpool
7A 9 mins Cleveleys to Blackpool via Bispham
11 9 mins Lytham to Blackpool town centre via St Annes
11A 9 mins Lytham to Blackpool town centre via St Annes
11B 9 mins Blackpool to Lytham via Common Edge and St Annes
12 — Blackpool to Baines School via Bispham, Carleton and Poulton-le-Fylde
14 12 mins Fleetwood to Blackpool via Layton
18 60 mins Blackpool to Mereside Tesco via South Shore
74 60 mins Fleetwood to Preston via Poulton-le-Fylde and Lea
75 60 mins Fleetwood to Preston via Poulton-le-Fylde and Lea
853 St Annes to Myerscough College via Kirkham[1]

In November 2023, Blackpool Transport announced merges of and additions to existing routes. A Route 1A will run seasonally between Cleveleys and St Annes. Route 3A will run between Cleveleys Park and Mereside, having previously been part of route 3. Route 5 gained the most changes: the base route was extended to Poulton-le-Fylde (formerly part of route 2). Route 5A will run from South Shore to Staining, initially following the base route, the taking the former route 15 to Staining. Route 5B adds a stop at Blackpool Zoo. Route 5C is a "reimagined" 2C from Blackpool to Knott End with increased frequency. Route 6 was extended from Grange Park to the Department of War Pensions office at Peel Park, with hourly extensions to Whitehills Business Park. Route 7 dropped the leg to Lytham, which will now be part of the 11A. Route 7A is a revamped route 9 which runs between Cleveleys and Blackpool via Bispham and Layton. Route 11A continues from Starr Gate to Lytham. Route 17 (Blackpool to Lytham via Common Edge) was rebranded as Route 11B. Routes 18, 74 and 75 will continue to run hourly, while the changes to the other routes have resulted in shorter connection times (between 9 and 20 minutes for most routes).[5][6]

Coastal Coaches

Family-owned since 2000 and based in Warton, Coastal Coaches' number 76 runs between Blackpool and Weeton via Poulton-le-Fylde and Kirkham.[7][8] The 78 serves St Annes and Wesham via Ansdell, Lytham, Warton, Freckleton and Kirkham.[9]

Preston Bus

A subsidiary of Rotala, Preston Bus was founded in Preston in 1904. It was sold to Rotala by the Stagecoach Group in 2009.[10][11][12] Route number 76 runs between Blackpool and St Annes via Blackpool's Victoria Hospital.[3][13]

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire

Begun in 2011, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire runs one route in the Fylde:[14]

Route Origin and destinaton
42 Blackpool to Lancaster via Garstang

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire's route 68, en route to Preston bus station in 2021

Operates the regional bus and coach services in and out of Blackpool.

Route Origin and destinaton
61 Preston to Blackpool via Wrea Green
68 Preston to Blackpool via Warton and Freckleton

Transpora North West

Transpora's route 24 in Cleveleys, en route to Poulton-le-Fylde (via Thornton) in 2021

A rebirth of Nuttall's Coaches and established in 2007, Transpora serves Blackpool, St Annes, Cleveleys, Thornton and Fleetwood.[3]

Eleven routes exist:[15]

Route Origin and destinaton
21 St Annes to Cleveleys
22 Blackpool Tower to Blackpool Zoo
24 Fleetwood to Blackpool town centre
26 Marton Mere circular
523 Carleton to Saint Aidan's, Preesall
524 Fleetwood West View to Saint Aidan's, Preesall
568 Cleveleys to Millfield, Thornton
594 Weeton to Staining via Hodgson Academy, Poulton-le-Fylde
648 Fleetwood to Poulton-le-Fylde schools
660 Cleveleys to Hodgson Academy, Poulton-le-Fylde
916 St Annes Queen's Manor to St Bede's, Lytham

Archway Travel

Ten routes in operation:

Route Origin and destinaton
525 Rossall Point to Saint Aidan's Church of England High School in Preesall[16]
526 Larkholme Parade, Fleetwood to Saint Aidan's[17]
527 Ship Inn in Elswick and Saint Aidan's via Great Eccleston[18][19]
541 Pilling to Hodgson High School and Baines High School, Poulton[20]
552 Derby Arms, Inskip to Bowgreave via Elswick, Great Eccleston, St Michael's on Wyre and Churchtown[21]
567 Knott End to Lancaster schools[22]
607 Thistleton to Baines High School via Elswick, Great Eccleston, Little Singleton, Singleton and Little Poulton[23]
675 Elswick to Broughton[24]
813 Hambleton to Garstang Academy[25]
SF1 Lytham to Blackpool Sixth Form College via Freckleton, Warton, Wrea Green, Kirkham, Greenhalgh-with-Thistleton, Elswick and Great Eccleston[26]

National Express coaches serve Blackpool's Central Coach Station.[3]

Rail

The Fylde has ten railway stations. Each is on one of the two Blackpool branch lines, while Poulton-le-Fylde and Blackpool North are also on the Calder Vale Line. The two train operators are Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains.

Poulton-le-Fylde's Victorian-era railway station

Tram

An 11-mile (18 km) dual stretch of tramways run between Starr Gate, on Blackpool's South Shore, and Fleetwood.[3] Blackpool Tramway, operated by Blackpool Transport, was established in 1885.[27] It carried 4.9 million passengers in 2022–23.[28]

References

  1. 1 2 "853 - St Annes - Mysercough College via Kirkham". bustimes.org. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  2. ↑ "Route 24". www.lancashire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Public transport" – Blackpool Council
  4. ↑ "Routes & Maps" – Blackpool Transport
  5. ↑ "Your Routes, Reimagined in January 2024" – Blackpool Transport, 14 November 2023
  6. ↑ "Blackpool Transport to renumber services across Poulton, Blackpool, St Annes, Lytham Cleveleys and Knott End" – Blackpool Gazette, 24 November 2023
  7. ↑ Oakley, David (2020-12-12), YJ68FYR, retrieved 2023-11-06
  8. ↑ "Optare Solos for Coastal Coaches". Optare. 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  9. ↑ "Rallying call from bus operator as Fylde bus service is reduced" – Blackpool Gazette, 16 January 2019
  10. ↑ Preston Bus to be Sold Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Competition Commission 11 November 2009
  11. ↑ Company must sell 'bus war' rival BBC News 11 November 2009
  12. ↑ "Stagecoach must sell Preston Bus". Lancashire Evening Post. 11 November 2009. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "76 | Preston Bus". www.prestonbus.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  14. ↑ "Bus & Train Times – Fylde Council". Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  15. ↑ "Timetables - Transpora North West". www.coastlinerbuses.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  16. ↑ "School Bus route 525 - Archway Travel". 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  17. ↑ "School Bus route 526 - Archway Travel". 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  18. ↑ "527 Elswick - Preesall St Aidans CETC (outbound)". www.lancashire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  19. ↑ "School Bus route 527 - Archway Travel". 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  20. ↑ "School Bus route 541 - Archway Travel". 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  21. ↑ "552 Great Eccleston - Garstang High School (outbound)". www.lancashire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  22. ↑ "School Bus route 567 - Archway Travel". 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  23. ↑ "607 Thistleton - Elswick - Great Eccleston - Poulton High Schools". www.lancashire.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  24. ↑ "School Bus Route 675 - Operated by Archway Travel". 2018-04-15. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  25. ↑ "School Bus route 813 - Archway Travel". 2018-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  26. ↑ "SF1 - Lytham - Blackpool Sixth Form College". bustimes.org. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  27. ↑ "Route kilometres open for passenger traffic on light rail and trams and undergrounds by system: Great Britain – annual from 1995/96". UK Government Department for Transport. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  28. ↑ "Light rail and tram statistics, England: year ending March 2023". GOV.UK. Department for Transport. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
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