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Public transport in the Fylde

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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, 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 2025, seven 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 public transport hub, most of Blackpool Transport's eighteen 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 hour. The 853 serves Myerscough College.[1]

The next-most-popular operators are Archway Travel, which runs fourteen routes, and Transpora North West (11 routes), which replaced Nuttall's Coaches in 2007. Some of their routes serve the Fylde's numerous schools. One of Transpora's 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 eleven 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.

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Bus

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Distribution

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A Blackpool Transport bus running the route 1 service on Blackpool Promenade in 2019

Seven bus operators serve the Fylde: Archway Travel, Blackpool Transport, Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire, Preston Bus, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire, Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire and Transpora North West.[3]

24 bus routes either begin, end or pass through Blackpool: Blackpool Transport's routes 1, 2, 3, 3A, 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 6, 7, 7A, 11, 11A, 11B, 12, 14 and 18; Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire route 42; Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire routes 61 and 68; Archway Travel's route 76; Transpora North West's routes 21 and 24; and National Express.

Cleveleys is served by ten routes: Blackpool Transport's 1, 2, 3, 3A, 7 and 7A; Transpora's route 21 and 24; and Archway Travel's route 74 and 75.

Poulton-le-Fylde is served by six routes: Blackpool Transport's route 5 and 5C; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74, 75 and 76.

Lytham and/or St Anne's-on-the-Sea is also served by six routes: Blackpool Transport's 11, 11A and 11B; Archway Travel's 76 and 78; and Transpora's route 21.

Fleetwood is served by five routes: Blackpool Transport's 1 and 14; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74 and 75.

Thornton is also served by five routes: Blackpool Transport's 5C and 14; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74 and 75.

Kirkham is served by four routes: Archway Travel's routes 74, 75, 76 and 78.

Blackpool Transport

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An Optare Solo M950 running the former 2C (now the 5C) route between Knott-End-on-Sea and Blackpool town centre in 2013
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Route 5C at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in 2024

Established in 1885 and owned by Blackpool Council, 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 the Blackpool Bus Hub, on Market Street and Corporation Street in Blackpool town centre, which replaced Blackpool bus station.[4]

There are eighteen routes in operation:[5]

More information Route, Frequency ...

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, then 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. Route 18 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).[6][7]

In April 2025, they announced the introduction of a new route 2 and combined the route 1 with the route 2 for a combined "Resort Rider" brand.[8] The new route 2 runs from Fleetwood's Cala Gran Holiday Park to Blackpool Zoo every 60 minutes. With this, the 1A, which extended the 1 to St Anne's Square during the season, was discontinued.

Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire

Based in Morecambe, Lonsdale routes 88 and 89 serve Pilling and Knott End. Route 88 is slightly longer as it serves Garstang, whereas the 89 travels directly between Lancaster and Pilling before terminating in Knott End.[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 and Booths in Poulton-le-Fylde.[3][13]

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire

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

More information Route, Origin and destination ...

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire

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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.

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Transpora North West

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Transpora's route 24 at Cleveleys bus station, 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]

More information Route, Origin and destination ...

Archway Travel

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An Archway Travel coach in Poulton-le-Fylde (2024)

Fourteen routes in operation:

More information Route, Origin and destination ...

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

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Rail

The Fylde has eleven railway stations. Each is on one of the two Blackpool branch lines, while those between Kirkham and Wesham and Blackpool North are also on the Calder Valley Line, which continues on towards Preston. The two train operators are Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains.

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

From west to east:

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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.[31] It carried 4.9 million passengers in 2022–23.[32]

See also

References

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