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NEWS ARCHIVE Boxing Day Bus Services (Dec 2007) Preston Bus will for the first time for many years trial the operation of a service on Boxing Day. We will see how much demand there is for the service before deciding how to proceed in future years. Peter Bell, the Managing Director of Preston Bus, said “we are following the changes introduced by the retailers in our City. In the past shops did not open on Boxing Day but our City businesses have responded to the changing demand and Preston Bus is pleased to support this initiative”. An hourly service will operate on the following services, 3 Penwortham, 7 Brookfield via Garstang Road, 8 Moor Nook, 11 Gamull Lane, 16 Farringdon Park, 19 Royal Preston Hospital via Deepdale Road, 35 Tanterton via Fylde Road and the 89 Lea via Larches, Riversway and the Rail Station as well as a half hourly service on the 23 Royal Preston Hospital route via Plungington Road Road. Full details will be published shortly. The services will run between the house of approximately 09:40 and 17:30 giving customers plenty of opportunities to take full advantage of the post Christmas sales. The services will be operated by volunteer drivers giving up their opportunity to have another go at the turkey or to take advantage of the sales in our city. Christmas and New Year Period Services (Dec 2007) Some limited changes will be made to the services we provide over the Christmas and New Year period. Christmas Eve (Monday): Christmas Day: Boxing Day: December the 27th to the 29th: December 30th (Sunday): New Years Eve: New years Day: Tuesday 2nd December: Park & Ride Service Update on Fares and Improved Timetable (Nov 2007) The Park & Ride service is going to see a major improvements in both quality and with extended hours of operation. The Port Way and the Walton-le-Dale service are both operated in association with Lancashire County Council with the terms of the agreement changing so that the County Council no-longer need to subsidise its operation. To finance all the change and to pay for the improvements the fares have to be changed from the 19th November. FREE TRAVEL within the City Centre (area bounded by the Rail Station, the Bus Station and to the north the junction of Friargate and Walker Street) on Preston Bus services for users of the Park & Ride service will also be introduced. Buses link the various points every few minutes. The Christmas Sunday and the Wednesday and Thursday late night shopping services start on the 21st November. The new timetable will start on the 1st December with both the services starting at 07:00 with the last departure from the City Centre at 19:30. Late night shopping services will be provided on a Wednesday and a Thursday until 21:30 until Christmas and then on Wednesdays throughout the year until 20:30. A Sunday service will also operate throughout the year with the exception of Easter Sunday. The new ticketing options are available from 19 November 2007 and are as follows:-
# The Preston Bus Easiday and Easiweek tickets provide unlimited travel on all Preston Bus Services and the standard children travel free offer and restrictions apply to these tickets. While they are available on the Park and Ride services there is a supplement for pre-0930 travel with the Easiweek. The Saverstrip gives 10 journeys for the price of 9. The £11 (but not the £6) Easipark gives 7 days unlimited travel on any Preston Bus Service. New buses built with many extra features have been ordered with delivery due in February 2008. The buses will have leather seats - just to add that extra comfort! Service 8 - Moor Nook, Pope Lane & Grizedale Crescent (Nov 2007) Lancashire County Council will be carrying out a series of road closures throughout both of these roads during the installation of traffic calming measures. These works may overrun into December. Preston Bus will endeavour to continue serving as much of the Moor Nook Estate as we can during these closures but it will be necessary to operate a number of differing diversions to account for each closure. This is likely to cause confusion and we will do our very best to try and minimise this. Once the work begins no firm timetable can be given as to when certain closures will take effect. Lancashire County Council inform us that the length of time require for each closure is dependent on many things including the weather conditions. Preston Bus thank you for your patience and understanding at this time. For further details please see the attached notice. Improved services for Ingol, Savick and Penwortham (Oct 2007) From the 12th November the Savick 31 service will be improved with buses running every 12 minutes rather than every 15. From the same date the Ingol 44 service will be increased from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes at peak times and 15 minutes during the day time. The service 3 to Penwortham will have two extra departures from the Plough via the estate to the Bus Station at 05:55 and 06:37 on Mondays to Fridays again starting on the 12th November. Gamull Lane and Moor Nook services re-routed (Oct 2007) From the 12th November with the exception of the 05:25 and the 05:55 Monday to Friday departures to Red Scar all the departures on the 11 service to Gamull Lane service will be re-routed to operate via the day time route of Grange Avenue and Fir Trees Avenue. For those travelling during the early mornings, evenings and Sundays to the Red Scar area the Orbit services will still be available. The 8 service to Moor Nook after 18:00 and all day Sunday will, for an experimental period, be rerouted to follow the day time route of via Grizedale Crescent. We hope that the two changes to the services will be beneficial to our customers. Ingol Service – Evening and Sundays (Oct 2007) Preston Bus is pleased to announce that following concerns raised by the local residents in the Ingol area about the lack of an evening and Sunday service arrangements are being made for the Tanterton service to be diverted via Cottam Avenue, Whitby Avenue, Redcar Avenue back onto Tag Lane on its way to Tanterton. Customers wanting to travel back into the City from the estate will be able to board on the estate and travel around Tanterton before the bus makes its way into the City. The new arrangements will start on the 7th October with all departures on Sunday following the diversion as well as all after 20:10 on Mondays to Saturdays. New Bus Scheme set to Boost City Retailers (Oct 2007)
Preston Bus in partnership with Preston Chamber of Trade has created a bus ticket discount scheme called ‘Deals On Wheels’. The scheme allows Preston Bus passengers to use their bus ticket to get a discount of £1 (the average fare on Preston Bus) at participating outlets across the city centre, provided they spend a minimum agreed amount, which is set by each outlet. So far, over 50 city centre outlets have signed up to the initiative, which is due to be launched from Monday 8th October 2007 onwards. Managing Director of Preston Bus, Peter Bell, said the scheme was an excellent way of encouraging people to use public transport and shop locally. He said: “Preston Bus has a proven track record of supporting local schemes that benefit the city and we believe ‘Deals on Wheels’ “Preston Bus is at the cutting edge of city centre initiatives such as Quality Bus routes, the Real Time system, Nicholas Watson, Joint Chief Executive, Preston Chamber of Trade, said: “We’ve been delighted with the response shown to the scheme by retailers in Preston city centre. The majority of participating retailers are independents because it is easier for them to sign up to such a scheme from a logistical viewpoint.“It’s vital we continue to support our city centre and I am sure that shoppers will love this scheme as there is something for everybody both during the day and at night. “Essentially, the more times you use the bus and the more times you shop locally, you will be pocketing a discount which can be used for future purchases.” A huge marketing campaign will be mounted through the Preston Bus network, city centre and selected outlets across Preston. Shoppers are asked to look out for window stickers and posters at participating outlets in the city centre. Initially, the scheme will be run on a trial basis until 31st January 2008 and is thought to be the first of its kind in the North West. If successful, it may be rolled out across other parts of the Preston Bus network and involve more outlets. Central Lancashire Junior Football League (August 2007) Preston Bus is please to announce that it is sponsoring the Central Lancashire Junior Football League. The league has grown in many ways and this year will have 5 new teams and Preston Bus is proud to be able to be associated with this very successful local organisation. Preston Bus wishes all the teams an enjoyable and successful season. Service changes from the 30th July 2007 (July 2007) We are making a series of changes partly following suggestions from our customers and partly to secure the future of Preston Bus following the actions by Stagecoach to try and undermine our business. The changes involve some improvements as well as the reluctant suspension of two of our services. They are the 21 Broadgate and the 36 Lightfoot Lane via Garstang Road. Unlike other bus companies, for years we have cross subsidised the losses we make on them with the profits we have made on others. Regrettably with the extensive competition Stagecoach have initiated this is no longer possible. However, before deciding to take this action we discussed the issue with the County Council and they agreed to ensure that the service continued by paying another operator to run the services involved. The main changes are: 11 Gamull Lane - Minor retiming with with the last bus at 23:05 on Mondays to Saturdays and 22:35 on Sundays. 21 Broadgate - Please see above notes as to why this services is having to be suspended. However, alternative services are available along Liverpool Road with our service 3 to Penwortham and the Orbit services. The service around the estate will be replaced by one run by another operator subsidised by the County Council. 22/23 ASDA via Royal Preston Hospital - On all departures the service number 23 will be used although not all journeys will continue to ASDA. Please check the destination if you are catching a bus for points beyond the hospital. 24/25 Lea - On journeys into the City the bus will continue to St Andrews School turning right into Tulketh Road. It will therefore no-longer use Pedders Lane or Egerton Road. Alternative services are available along Pedders Lane using the Orbit route. 33/35 Tanterton services - All the departures will now operate via Fylde Road. The Eldon Street area will still be served by the 31 Savick service and by the re-routing of the Ingol service via Eldon Street (service 44). The late evening and Sunday service will be increased to operate every 20 minutes providing a part replacement for the changes to the 44 service and the 36 services Service 34 Ingol via Fylde Road - Will be rerouted from Ashton Street and Fylde Road to operate instead via Eldon Street. The Ashton Street area will be served by a new service (the 87) which operates every 15 minutes between 09:30 and 15:30 from the Bus Station to Lea via the Rail Station, Ashton Street, Lane Ends, Blackpool Road and Larches. Details of the changes to the late evening and Sunday services are shown under the 44 service section. Service 44 Ingol via Eldon Street - Tthis reinstated service replaces the existing 34 Ingol via Fylde Road. On Monday to Saturday the last departure to Ingol will be at 19:35 with the last return trip from the estate being at 19:53. No service will operate to the estate on a Sunday. An alternative late evening and Sunday service will be provided by the improved 35 service along Tag Lane. Service 36 Tanterton via Garstang Road - Please see above notes as to why this service is having to be suspended. However, alternative services are available from the Tanterton area with our 35 service via Fylde Road and between the Bus Station and the Withy Trees with our 7 Brookfield service as well as from the Black Bull with the 23 service via Plungington Road. The County Council has entered into a contract with another operator who will be paid subsidy to run a service number 81 via Lightfoot Lane, Garstang Road, Black Bull Lane, Cadley Causeway, Mill Lane to the Bus Station. Service 87 Lea via Rail Station, Lane Ends and Larches - This is a new service which will provide a link from Lea and Larches to the Rail Station. It will also provide a replacement service for the Ashton Street area following the diversion of the 34 Ingol service. Service 99 Royal Preston Hospital - The 2 departures per day on this service will be suspended. Minor timetable changes are being made to all the other services so please ask Service 16 Farringdon Park (July 2007) Minor improvements are being made to this service with effect from Monday 2nd July 2007. Please click on link to view new timetable guide. Under 16’s given boost as 60p fare is extended across city network (June 2007) No restrictions as Preston Bus simplify fare structure USING the bus in Preston will now cost less for under 16’s after Preston Bus announced an extension to its 60p fare across its entire city network. Previously, Preston Bus had adopted a staggered fare structure of 80p, 70p and 60p depending on distance travelled for youths in addition to a 60p flat fare for under 16’s at weekends and Bank Holidays. However, a new simplified fare of 60p for under 16’s is to be introduced from Monday 18th June 2007 onwards. Managing Director of the independent, employee-owned Preston Bus, Peter Bell, explained the decision was based on their mission to simplify fare structures, enable greater community access and provide outstanding value for money to customers. Mr Bell said: “Following a period of change on our fare structures for under 16’s, we have chosen to introduce, from June 18th 2007 onwards, a flat 60p fare across all routes, excluding school services, at all times, seven days a week, including Bank Holidays. “Having listened to our customers needs’, we’ve acted quickly to provide a consistent and affordable fare that will enable children and teenagers to use our superb network across the city for trips to the city centre, leisure facilities, places of interest and general commuting purposes. School services will remain unchanged at £1 as they are determined by Lancashire County Council policy.” Over recent years, Preston Bus has reduced its fare structure for children from 10 different types to now one, with its adult fare structures also reducing from 10 to four fares, giving customers a simple, easy-to-follow tariff. Mr Bell added that under 16’s are still able to use the easifamily return ticket which allows up to four people travelling together a return journey on the city network for only £4. School Services for Corpus Christi Catholic Sports College (March 2007) Revised Services with Money Saving Tickets Available Preston Bus is delighted to announce that by working in partnership with Chorus Christi Catholic Sports College the cuts the County Council were planning to make to the school buses will be avoided. Even better news is the fact that Preston Bus Easilink Rambler tickets will become available on the special services to the school. Apart from saving money children travelling to the school will be able to use these tickets at other times to travel on our extensive network of services without paying any extra money! To assist the children the school plans to sell the Preston Bus Easilink Rambler tickets at their premises. This will provide children with a useful alternative sales point for our tickets. The services have been operated under contract to the County Council but instead of being paid by LCC for operating the services Preston Bus has decided to operate the routes without any subsidy. Special arrangements have been made with LCC for those children who are entitled to free travel on the service. The new arrangements will start on the 23rd April and will involve some minor changes to the services. The 576 service will be replaced by extending the 577 to start at the Preston Bus depot and by the 0810 36 service to Cottam being diverted via Friargare and Moor Lane. In the evenings the 246 service from the school will be diverted via Friargate. Easilink Rambler Sales Points – As One Closes Another Opens (March 2007) The very popular sales point for Easilink Rambler tickets at The Magazine Shop on Fishergate is now closed but we are pleased to announce that the very large Post Office in Theatre Street is now a sales points for our tickets. Traffic lights go green for buses (January 2007) The clever traffic light experts at Lancashire County Council have been working hard to develop in association with ASIS (the provider of the real time system) advanced software which gives priority to buses at the traffic lights. The Orbit service is the first to benefit from the scheme which is aimed at keeping the service on time. The results have been positive with a surprising number of people noticing what has been happening with the traffic light sequences. Previous systems gave priority to some buses regardless of the vehicles schedule compliance. While this had its attractions such systems could not provide optimum capacity at the lights for all road users. The new system checks to see if the vehicle is on time and were possible either extends the green time at the lights for the bus or returns them in favour whenever the bus is running late. Once the bus has passed the lights the clever team at Lancashire County Council then make the traffic lights adjust the time for the other road users by giving back any green time that they lost. Orbit Service
January sees the launch of two new Scania buses, costing £300,000, bringing the number of new ‘easiaccess’ buses delivered since September 2006 to 26. They will operate on our ‘Super Routes’ between the city centre and the Royal Preston Hospital, ASDA and Tanterton. They offer significant improvements to customers over older types, most noticeably the wheelchair access and low floors benefiting those with mobility problems and those with buggies. The new buses have Scania chassis with the bodywork being constructed by East Lancashire Coachbuilders, Blackburn. Service changes from the 22nd October 2006 (October 2006) A series of service changes are being introduced from Sunday the 22nd October to coincide with the start of the Orbit services. For full details please click here Full details of the actual timetables will be published shortly. Some Fares Increased but Most Remain Unchanged (October 2006) Owing to the ever increasing costs of operating services Preston Bus has had to announce a change to some of the fares that are charged starting on Sunday the 8th October. The changes increase the fares charged for shorter journeys but the existing £1.10 and all the adult and student Easilink Rambler tickets remain the same. All the children’s fares will increase but the easylink family return which allows for up to 4 people travelling together to make one return journey will remain at £4. The changes will be: On Saturday, Sundays and Bank Holidays all children’s fares will be charged at a flat rate of 60p. Also the existing restricts were children’s fares are not available after 22:00 and the time limit for taking a child free with an adult using a Easilink Ramber ticket of 21:00 will be removed. The fares on school services operated on behalf of Lancashire County Council will remain at a flat fare of £1.00 or £1.50 for a child. Fare on the Park & Ride service will remain the same. While the Child Easilink Rambler tickets will be increased in price from the 12th October to £7.50 for 7 days, £25 for a month and £65 for a 3 monthly ticket they will still enable the users to save a considerable amount of money. New Buses for the Gamull Lane Service (September 2006)
Preston Bus has worked closely with the manufacture to ensure that the buses have a bright modern interior which has space for buggies or for a wheelchair. To co-inside with the delivery of the new buses a new bright livery has been introduced. The existing two shades of blue have been replaced by brighter versions and the deep cream by a ivory colour. To further enhance the appearance green swoops have been added. The Gamull Lane service will also benefit from an investment the County Council is making with new bus shelters, raised kerbs and bus stop clearway orders along the line of route. Watling Street Road – Services Back to Normal (September 2006) Lancashire County Council have now confirmed that the bus services to Brookfield can return to their normal route from 16:00 on the 1st September. Some disruption to the services may be experienced for the next week while the reaming highway work is completed in the area. Preston Bus is sorry for the disruption which while beyond our control has obviously caused inconvenience. However, the new highway arrangements will benefit the bus users as the removal of the “give way” arrangements will help with reliability. Preston Bus Orbit - Its Arriving at Last (August 2006) Preston Bus working with Lancashire County Council are now working on an October starting date for the new Orbit service. The new easy access buses for the service are now being built and will be delivered in September. For more news on the new orbital service click here. The service will link a number of points around the City avoiding the need for our customers to change buses. The service will operate in a circle around the City. The clockwise route will be known as service 88C (C for clockwise) and the anticlockwise 88A (A for anticlockwise). The excising service 5 to Longsands Lane, 6 to Brookfield and the 27 Larches will be replaced by the new Preston Bus Orbit service. Other changes that will be introduced with the new Orbit service:
Revised Fares and Changes to the Pass Arrangements on School Buses (July 2006) Following consultation with schools and parents Lancashire County Council have decided to increase fares on all school buses that are operated on their behalf. The County Council have explained that they need to reduce their expenditure on school transport. They are increasing fares as an alternative to cancelling a large number of services which would have resulted in children not having a suitable alternative way to travel to school. The change will be introduced from September 2006 and will involve a minimum child fare increasing to £1.00. If the journey the child is making is between 3 and 8 miles the fare will be £1.50 and for journeys over 8 miles it will be £2.00. There are no changes to the arrangements for students who are entitled to free home to school transport. It will be necessary for Preston Bus to follow the same arrangements on the few school buses that are at the moment operated without financial support from the County Council. The County Council has also decided to terminate the arrangement where Preston Bus Easilink Rambler tickets can be used on school buses. Instead they will introduce a revised version of their own termly season tickets which give a 20% reduction on single fares. The County Council tickets will only be available on the services that are operated on contract to them. The County Council have advised all the schools of the change and asked them to inform all the parents. Preston Bus has to introduce the revised Lancashire County Council policy but is working with them to ensure that the new arrangements are introduced as smoothly as possible. Closure of Watling Street Road East of Eastway (Update - 17th July 2006) Preston Bus regrets to announce that the service 6 and 7 to Brookfield will be disrupted due to roadworks along Watling Street Road which started on the 10th July. The work is being undertaken in stages and with the help of County Council we are trying to reduce the inconvenience for your customers. At the moment during the period of 08:00 to 18:00 on Mondays to Fridays the 6 and the 7 services will need to terminate at Carlton Avenue. During these times we will operate a shuttle bus from the Brookfield Bus turning circle via Gamull Lane to the Gamull Lane shops on Longridge Road. Before 08:00 and after 18:00 as well as all day on Saturday and Sunday the 6 and the 7 services should be able to operate as normal. Coach Excursions - sorry they will no longer be operating (June 2006) Preston Bus has had to announce that regrettably we are having to withdraw from the coach excursions market. The day trips have proved to be popular and quite well used by our regular customers. Apart from being a day out for them they have become a social event and this point alone has made us at Preston Bus very reluctant to cease operating them. While the trips have been popular we have not been able to attract sufficient other business to justify keeping the coach in our fleet. Preston Bus will be writing out to all of the regular customs explaining the situation and thanking them for their custom. More new low floor buses are on the way (June 2006) A further 17 new minibuses have been ordered for delivery later this year. They will bring to our customers all the advantages the low floor buses provide. It will bring the investment Preston Bus has made in new vehicles in 2006 to nearly £3,000,000. Most of the new minibuses will be used on the long awaited Orbit service. The 7 new single decker buses for the Gamull Lane service are now expected for delivery in July of this year. All of the vehicles be fitted will a new advanced CCTV system in order to provide improved security on our buses. Over 60 or disabled – Travel Free or half fare on our buses (March 2006) From the 1st April the free travel scheme for those who live in Preston will be extended to include anybody from the age of 60 and above. Free travel will be available from 0930 on Mondays to Fridays or at any time on a Saturday, Sundays or Bank Holidays. Even before 0930 the scheme will provide for half fare travel. While free travel on our services is only available to those who live in Preston residents from other parts of Lancashire can still travel at half fare at any time of the day. All you need is a NoWcard pass. If you live in Preston call into our Town Hall bringing with you proof of age (such as a passport, a driving licence or birth certificate) and proof of your address (such as a gas, electric or telephone bill). The office is open Monday to Friday from 0800 to 1800. They will even take your photograph for the pass while you wait. The pass is issued free of charge. If you live in other parts of Lancashire contact your local council or call the NoWcard Helpline on 0845 058 1096 between 0800 and 1700 on Mondays to Fridays for information. For those who are 70 and above who at the moment travel free before 0930 we are sorry that this concession is no longer available. However, the NoWcard is now issued free of charge. For further information contact Preston City Council. Apart from free travel within the Council area that you live in the NoWcard gives you free travel throughout Lancashire on any bus operators vehicle. For those who are regarded as disabled and under 60 years of age a NoWcard pass may also be available. Contact the NoWcard Helpline on 0845 058 1096 for more details. New Buses for the Gamull Lane Service (March 2006)
This will be the fourth service which Preston Bus in association with the County and the District Council has upgraded to the Quality Bus standard. The next upgrade is planned to be the long awaited Orbit services. New Buses for the Larches Service (Jan 2006)
The new buses have easy access low floors with a new modern bright interior design. They are fitted with the latest CCTV system and have space for buggies and a wheelchair. The bus stops and shelters along the Larches route have already been upgraded in readiness for the new buses so combining these improvements with the new buses customers will benefit from the substantial investment both Preston Bus and the County Council have made. With the Larches services linking the busy Fishergate area with Morrisons and the UCI Cinema, customers with shopping or young children will find the low floor buses much easier to use than the vehicles they are replacing. Before we arrange for the delivery of the rest of the buses for the Orbit service we are asking our customers for their opinions and any suggested improvements. Views please to enquiries@prestonbus.co.uk. Larches service diverted in the docks area for 4 weeks (Sept 2005) In order to reduce congestion highway improvements are being made to Marina Way in the area near to Morrisons. However, this will require us to divert the buses from the City Centre on services 27 and 127 via Watery Lane for 4 weeks starting at 0800 on Monday the 26th September. Alternative stops will be provided on Watery Lane. Buses returning to the City Centre will be able to keep to the normal route. Sorry we have increased one of our fares and the prices for Rambler tickets (June 2005) Owing to increased costs we regret that some prices have had to be increased. We have tried to keep the change to a minimum. The only fare that will be increase will be the £1.00 one which for most of our customers has not been increased for several years. The Rambler tickets continue to represent good value for money and as part of our policy of improving access to our services we have increased the number of sales outlets for these. See sales outlet list. Rambler Sales Points Update (May 2005) Two new Rambler sales points have been added to the list of locations that the Preston Bus tickets can be purchased. The locations are both in ideal city centre locations. Squires News, Cheapside (near to the junction with Church Street / Friargate). At the other end of the city centre near to the Rail Station we have The Magazine Shop at 55 Fishergate. Unfortunately while we have lost the Theatre Street Post Office we have gained other very useful city centre sites. Some fares increased but 60% remain the same (Sept 2004) From Sunday the 3rd October some fares will be revised. Three of the four fares used at Preston Bus will increase by 10p. However, the fact that the £1.00 fare, together with the Day Rambler and the Family Return Tickets remain the same means that 60% of our customers will not have a fare increases. The £1.00 fare has now been held at that amount now for a few years as part of the Preston Bus plan to simplify fares. While any fare increase is regrettable Preston Bus has to pay its bills like any other company. Both wages and fuel prices have increased at a faster rate than inflation. The recent massive increase in fuel prices is a particular point of concern for Preston Bus as well as the whole of the industry. The next bus will be a clean bus (Sept 2004) A new company has this week taken responsibility for the interior cleaning of the fleet of 115 vehicles at Preston Bus. Preston Bus Managing Director Peter Bell said “The appointment of a specialist cleaning contractor will enable us to spend more of our time concentrating on providing a good quality service for our customers”. He acknowledged that cleaning standards have not been as good as they should have been and that Preston Bus has appointed the contractor to solve the problem. Preston Bus have retained their own staff for sweeping the buses out at night and redeployed the day cleaners on to other work. Peter Bell commented that the contractor’s staff will just clean buses and therefore will not be diverted away from the job when a problem arises in another section of the business. He acknowledged that this has been part of the problem that has resulted in standards being below what our customers rightly expect. When selecting a new contractor Preston Bus deliberately chose a company that had wide experience in the vehicle cleaning area. The Chief Engineer at Preston Bus, Jack Hornby, noted how different cleaning a bus is from the normal office or contract cleaning work. He said he selected a subsidiary of a very well respected large bus company called Trent from Derby to undertake the contract. Jack explained that while Trent use their own staff to clean their buses they perform the work through this independent unit. This same unit has now made its first expansion by coming over the Pennines to work in Preston. They have appointed two local supervisors and a team of 12 staff to undertake the work. Peter Bell explained how he deliberately travelled on the Trent buses to see the standards they set. He said “they set the standard for us to follow and I am delighted that we are now going to do this”. Having inspected the first vehicles the contractors cleaned in Preston, he is certain that the Preston Bus customers will see the big difference. Extra Morning Departure to ASDA (July 2004) To co-inside with the opening of a large new call centre located opposite the ASDA store in Fulwood an extra early morning departure will be introduced on our 5/105 service starting on the 19 July. It will leave the Bus Station at 0632 on Mondays to Fridays and operate via Longsands Lane on its way to ASDA. It will return to the Bus Station at 0650 via Longsands Lane. Real Time – Now Available on the Web (July 2004) Preston Bus in association with Lancashire County Council can now provide real time information from this web site. Just select from a long list of stops the appropriate one for your journey. The site is still under development and therefore your views and suggestions are especially welcomed at enquiries@prestonbus.co.uk. Service Changes – to start on the 14th June 2004 (April 2004) Following a very successful consultation exercise regarding a series of service changes proposed by Preston Bus the various comments and suggestions received have been studied in detail. The changes have now been finalised and detailed timetables will be available near to the date. Click Here for Summary of the Changes Consultation Exercise - Service Changes - Updates (February 2004) Following a very successful consultation exercise regarding a series of service changes proposed by Preston Bus the various comments and suggestions received have been studied in detail. While no final decisions have been made about the changes some likely outcomes have been highlighted. Real-Time is Coming (February 2004) From Monday the 1st March the first phase of the real time system in Preston should start to operate. This massive project involves in the first phase 75 stops being equipped with displays that show up-to-the-minute information about your Preston Bus service and when it will arrive at the stop. The scheme is aimed at providing more information for customers and improving the reliability of our services. The system works by using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology. The information is sent from the bus to the sign at the stop with the sign then being automatically updated. The whole scheme is a joint project funded by Lancashire County Council and Preston Bus. The next phase will see more clever technology being introduced with the buses sending messages direct to the traffic lights requesting priority through the junctions. Later stages will see information being available for most bus stops via text messaging from mobile phones or from a dedicated web site. Plans are being developed for more signs around the City. Preston Bus customers will be the first in Lancashire to benefit from the latest technology. Peter Bell the Managing Director at Preston Bus has thanked the County Council for their support with this massive project and hopes that other cities around the Country will benefit from the scheme being developed for the Preston Bus users. Preston Bus Service is going into Orbit next year (February 2004) Following the success of a major bid for funding submitted by Lancashire County Council and Preston Bus plans to introduce a circular bus route (to be known as the “Orbit Route) around the city have become a reality. The bid accepted by the Department for Transport during a competitive bidding process was for £977,000. While this is a substantial amount of money the additional investment required by Preston Bus and Lancashire County Council just to introduce the service is likely to involve a similar commitment. The new “Orbit” route will incorporate either the Savick or the Larches route on the west of the city as well as parts of the existing Cottam, Longsands Lane and Brookfield services. When these are combined with new sections of route around the northern area a complete circle will be formed. Buses will operate in both a clockwise and an anticlockwise direction. A 15 minute service will be provided on each route during the day time and every 30 minutes during the evenings and Sundays. The exact route is still being investigated taking account of various comments and suggestions received. The expected route will operate from the City via the Rail Station, the Docks, Savick (or Larches Estate), Cottam, Tag Lane, Cadley Causeway, Black Bull Lane (past the Fulwood Leisure Centre), The Royal Preston Hospital, Sherwood, ASDA, Longsands Lane, Fulwood Row, Brookfield and Deepdale Road back into the Bus Station. The service will require 14 new low floor easy access buses with many of the stops and shelters upgraded to “Quality Bus” standards. Bus priority measures will be incorporated as an essential part of the project as reliability will be an essential part of the new service. Customer Information and Consultation Exercise Preston Bus needs to make a number of economies to reflect both increased costs of operation as well as reduced income received through the concessionary travel scheme. At the same time we want to reinvest some of the savings by making some improvements to our services. We particularly want to improve the reliability and the quality of the services we provide. We have being considering various proposals taking account of suggestions received from our customers. It also takes account of various suggestions made during the recent consultation exercise undertaken before the bid for funding for a round Preston route was submitted. The Department for Transport decision date on funding for this project has been delayed, but the announcement is expected early in the New Year. The proposals include revised routes for the services to the west of the City as well as some reduced frequencies. They include reduced frequencies after 2000 hours on Mondays to Saturdays and after 1700 on Sundays. Also included are an improved service for the Cottam area and connecting links to the ASDA area from Ribbleton, using an extension of the service that normally terminates at Longsands Lane. To assist with reliability, most services will have extended journey times during the evening peak. The project also continues the program of simplifying the network of services by reducing the number of different services operated to some areas of the City. This is part of the strategy, which forms the major "total transport network" ("ttn") project that is being developed with the County and the City Councils. While any reductions in frequency are regrettable, Preston Bus will still supply a higher level of service than found in any other area of Lancashire. Along with other improvements being made, including the real time system, new buses, a new radio system, links to the traffic light systems to give buses priority at lights, the introduction of smart card ticketing and further quality partnership services, the future prospects for Preston Bus users are bright. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding these proposals, please contact: John Asquith, Traffic Manager, Preston Bus Limited (or by e-mail: john.asquith@prestonbus.co.uk). It would be helpful if replies could be received by Monday the 19th January 2004 Newsletter being trialled for the residents of the Longsands area (August 2003) Preston Bus and Lancashire County Council are experimenting with the distribution of a 4 page newsletter that will be delivered house to house in the Longsands area. The idea is to see if such an arrangement attracts new customers and keeps the local residents informed of developments. The newsletter will mainly cover bus information for the one estate, but, if the project is successful, it will be extended to other areas of the City. Feedback will be very important and will therefore be encouraged. The idea for the newsletter came from a very useful meeting with the local residents association. They have been actively investigating demand followed by them making a series of recommendations for improvements in the service. The Super Routes - Quality Bus Partnership delivers As part of the package of improvements being made, by Preston Bus, Lancashire County Council, Preston City Council and the Police, fifty eight new bus shelters are being erected along the 19, 22 and 23 routes. The shelters are of a new design incorporating lighting, seating and space for publicity. To make it easier to board buses the kerb heights have been increased. To support the project new waiting restrictions are being introduced at the stops. As part of the project Preston Bus has purchased new low floor buses. Full details about the "Quality Bus Partnership" project are given in the "Super Routes" section of this site. Preston Bus welcomes the support it is receiving from its partners with the "Quality Bus Partnership project". We now have the 3 routes that serve the Hospital operating as "Super Routes services" (the 19, 22 and 23) along with the Tanterton services (the 33 and 35's). Plans are still being developed to introduce these standards to the 11 (Gamull Lane), 16 (Farringdon Park) and the 25 (Lea) services. If all goes to plan, the 11 service to Gamull Lane will be upgraded in 2004. This will involve the purchase of 7 new easy access single decker buses, new shelters and bus priority measures along the line of route. Real time bus information - Work has started (July 2003)
The "real time" system will incorporate the very latest technology aimed at assisting Preston Bus provide a reliable service and to keep customers informed. This will be enabled by the buses being tracked by a GPS system which will then use the bus radio to transmit the location of the bus back to a central computer. This will then track the estimated time of arrival at various points along the line of route. The information will then be transmitted to the bus stop displays and onto the internet site. To assist with timekeeping on a departure that may be operating late the bus will automatically signal to traffic lights that fact and request priority at the junction. Subject to conditions at the time the traffic light system will try to help by extending the green time for the buses or by changing to green earlier than it would otherwise have done so. More details will be available as the scheme develops. Park & Ride service - demand continues to grow (June 2003)
To carry 100,000 customers since the service started in December 2002 (in 6 months and 8 days) clearly shows how popular the service has been. Preston Bus has invested in a fleet of 9 easy access low floor minibuses in a distinctive livery of lilac and two shades of blue operate the two Park & Ride service. For full details please look at the Park & Ride section of this site.
We are 100 years old in June 2004 (June 2003) In June 2004 Preston Bus will celebrate 100 years of service to the public of Preston. On the 7th June 1904 the first Preston Corporation tram entered service from Lancaster Road via North Road to the Barracks on Watling Street Road. A month later the route was extended past our depot back into the town centre. While this was not the first tram route in Preston, it was the first to be powered by electricity. The earlier system had been horse powered and with operations starting on the 20th March 1879 by the Preston Tramway Company under the sanctions of Preston Corporation. They sold out to Preston Corporation in 1886, but the operation of the services was leased to a local businessman. Preston Bus could therefore claim to be 125 or just a mere 100 years old in 2004. Take your pick! Preston Bus celebrates 10 years of employee ownership (April 2003) On the 4th April Preston Bus celebrated 10 years of employee ownership. Previously the Company had been owned by the local council. Like a number of other Council owned bus companies, the business was sold to the staff. Unlike the others, Preston Bus is the only company that has made this unusual arrangement work, with all the other operators having decided to sell their business. To mark this achievement an event was held in the Great Room at the Preston North End football club. Over 200 staff, families and invited guests attended the event. The Mayor of Preston Jonathan Saksena, was the guest of honour. His presence was especially important to Preston Bus as he is a regular customer of ours and a well known supporter of public transport. Extra morning departure on for the Longsands Lane residents (November 2002) Following requests for a improved service to take residents of the Longsands Lane area to other parts of Fulwood, one of the 22 departures has been extended to start from the estate at 0807 (Mondays to Fridays) and to operate into the City via Sherwood, the Royal Preston Hospital and Plungington Road. Park & Ride Service - Another Success Story for Preston Bus Preston Bus is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a five year contract to operate and manage the Portway Park and Ride and the soon to be opened Walton-le-dale Park and Ride site behind the Capitol Centre. The services will be operated on behalf of Lancashire County Council. Preston Bus will be operating both park and rides with 9 brand new low floor wheelchair and easy access Optare Solo midi buses. These new buses will have special features including air conditioning, double-glazing and internal and external CCTV. The new Park and Ride site at Walton-le-Dale boasts 810 spaces and has many customer benefits including manned all day security and information kiosk, public toilets plus high quality lighting and CCTV coverage. The site is due to open on 1st December. In addition the existing site at Portway will receive a makeover including new waiting facilities, resurfacing and a raised boarding platform. The existing park and ride bus stops at the Fishergate Centre and the Lune Street Terminus will also be enhanced. Lancashire County Council Cabinet Member for Transport County Councillor Nora Ward stated that she was looking forward to building on the success of the Portway Park and Ride with Preston Bus by ensuring that the new Park and Ride at Walton-le-Dale is equally successful. Councillor Ward also said that she hoped that with the improvements to the Portway site and the exciting new site at Walton-le-Dale coupled with the brand new vehicles will encourage people to use the sites rather than travelling into the City in their own cars. Peter Bell Managing Director of Preston Bus said we are delighted that Preston Bus had been awarded the contract to operate and manage both Park and Ride sites and how he looks forward to making them both a success. For more information about the new car park site try www.parkandridewaltonledale.co.uk. More Quality Partnerships Services Being Developed (October 2002) Preston Bus will again be working with the County Council to improve the quality of services in the City with the introduction of 3 more "Quality Partnership" now being developed. The projects involve a considerable amount of work and expenditure by Preston Bus and the County Council. They will therefore take time to develop with the aim being to introduce the improvements to the Gamull Lane service in 2004. This will be followed over the next two to three years by the Farringdon Park service and the Lea routes. By the time these changes are made all Preston Bus big bus routes will be operated as "Quality Partnership" services. All the mini bus services will also benefit from the improvements, giving the bus users in Preston one of the best networks of "Quality Partnership" services to be found in the Country. Back to school (August 2002) Some school services have been revised following requests received from the Schools and from customers. The changes involve buses to Broughton High, Fulwood High and Our Lady's High School. Full details of the revised services are given in the School Services Section. Preston Bus Station to be replaced (August 2002) Preston Council has announced that as part of the city centre redevelopment the Bus Station is to be replaced by a brand new building. Preston Bus welcomes the opportunity this creates to provide the public with better Preston Bus is firmly of the view that the new bus station needs to be in the middle of the city centre with easy safe access for the public. The route that buses take to and from the bus station must provide opportunities for bus stops to be provided at convenient locations. Preston City Council will shortly be inviting comments from the public about the outline plans for the redevelopment of the city centre. They will want to know your views so that every opportunity is taken to build a city centre that will serve Preston for many years to come. With the developer working with Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council and the bus operators the bus user will benefit from the exciting new development. More details will be given at a later date. New Mini Buses for the 19 Royal Preston Hospital Service (February 2002)
The new buses have low floors in order to make it easier to board the vehicle. This will be especially helpful for those who have difficulties with steps or for those with a lot of shopping or young children. With the vehicles being wider than the existing buses, it has been possible to provide more comfortable seats. For added security the buses are fitted with a "digital" CCTV camera system which will record activity on board the bus as well as the area outside of the vehicle.
With the introduction of the new buses it will bring the total vehicle investment made by Preston Bus in the last two years, to just over £3,000,000. The earlier part of the investment involved the 18 new low floor double deckers used on the Tanterton and the Asda services. Peter Bell New Ticket Machines (February 2002) Preston Bus has now introduced new ticket machines to the whole bus fleet. They are the very latest technology available and are manufactured in England by Wayfarer. We are one of the first bus operators to introduce this advanced form of technology. The new machines are part of the ongoing investment required to introduce smart card technology. Once smart cards are introduced, Preston Bus will be able to offer customers a greater choice when it comes to paying for bus travel.
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PASSENGERS on Preston Bus will be able to save money on their shopping in over 50 outlets, bars and cafes across the city in a new scheme designed to boost public transport and retail in Preston.
As customers become accustomed to the benefits the Orbit service provides customer numbers continue to increase. Up to 30,000 customers a week now use the service for a whole range of different reasons. While it has not been designed as a Park & Ride service we now have regular customers who travel from outside of Preston and leave their cars at one of the many alternative points around the route and then travel by bus to such locations as the Hospital where parking can be a nightmare. With the service linking so many different locations people want to travel to the customers have found that using the service can be much quicker than changing buses at the Bus Station but also cheaper. Many positive comments have been received about the Orbit. The new buses which incorporate all the latest technology have been well received.
More Investment in Preston’s Bus Services (January 2007)
Preston Bus has taken delivery of 7 Scania single decker buses for the Gamulll Lane service. They have all the latest features and are the first of a new design of bodywork built by East Lancs Coachbuilders in Blackburn. They feature a low floor for virtually the full length of the bus making it easier for customers to board and move around the bus. For added security the have an advanced CCTV system which via a display inside of the bus shows the customer what is being recorded.
Preston Bus has released the first artists impressions of the vehicles which will be introduced on the Gamull Lane service in July 2006. While the chassis by Scania will be imported the bodywork will be provided by East Lancs Coachbuilders of Blackburn. They will be fitted with CCTV and have all the latest facilities for those who are less able or those with push chairs. The buses will have a modern bright interior being developed in association with East Lancs Coachbuilders. Lancashire County Council will be updating the facilities at the bus stops and providing some new bus shelters as part of the project. 
While the introduction of the Orbit service is still delayed, Preston Bus will start to introduce new buses onto the 27 Larches service from the 16th January. The plan is to incorporate the Larches service into the Orbit route but rather than delay the purchase of the new buses we decided to bring forward some of the investment.
Work has started to erect signs at 76 sites around the city. These will display the expected arrival times of the next 3 Preston Bus departures. This information, as well as details for all of our services, will also be available by using mobile phones and the internet. The real time system is another example of the joint working arrangements between Preston Bus and Lancashire County Council which involves major expenditure to deliver improvements to the quality of the services that we provide.
The new Park & Ride from Walton-le-Dale has proved to be a major success. On the 9th June Bernadine Perry became the 100,000 customer. She was presented with a bottle of bubbly and a month's free travel by the Chairman of Lancashire County Council Councillor Vivi Patel. 
Eight new buses are now in use on the 19 service as part of a package of improvements being made by Preston Bus, Lancashire County Council, Preston Borough Council and the Police. The new buses have replaced the last of the old minibus in the fleet bringing vastly improved standards to the Preston Bus users.
Owing to the buses having a very modern design they will be easily distinguishable from the other buses in the fleet. The buses are manufactured by Optare in Leeds, who received the prestigious "Millennium Products" award from the Design Council for the advanced design of the vehicle. 