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 2024, 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 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 Transpora North West, which replaced Nuttall's Coaches in 2007, and Archway Travel. They each run eleven routes, many of which 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]
22 bus routes either begin, end or pass through Blackpool: Blackpool Transport's routes 1, 3, 3A, 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 6, 7, 11, 11A, 11B, 14 and 18; Coastal Coaches route 76; Preston Bus route 76; Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire route 42; Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire routes 61 and 68; Transpora North West's routes 22 and 24; and National Express.
Poulton-le-Fylde is served by seven routes: Blackpool Transport's route 5 and 5C; Coastal Coaches' route 76; Preston Bus route 76; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74 and 75.
Lytham and/or St Anne's-on-the-Sea is served by seven routes: Blackpool Transport's seasonal route 1A, the 11, 11A and 11B; Coastal Coaches route 78; Preston Bus route 76; and Transpora's route 21.
Cleveleys is served by six routes: Blackpool Transport's seasonal route 1A, the 7 and 7A; Transpora's route 21 and 24; and Archway Travel's route 75.
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 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 three routes: Coastal Coaches' routes 76 and 78 and Archway Travel's route 75.
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 the Blackpool Bus Hub, on Market Street and Corporation Street in Blackpool town centre, which replaced Blackpool bus station.[4]
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]
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.[8][9] The 78 serves St Annes and Wesham via Ansdell, Lytham, Warton, Freckleton and Kirkham.[10]
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.[11]
A subsidiary of Rotala, Preston Bus was founded in Preston in 1904. It was sold to Rotala by the Stagecoach Group in 2009.[12][13][14] Route number 76 runs between Blackpool and St Annes via Blackpool's Victoria Hospital and Booths in Poulton-le-Fylde.[3][15]
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]
.jpg){kind=spacer}
