With the passing of municipal Blackburn Transport to Transdev’s Blazefield Group on 22 January 2007, the rocky road to privatisation was finally completed, after 125 years of operation.
It leaves just 15 operators under the arms length control of town halls, with one (Chesterbus) going through an even stormier sale process.
Blackburn’s sale began with the usual rumours and political denials, as long ago as August 2005. The council soon stated it wanted a partnering approach, with an outside organisation taking 40 per cent, to improve services and secure Blackburn Transport’s future. Speculation subsequently raised this figure to 90 per cent private ownership, in something akin to the Bournemouth Yellow Buses deal.
At the time, the response was lukewarm and things went cold. Cold, that is, till one year later when in August 2006 there was the surprise news of the possibility of a Transdev deal, following rumours to that effect stretching as far back as to January and February 2006.
It has taken some time to thrash out the terms of sale as the deadline slipped to November, then December 2006. The sale completion sees the retention of the Blackburn Transport name in the short term, the lease of Blackburn’s garage for up to two years but expect a rationalisation of services with local Transdev Lancashire United under former Blackburn MD Michael Morton who takes charge divisionally of both. Tickets are now fully inter-available. Expect considerable further investment at Blackburn.
Local passengers can take some comfort in Blazefield's record of accomplishment, especially with neighbouring Lancashire United in nearby Burnley and Pendle.
It leaves just 15 operators under the arms length control of town halls, with one (Chesterbus) going through an even stormier sale process.
Blackburn’s sale began with the usual rumours and political denials, as long ago as August 2005. The council soon stated it wanted a partnering approach, with an outside organisation taking 40 per cent, to improve services and secure Blackburn Transport’s future. Speculation subsequently raised this figure to 90 per cent private ownership, in something akin to the Bournemouth Yellow Buses deal.
At the time, the response was lukewarm and things went cold. Cold, that is, till one year later when in August 2006 there was the surprise news of the possibility of a Transdev deal, following rumours to that effect stretching as far back as to January and February 2006.
It has taken some time to thrash out the terms of sale as the deadline slipped to November, then December 2006. The sale completion sees the retention of the Blackburn Transport name in the short term, the lease of Blackburn’s garage for up to two years but expect a rationalisation of services with local Transdev Lancashire United under former Blackburn MD Michael Morton who takes charge divisionally of both. Tickets are now fully inter-available. Expect considerable further investment at Blackburn.
Local passengers can take some comfort in Blazefield's record of accomplishment, especially with neighbouring Lancashire United in nearby Burnley and Pendle.
2 comments:
The comfort of the Burnley & Pendle example is somewhat offset by the discomfort of the even closer Hyndburn one, where the routes dropped (and I believe this is considerable) by Lancashire United are now operated by a somewhat motley mix of often scruffy vehicles by others.
We live in hope that the B&P model will be used & we don't get wholesale loss of routes.
The investment in new vehicles is promising, but what a pity Transdev could not have announced the investment in Blackburn built East Lancs (supporting local business & all that) instead of going to Northern Ireland Wrights. A marketing opportunity lost?
Paul S
"A marketing opportunity lost" going to Wrights might have been but the product is way much better!
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