Rossendale Transport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rossendale Transport is a bus

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 within the Borough of Rossendale

Rossendale

Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...

(including the towns of 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...

, Bacup, Whitworth

Whitworth

Whitworth may refer to:*Whitworth rifle, a British made rifle used by the Confederacy in the American Civil War*Whitworth, County Durham, a former civil parish in England*Whitworth, Lancashire, a town in England...

and Haslingden

Haslingden

Haslingden is a small town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough, but following local government...

) and into surrounding areas, including Rochdale

Rochdale

Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...

, 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...

, Manchester

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...

, 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....

, Accrington

Accrington

Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...

, Blackburn and 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....

. The network of services in branded under the names Easyride or Rossendalebus, with vehicles and publicity carrying this name. The limited company

Limited company

A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...

"Rossendale Transport Ltd." is wholly owned by Rossendale Borough Council, which makes it one of the few remaining municipal bus companies

Municipal bus companies

A municipal bus company is an operator of bus services owned by the local government authority. This article lists all current municipal bus companies in the United Kingdom....

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

today.

History

Rossendale Transport can trace its history back to 1907 when both Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall

and Haslingden

Haslingden

Corporations (both independently) ran a motor bus within their boroughs. Both undertakings merged in 1968 to form Rossendale

Rossendale

Joint Transport Committee and later in 1974 with the local government reorganisation which took place in that year the boroughs were merged, along with 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...

(which was already served by Rossendale

Rossendale

buses; Bacup

Bacup

Borough not having its own bus company) and Whitworth to form the present Borough of Rossendale

Rossendale

. The company then became the Transport department of the new Rossendale Borough Council.

On 26 October 1986 came the deregulation of bus services

Bus deregulation

Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...

across the UK (outside London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

and not including Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

). As part of the 1985 Transport Act which empowered this deregulation, Rossendale Borough Council was required to set up an 'arms-length' company in order to continue operating buses. Rossendale Transport Limited, as the company is now known began trading on this date and over the last 20 years has expended greatly and now operates buses throughout Rossendale

Rossendale

, 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...

and Rochdale

Rochdale

as well as operating into Burnley

Burnley

, Blackburn, 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...

and Todmorden

Todmorden

.

Fears were raised at the beginning of 2009 about the council's intentions with regards to its continued ownership of the company, culminating in a public protest outside the town hall to dissuade the council from selling. However in July 2009 the council announced that it was retaining its ownership of the company, its valuation not having been met by potentially interested parties.

Depots

Rossendale Transport's main depot and office facilities are situated in a modern unit on the Knowsley Park industrial estate in Haslingden

Haslingden

(53°41′32"N 2°19′26"W), close to the A56

A56 road

The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the...

bypass. The company moved here from its previous Bacup Road depot in Rawtenstall town centre in September 2008. The previous occupant was an industrial filtration manufacturer, and the building consists of offices and maintenance facilities, along with an outside compound for overnight storage of buses.

The company also operates from a depot on Corporation Road, Rochdale

Rochdale

(53°36′45"N 2°10′20"W) which was established in September 1990 to support new routes introduced in the town following bus deregulation. The site is on the western outskirts of the town centre, located next to the River Roch

River Roch

The River Roch is a river in Greater Manchester in North West England, a tributary of the River Irwell that gives Rochdale its name.-Course:...

. Around 40 vehicles are based there.

The original bus depot on the south side of Bacup Road in Rawtenstall dated from 1933 (with an extension in 1938) replacing the former tram shed on the other side of the road—although the offices remained in use. The depot has now been demolished and replaced with a Lidl

Lidl

Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...

supermarket, although the adjoining bus station facility remains in use pending redevelopment. Haslingden Corporation originally operated from a depot at John Street until its closure at the time of the merger in 1968.

Fleet

Rossendale Transport has a fleet of 105 active buses, consisting of 90 low floor single deck buses and 15 double deck buses (3 of which are low floor) . The single deck fleet provides the bulk of the company's scheduled bus network in conjunction with the low floor double deckers. The older step-entrance double deckers are mainly confined to school services, with the three coaches assigned to contract work.

Current fleet

Chassis	Bodywork	Number	Seating Capacity	Built	Notes
Single deck
Dennis Dart SLF Dennis Dart SPD	Plaxton Pointer Plaxton Pointer The Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m... Plaxton Pointer 2	20	33 or 37 or 40 or 44	1999–2000	Low-floor Four vehicles formerly Blue Bus of Bolton Blue Bus of Bolton Blue Bus and Coach Services Ltd was a large independent bus company serving the area of Greater Manchester. The company operated within the area covered by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, as well as areas of Lancashire and Merseyside... , arrived 2002–2003 Three vehicles formerly South Lancs Travel South Lancs Travel South Lancs Travel is a privately owned bus operator in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester operating an extensive commercial network along with tendered services on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester. It also serves some areas of the districts of Salford & Trafford such... , arrived 2009
Optare Solo Slimline Optare Solo The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...	Optare Solo Slimline Optare Solo The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...	23	24	2004–2005	Low floor
Dennis Dart SLF Dennis Dart SPD	East Lancs Spryte East Lancs Spryte The East Lancs Spryte is a single-decker bus body built by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. It was designed to body the Dennis Dart chassis, but a handful had been built on others, for example, the Volvo B6...	17	39	2001–2002	Low floor
Volvo B7RLE Volvo B7RLE Volvo B7RLE is a low-floor single-deck citybus launched initially in Australia in 2001, and then in the United Kingdom in 2003 to supplement the B7L single-decker, which was unsuccessful in both countries. It is similar to the B7L's predecessor, the B10BLE...	Wright Eclipse Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body built by Wright on Volvo B7 chassis. It shares its design with the Wright Solar on Scania L94 chassis.... Wright Eclipse 2 Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body built by Wright on Volvo B7 chassis. It shares its design with the Wright Solar on Scania L94 chassis....	17	44 or 45	2003–2009	Low floor Two vehicles were formerly Volvo Bus demonstrators
MAN 14.220	MCV MCV Bus and Coach MCV Bus and Coach is a British manufacturer of bus bodies founded in late 2002 after buying the assets of defunct bus builder Marshall Bus who closed down in the summer of that year... Stirling	3	40	2004	Low floor Formerly 2 Travel (Pentrechwyth), arrived 2005
Dennis Dart SPD	Alexander ALX200 Alexander ALX200 The Alexander ALX200 was a midibus body built by Alexander of the United Kingdom. It was one of the ALX-series, which accounted for 5 different models , built for new generation bus chassis produced since late 1990s.It was designed by John Worker, and was launched in summer...	4	44	2000	Low floor Formerly Munro's (Jedburgh), arrived 2006
Dennis Dart SLF	Caetano Nimbus Caetano Nimbus The Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....	5	35	2002	Low floor Formerly Centra Centra (bus company) Centra was one of many operators of London Buses. They were the transport division of Central Parking Systems of UK Limited who acquired the assets of Wimco Group Coaches Limited in August 2004... , arrived 2007
Total (single deck)		89
Double deck
Volvo Olympian Volvo Olympian The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....	Northern Counties Palatine Northern Counties Palatine The Northern Counties Palatine is a step-entrance double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK. It was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, although some were also built on DAF, Volvo B10M Citybus and Scania chassis...	13	47 (upper) 29 or 31 (lower) 76 or 78 (total)	1997–1998	Eight vehicles formerly Metrobus, arrived 2003–2004 Five vehicles formerly London Central London Central London Central is one of many operators of London Buses. It was established in late 1988 as one of 12 operating subsidiaries of London Buses Limited , and was privatised to the Go-Ahead Group in September 1994... , arrived 2009
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...	East Lancs Vyking East Lancs Vyking The East Lancs Vyking is a type of double-decker bus body built by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. It is the double-deck version of the Spryte. It continued the long line of 'misspelt' names which continued until the Scania OmniDekka...	2	47 (upper) 27 or 31 (lower) 74 or 78 (total)	2000–2001	Low floor One vehicle from Irish dealer stock, arrived 2007 One vehicle formerly Moffat & Williamson, Fife, arrived 2007
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...	East Lancs Myllennium Vyking East Lancs Myllennium Vyking The East Lancs Myllennium Vyking is a type of bus body built on the Volvo B7TL chassis by East Lancashire Coachbuilders.-History:The Myllennium Vyking superseded the East Lancs Vyking. The Vyking was also the East Lancs body for the Volvo B7TL, but in 2000, was given a facelift with East Lancs'...	1	45 (upper) 28 (lower) 73 (total)	2007	Low floor From Irish dealer stock, arrived 2007
Total (double deck)		16
Coaches
Bova Futura	Bova Futura	1	53	1997	Driver training vehicle
Total (coaches)		1
Withdrawn Vehicles
Total (Withdrawn Vehicles)		0
Total (all vehicles)		106

Services

These are the bus services run by Rossendalebus:

No.	From	To	Via	Depot	Notes
12	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...	Balladen		Haslingden depot	Sunday daytime only
64 65	Rawtenstall	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.... (65)	Waterfoot, Edgeside, Bacup	Haslingden depot
167	Norden Norden, Greater Manchester Norden is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the western edge of Rochdale....	Manchester 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... Piccadilly Gardens	Bamford, Heywood Heywood, Greater Manchester Heywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the... , Rhodes, Cheetham Hill Cheetham Hill Cheetham Hill is an inner city area of Manchester, England. As an electoral ward it is known as Cheetham and has a population of 12,846. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north-northeast of Manchester city centre and close to the boundary with the City of Salford...	Rochdale depot	Your 167 Limited Stop. Extra peak journeys from 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...
244	Rawtenstall	Blackburn	Helmshore, Haslingden	Haslingden depot
273	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....	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...	Water, Waterfoot, Rawtenstall, 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.... , Ramsbottom Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on the course of the River Irwell, in the West Pennine Moors. Historically within Lancashire, it is located north-northwest of Bury, and north-northwest of Manchester... , Holcombe Brook, Hawkshaw Hawkshaw, Greater Manchester Hawkshaw is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it has a population of around 1,000 people. The village has a small shop and 2 pubs called The Red Lion and The Waggon and Horses.... , Bradshaw Bradshaw, Greater Manchester Bradshaw is suburb of the unparished area of South Turton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies on the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors.-History:... , Tonge Moor	Haslingden depot	Monday-Saturday daytime only. Sunday daytime journeys run by Arriva North West Arriva North West Arriva North West is a division of Arriva that operates bus services around North West England. It consists of two companies: Arriva North West Ltd and Arriva Merseyside Ltd.... (Rawtenstall-Bolton)
431	Rochdale	Stanneybrook		Rochdale depot
433 434	Rochdale	Castleton	Belfield, Turf Hill, Kirkholt (434)	Rochdale depot	434 runs one schoolday afternoon journey to Castleton, continuing to Rochdale via Sudden. Other journeys run by Tyrer Bus 433 runs one Monday-Saturday evening journey only. Sunday daytime journeys run by Tyrer Bus
435	Rochdale	Buckstones	Turf Hill, High Crompton, Shaw Shaw and Crompton Shaw and Crompton is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, north of Oldham, southeast of Rochdale, and to the northeast of the city of Manchester...	Rochdale depot	One schoolday journey starts at Norden
438	Rochdale	Daniel Fold	Spotland Bridge	Rochdale depot	Evenings/Sundays only. Other journeys run by First
440	Rochdale	Syke	Rochdale Infirmary	Rochdale depot
441	Rochdale	Foxholes		Rochdale depot
443	Rochdale	Elmsfield	Spotland Bridge, Shawfield	Rochdale depot
444	Rochdale	Norden	Spotland Bridge	Rochdale depot	Sunday daytime journeys run by Tyrer Bus
445	Rochdale	Cutgate	Mellor Street	Rochdale depot
446 447	Rochdale	Wallbank	Shawclough	Rochdale depot	447 runs Monday-Saturday early morning and early evening journeys. Sunday daytime journeys run by Tyrer Bus (447 only)
451	Peppermint Bridge	Rochdale	Newhey Newhey Newhey is a suburban village in the Milnrow area of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England... , Milnrow Milnrow Milnrow is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, and forms a continuous urban area with Rochdale...	Rochdale depot	Monday-Saturday early evenings only. Other journeys run by First and Tyrer Bus
458	Rochdale	Wardle	Smallbridge	Rochdale depot	One Monday-Saturday evening journey. Other journeys run by First and Tyrer Bus
461	Heywood	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...	Heap Bridge	Rochdale depot
464	Rochdale	Accrington	Whitworth Whitworth, Lancashire Whitworth is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Rossendale in Lancashire, England. It is set amongst the foothills of the Pennines, between the towns of Bacup, to the north, and Rochdale, to the south. It has a population of 7,263.... , 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... , Rawtenstall, Haslingden	Haslingden/Rochdale depots
466	Norden	Bury	Bamford, Fairfield General Hospital, Topping Fold	Haslingden depot
468	Rochdale	Tottington Tottington, Greater Manchester Tottington is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England.Historically a part of Lancashire, Tottington's early history is marked by its status as an important Medieval fee, a type of Royal Manor which encompassed several townships...	Greave, Bamford, Fairfield Hospital, Jericho, Bury	Haslingden/Rochdale depots	Bury-Tottington runs evening and Sundays only.
469	Rochdale	Tottington	Bamford, Jericho, Bury	Haslingden depot	Evenings and Sundays plus one Monday-Saturday daytime journey. Sunday daytime journeys run Jericho-Tottington only. Other journeys run by First
471	Rochdale	Bury	Sudden, Heywood	Rochdale depot	One morning journey only. Other journeys run by First
473	Water	Bury	Edgeside, Waterfoot, Rawtenstall, Edenfield, Ramsbottom, Walmersley	Haslingden depot	Monday-Saturday evenings and Sunday daytime only
475	Hopwood	Bury	Heywood, Fairfield General Hospital	Haslingden depot
477	Bury	Ramsbottom	Brandlesholme, Summerseat Summerseat Summerseat is a village in the Ramsbottom district of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the Irwell Valley, on the course of the River Irwell to the north of Bury, along the course of the M66 motorway.... , Holcombe Brook	Haslingden depot
479	Limefield Brow	Bury		Haslingden depot
480	Bolton	Bury	Bradshaw, Hawkshaw, Greenmount, Tottington, Walshaw	Haslingden depot
481	Ramsbottom	Bury	Greenmount, Tottington, Walshaw, Holcombe Brook	Haslingden depot
482 483	Burnley (483)	Bury	Water, Waterfoot, Newchurch (483), Rawtenstall, Edenfield, Walmersley	Haslingden depot	Most journeys run as service 483.
484	Burnley	Bury	Network 65 Park, Hapton, Accrington, Haslingden, Edenfield, Ramsbottom, Walmersley	Haslingden depot	Burnley-Accrington section runs Saturdays only
485	Ramsbottom, Tanner's Brow	Bury	Peel Brow, Walmersley, Chesham	Haslingden depot
486	Radcliffe	Bury	Ainsworth	Haslingden depot
487	Nangreaves	Bury	Walmersley	Haslingden depot
494	Ferngrove	Bury	Fishpool	Haslingden depot

External links

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