Blackpool set to get super single decker buses

Blackpool Transport managing director Jane Cole, with Sally Shaw director of people and stakeholders and James Carney finance and commercial director with one of the new single-decker Palladium buses bound for Blackpool

The 35-seater Palladium buses, which have free Wi-Fi, USB charging points and disabled access, are part of Blackpool Transport’s drive to replace its entire fleet by 2019.

Managing director Jane Cole said the first of the more environmentally friendly vehicles would run on the Cleveleys to Mereside on routes three and four.

She said: “They will be great for that route because lots of people use it to travel into town. The Enviro200s from Alexander Dennis in Scarborough are excellent, the engine technology means they put out cleaner air than they take in and they are totally accessible.

Inside one of the new single decker buses

“We have got as much capacity at the front of the bus for people with mobility difficulties, with 17 seats in the first part and one step up for the rest of the bus.”

She said the buses will undergo testing in Leyland before a period of running-in in Blackpool ahead of going into service at the end of June.

She added that more of the new generation of buses were set to become available for Blackpool travellers when the rail replacement service is due to end on May 20.

That will free up 20 of the Palladium double-deckers. However, Blackpool Transport will continue to provide rail replacement buses between Wigan and Manchester at weekends to August.

She added; “They have been a success and we have some good feedback. Because they are accessible, they are the type of replacements the train companies look for.”