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, without their own vehicle, to travel around much of the area's 64 square miles (170km2).
Although Blackpool, the most populous settlement in the Fylde, has an airport, Blackpool Airport, it is no longer used for commercial flights.
As of 2023, 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 twenty 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 operator is Transpora North West, which replaced Nuttall's Coaches in 2007. It runs eleven routes, many of which serve the Fylde's numerous schools. One of its most popular regular services is the 24, which runs between Fleetwood and Blackpool town centre via Thornton and Poulton-le-Fylde.[2]
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. Routes 18, 74 and 75 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).[5][6]
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.[7][8] The 78 serves St Annes and Wesham via Ansdell, Lytham, Warton, Freckleton and Kirkham.[9]
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.[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 ...
An 11-mile (18km) 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.[27] It carried 4.9 million passengers in 2022–23.[28]