Warrington Borough Transport
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 |
|
| Warrington Borough Transport | |
| Founded | As Warrington Corporation Tramways in 1902, became Warrington Corporation Transport Department in 1935, Warrington Borough Council Transport Department in 1972, Warrington Borough Transport Ltd in 1986 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Warrington |
| Locale | Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside |
| Service Area |  United Kingdom |
| Service Type | Urban and interurban bus services, school bus, bus charter |
| Destinations | Warrington Borough, Altrincham, Earlestown, Leigh, Northwich |
| Fleet | 130 buses |
| Operator | Warrington Borough Transport Ltd |
| Chief Executive | Nigel Featham |
| Website | Official Website |
Warrington Borough Transport (WBT) is an independent bus operator running a network of services within the Borough of Warrington and into the surrounding area, including Altrincham, Leigh, Earlestown and Northwich. The network of services is marketed under the network warrington name, with both names appearing on vehicles and publicity. The limited company "Warrington Borough Transport Ltd" is wholly owned by Warrington Borough Council, which makes WBT one of the few remaining municipal bus companies in the UK today.
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[edit] History
Warrington Corporation started operating a network of five radial tramways from the town centre in 1902, with the first motor bus service starting in 1913. Buses replaced trams on routes starting in 1931, with the infrastructure starting to require major renewal which could not be justified economically. The last tram operated in 1935.
Services expanded rapidly after the Second World War as new housing estates grew in areas such as Orford and Great Sankey. The conversion of bus routes with conductors into one-man operated services began in 1965 as changes in society such as home entertainment and the increasing availability of cars forced cost savings on all bus operators in the country.
Warrington was designated as a new town in 1968, which led to new housing estates planned in the Birchwood and Westbrook areas of town. As such, Warrington Borough Council Transport Department (as the transport department was then called) started operating new services to these new developments as they started to grow in the 1970s and beyond. The department also began operating new services jointly with Crosville upon the split of the old Stockport-based North Western Road Car Company in 1972.
Following the deregulation of bus services in the UK, Warrington Borough Transport Ltd took over operations as a limited company, albeit owned 100% by the council. The company's mission was that if money could be made by operating services deemed uneconomic by other operators, then WBT should assume operation. This policy led to an increase in services operated as other bus companies who ran into the area decided to concentrate on their own core areas.
Competition from other operators flared up in 1995, with the new North Western company (operating as "Warrington Goldlines") duplicating the vast majority of the existing bus network with their own services, taking over from another new competitor MTL (operating as "Lancashire Travel") when they decided to stop competing after a few months. In retaliation, WBT began operating new services in competition with North Western, to places such as Wigan, St Helens, Widnes, Runcorn, Chester and Liverpool - even starting a local minibus service in Northwich.
After 18 months of intense competition, both companies decided to scale-back. WBT kept routes to Prescot and St Helens, whilst giving up operations to the Birchwood area of town in favour of North Western, who later rebranded as Arriva. In 2002, Arriva decided to close its depot in Warrington, with the effect that WBT took back operation of services to Birchwood whilst Arriva took control of the St Helens route once again.
Large investments have been made in more recent times to replace the fleet with new low-floor single deck buses that are wheelchair accessible and more friendly to people with pushchairs, and marketing efforts have seen the introduction of the Metro Map, to highlight the relatively straight-forward nature of the network operated (in an Underground-style format). The company gained Investors in People accreditation in 2004, and attained the Charter Mark award for customer service in 2005.
[edit] Fleet
WBT has a fleet of 138 buses made up of 102 single deck buses (65 with low floor, 25 conventional midibuses and 12 minibuses) and 36 double deck buses. The single deck fleet provides the bulk of the company's scheduled bus network, with the majority of the double deck fleet mainly operating on school and contract services. One of the double deck vehicles is a heritage bus which is used on special occasions.
An additional twelve low floor single deck buses are on order for March 2007, which are believed to be a repeat order for VDL SB120s with Wrightbus Merit bodywork. The company attempts to operate an all low-floor service on Sundays and Evenings.
[edit] Bus types in use
| Chassis | Bodywork | Image | Number | Fleetnumbers | Seating Capacity | Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single deck | |||||||
| Dennis Dart SLF | Marshall Capital | 29 | 1-29 | 40-41 | 1999-2002 |  |
|
| Dennis Dart SLF | MCV Capital | 5 | 30-34 | 40 | 2003 | |
|
| VDL SB120 | Wrightbus Merit | 31 | 35-65 | 39 | 2003-2006 | |
|
| VDL SB120 | Wrightbus Cadet | 12 | 66-77 | 39 | 2007 | |
|
| Optare MetroRider | Optare MetroRider | 12 | 112-23 | 25 | 1998-1999 | ||
| Dennis Dart | Carlyle | 2 | 212, 214 | 32-35 | 1991 | (212 withdrawn, 214 stored) | |
| Dennis Dart | Northern Counties Paladin | 6 | 228-230, 232-234 | 35 | 1993-1994 | (228 and 233 stored) | |
| Dennis Dart | Plaxton Pointer | 6 | 236-238, 244-246 | 35-40 | 1994-1995 | 244-245 formerly Plaxton demonstrators, arrived 1995 | |
| Dennis Dart | Marshall | 7 | 239-243, 247-248 | 35-39 | 1995 | (242 withdrawn) | |
| Total (single deck) | 110 | ||||||
| Double deck | |||||||
| Leyland PD2/40 (Special) | East Lancs | 1 | 148 | 34 (upper) 30 (lower) 64 (total) |
1965 | Heritage Vehicle (not in normal service) | |
| Dennis Dominator | East Lancs | 15 | 150-153, 181-182, 191-199 | 46-51 (upper) 31-37 (lower) 79-88 (total) |
1986-1989 | 150-153 formerly Leicester CityBus, arrived 1989 | |
| Leyland Olympian | Alexander (Belfast) | 4 | 159-162 | 47 (upper) 33 (lower) 80 (total) |
1991 | Formerly Dublin Bus, arrived 2004 | |
| Leyland Olympian | Northern Counties Palatine | 6 | 163-164, 167-170 | 47 (upper) 30 (lower) 77 (total) |
1990 | 163-164, 167 and 169 formerly Harrogate & District, arrived 2003-2004 168 and 170 formerly Keighley & District, arrived 2004 |
|
| Leyland Olympian | Alexander | 2 | 165-166 | 47 (upper) 32 (lower) 79 (total) |
1992 | Formerly Huntingdon & District, arrived 2003 | |
| Leyland Olympian | ECW | 8 | 171-178 | 45 (upper) 32 (lower) 77 (total) |
1983-1984 | Formerly Arriva North West, arrived 2000 (171-172, 175-176 and 178 stored) |
|
| Total (double deck) | 36 | ||||||
| Total (all vehicles) | 146 | ||||||
[edit] Routes
[edit] Main services
- The table below shows the main service routes operated by WBT, correct as of 8 January 2007, along with a rough frequency guide.
- Please note that colours shown in the table are derived from the new Network Map but do not appear on the vehicles themselves.
- Always check the timetable before travelling - the details below are only intended as a summary of operations.
- Timetables on the official website
- Network Map on the official website (PDF format)
| Service | Route | Monday to Saturday Daytime | Monday to Saturday Evenings * | Sunday and Public Holidays ** | Start-Terminus Time (off-peak) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, 2 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Latchford - Westy- Manchester Road (Circular) | 8 per hour | 30 mins | 60 mins (Daytime) 30 mins (Evenings) |
28 minutes | |
| 3 | Warrington Interchange - Manchester Road - Woolston - Martinscroft | 15 mins | 30 mins | 30 mins | 18 minutes | |
| 4, 4A | Warrington Interchange - Padgate - Bruche - Woolston | 4 per hour | - | - | 18 minutes per service 4 22 minutes per service 4A |
|
| 5 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Stockton Heath - Grappenhall - Thelwall - Lymm - Warburton - Altrincham | 30 mins | - | - | 50 minutes | |
| 5, 37A, 38 | Warrington - Lymm - Altrincham (Summary) | 30 mins | - | 60 mins | N/a | |
| 5, 6, 6A, 37A, 38 | Warrington - Lymm (Summary) | 4 per hour | - | 60 mins | N/a | |
| 6, 6A, 7, 7A | Warrington - Wilderspool - Stockton Heath - Cobbs Estate (6/7) - Grappenhall | 15 mins | 60 mins (service 7) |
60 mins (service 7) |
19 minutes per service 7/7A | |
| 6, 6A | Warrington Interchange- Wilderspool - Stockton Heath - Cobbs Estate (6) - Grappenhall - Thelwall - Statham - Lymm | 30 mins Early and Late Services Terminate in Statham |
- | - | 30 minutes | |
| 8, 9 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Stockton Heath - Cobbs Estate (8) - Appleton Thorn - Stretton - Hatton | 60 mins | 120 mins (Fri & Sat only) |
- | 26 minutes per route 8 20 minutes per route 9 |
|
| 11, 11A, 12, 12A | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Latchford (11A/12A) - Loushers Ln - Gainsborough Rd(circular) | 30 mins | 60 mins (service 12, until 2235) |
- | 11 minutes per services 11/12 13 minutes per variants |
|
| 13, 14, 15 | Warrington - Hood Manor (Summary) | 10 mins | 60 mins (Mon to Thurs) 30 mins (Fri & Sat only) |
60 mins | N/a | |
| 13 | Warrington Interchange - Whittle Brook - Whittle Hall - Westbrook - Kingswood (circular) | 30 mins | - | - | 18 minutes | |
| 14, 15 | Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Whittle Brook - Sankey - Lingley Green (circular) | 15 mins | 60 mins (Mon to Thurs) 30 mins (Fri & Sat only) |
60 mins (service 15, with 1805 and 2305 as service 14) |
15 minutes per service 14 20 minutes per service 15 |
|
| 16, 16A | Warrington Interchange - Bewsey - General Hospital - Dallam | 10 per hour (Mon to Fri) 10 mins (Sat only) |
30 mins (service 16 only) |
60 mins (service 16 only) |
12 minutes | |
| 16, 16A, 20A, 21A | Warrington - Dallam (Summary) | 6 mins (Mon to Fri) 10 mins (Sat only) |
30 mins | 30 mins | N/a | |
| 18 | Warrington Interchange - Old Hall - Westbrook - Callands (circular) | 20 minutes | Early evenings are "A" routes (see below) 21:25 (Fri and Sat) 21:55 22:25 and 23:15 |
Hourly | 19 minutes | |
| 18A | Warrington Interchange - Old Hall - Westbrook - IKEA - Callands | 20 mins | Hourly (Mon-Thu) Half-Hourly (Fri and Sat) until 20:55 |
- | 19 minutes | |
| 19 | Warrington Interchange - Winwick Road - Winwick - Croft - Culcheth - Glazebury - Leigh | 30 mins | 60 mins | 60 mins | 44 minutes | |
| 19, 28, 28A | Warrington - Culcheth - Leigh (Summary) | 15 mins (19 and 28) | 30 mins (19 and 28A) | 30 mins (19 and 28A) | n/a | |
| 20, 20A, 21, 21A | Warrington Interchange - Hulme Estate - Orford - Longford - General Hospital (20A/21A) (Circular) | 5 mins | 15 mins | 15 mins | 13 minutes per service 20/20A 14 minutes per service 21/21A |
|
| 23, 23A | Warrington Interchange - Padgate - Hilden Island - Fearnhead - Cinnamon Brow - Orford (23A) (circular) | 15 mins | $ | $ | 22 minutes per service 23 24 minutes per service 23A |
|
| 24, 24A | Warrington Interchange - Padgate - Hilden Island - Fearnhead - Birchwood Way - Birchwood Park (24A) - Birchwood (24) - Oakwood | 30 mins | - | - | 33 minutes per service 24 38 minutes per service 24A |
|
| 25, 26, 27 | Warrington Interchange - Orford - Greenwood Estate(25,26) - Cinnamon Brow (25) or Blackbrook (26) or Fearnhead (27) - Locking Stumps - Birchwood - Oakwood - Gorse Covert | 15 mins (service 25) |
60 mins (service 26/27) |
60 mins (service 26/27) |
44 minutes per service 25 41 minutes per service 26 44 minutes per service 27 |
|
| 25A | Warrington Interchange - Orford - Greenwood Estate - Cinnamon Brow | 2 return journeys (early AM variant, Mon-Fri only) | - | - | 18 mins | |
| 25B | Warrington Interchange - Battersby Lane - Ryfields Retirement Village | 1 return journey (Mon to Fri only) |
- | - | 10 minutes | |
| 28, 28A | Warrington Interchange- Padgate - Bruche - Birchwood (28) - Locking Stumps - Risley (for HMP) - Culcheth - Leigh | 30 mins (service 28) (1744 to Culcheth, Library only arr. 1821) |
60 mins (service 28A) |
60 mins (service 28A) |
53 minutes per service 28 43 minutes per service 28A |
|
| 29 | Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Penketh Lane Ends - Great Sankey - Sankey Station - Lingley Green | 15 mins | - | - | 12 minutes | |
| Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Penketh Lane Ends - Great Sankey - Sankey Station - Lingley Green - Whittle Hall - Westbrook | 2 per hour | - | - | 20 minutes | ||
| Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Penketh Lane Ends - Great Sankey - Sankey Station - Lingley Green - Whittle Hall - Westbrook - Gemini (for M&S and IKEA) - Kingswood - Burtonwood - Collins Green | 60 mins | - | - | 35 minutes | ||
| 30 | Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Penketh Lane Ends - Penketh(Circular) | 30 mins | 60 mins | 120 mins (Daytime) 60 mins (Evenings) |
15 minutes | |
| 31 | Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Penketh Lane Ends - Penketh (Circular) | 15 mins | - | - | 30 minutes | |
| 32 | Warrington Interchange - Sankey Bridges - Penketh Lane Ends - Penketh (Circular) | 30 mins | 60 mins | - | 30 minutes | |
| 37A, 38 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Latchford - Thelwall - Statham - Lymm - Broomedge (37A) or Dunham Town (38) - Altrincham | - | - | 60 mins | 36 minutes per service 37A 39 minutes per service 38 |
|
| 45, 46 | Warrington - Northwich (Summary) | 60 mins | - | - | N/a | |
| 45 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Stockton Heath - Stretton - Antrobus - Lostock Gralam - Northwich | 120 mins | - | - | 45 minutes | |
| 46 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Stockton Heath - Stretton - Comberbach - Anderton - Barnton - Northwich | 120 mins | - | - | 49 minutes | |
| 48 | Warrington Interchange - Wilderspool - Latchford - Stockton Heath - Dudlows Green | 60 mins | - | - | 26 minutes | |
| 101 (Centrelink) |
Warrington Interchange - Bank Quay station - Centre Park - Academy Way (for Market/Town Centre) - Central Station - Halliwell Jones stadium (for East Warrington Primary Care Centre) (circular) | 20 mins (Mon to Fri only) |
- | - | 10 minutes | |
| 420 | Warrington Interchange - Warrington - Winwick Road - Winwick - Newton -Earlestown | 60 mins | 60 mins (2310 alighting only after Newton Station) |
60 mins (2310 alighting only after Newton Station) |
29 minutes | |
| Warrington Interchange - Winwick Road - Winwick - Newton - Earlestown - Vulcan | 60 mins | - | - | 37 minutes | |
[edit] Key
- * "Evening frequency" generally refers to regular services after 1800hrs.
- ** A normal service runs on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve until around 2000hrs. No services operate on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day. Some services are subject to change between Christmas and New Year.
- $ 120 mins service along Enfield Park Road North provided by service 26, 120 mins service along Hilden Road provided by service 27.
- All servces on this route are normally operated by low floor buses, allowing access for wheelchairs.
- Additionally, all operations (except where there is a vehicle shortage) in the evening and on Sundays are operated by "low floor buses".
[edit] Night services
Although there are currently no year round night bus services operated, WBT has operated a series of night bus services over the Christmas and New Year period in 2004 and 2005. Four routes were operated, serving: Penketh & Sankey; Orford, Longford, Dallam and Bewsey; Woolston, Westy and Latchford; Stockton Heath, Cobbs Estate and Grappenhall, with support from Warrington Borough Council, town centre licensees and Cheshire Police. A 2005 bid for the DfT's Kickstart funding to operate these services on weekends throughout the year was unsuccessful, but attempts continue to find a way to achieve this goal [1]. 165 passengers a night used the service in 2004, with 253 passengers a night in 2005 [2].
The service also operated on the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2006, in connection with the Creamfields festival located in nearby Daresbury. An additional shuttle service ran between the festival site and the town centre.
[edit] Festive Services 2006
For the Christmas and New Year period in 2006, additional services are set to be introduced. These include a night service to Birchwood and a shuttle service from the cluster of popular pubs and bars in Stockton Heath to the night clubs in the town centre. The service has been criticised by taxi drivers in the town due to the effect on their trade and potential health and safety concerns. They also question whether public funding is being used inappropriately, however the rising number of passengers year on year suggests that the general public see the service as being a useful additional option for getting home safely after a night out [3].
In the 2006 festive season, the following services ran:
| Number | Route | Daytime Equivalent(s) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Warrington - Penketh - Great Sankey | 14, 15, 30-33 |
| B | Warrington - Orford - Longford - Dallam - Bewsey | 16, 20, 21 |
| C | Warrington - Woolston - Westy - Latchford | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| D | Warrington - Stockton Heath - Cobbs Estate - Grappenhall | 5-9, 48 |
| E | Warrington - Padgate - Cinnamon Brow - Locking Stumps - Birchwood - Oakwood | 23, 24-27, 386 |
| F | Stockton Heath - Warrington | 5-9 |
[edit] Park & ride services
There are no dedicated year round park and ride services operated by WBT. However, as a condition of planning consent for the B&Q superstore next to the M62 at Winwick, a section of the car park is designated as "Park & Ride" albeit using the existing services and fares provided by WBT (19 and 420) and Arriva (329 and 360). There are up to seven buses an hour during Monday to Saturday daytimes provided by the two operators, however the success of this scheme is questionable due to the lack of: a dedicated express bus service to the town centre; tickets which are interchangeable between the two operators; and any kind of publicity for the facility.
During the run-up to the Christmas period in 2005, a weekend Park & Ride scheme was operated by WBT from the Northwest Development Agency offices at Centre Park business park to the town centre. Buses ran every 7/8 minutes on Saturdays and every ten minutes on Sundays, with 2,767 passengers using the service over the period [5]. The scheme is set to operate on Saturdays only in the run-up to Christmas 2006 as well [6].
[edit] Contract services
WBT also operate a number of works and contract services, including a shuttle service to Birchwood Park business park to/from Birchwood railway station, and work services to United Utilities' offices in Lingley Green and the O2 call-centre at Preston Brook.
| Service | Route |
|---|---|
| 96 | Warrington - Sankey - Lingley Mere - Gemini |
| 97 (BPX) | Warrington Bank Quay - Warrington Central - Padgate - Longbarn - Birchwood Park - Heathfield House |
| 98 (BPS) | Birchwood Station - Birchwood - Oakwood - Birchwood Park - Heathfield House |
| 99 (O2) | Warrington - Wilderspool Causeway - Chester Road - Preston Brook |
[edit] School services
WBT also operate a number of schools services, including services to Lymm High School, Culcheth High School, Newman High School, St Aelred's High School and Priestley Sixth Form College. Colours shown refer to the school's colours. They don't appear anywhere on the buses.
| Service | Route |
|---|---|
| 3S | Martinscroft - Manchester Road - Warrington Interchange - St. Gregory's High School |
| 14B | Sankey High School - Hood Manor - Old Hall (AM only) |
| 39 | Lymm High School - Thelwall - Grappenhall |
| 40 | Lymm High School - Thelwall - Grappenhall - Stockton Heath - Stretton |
| 41 | Lymm High School - Thelwall - Grappenhall - Stockton Heath - Walton |
| 42 | Lymm High School - Thelwall - Grappenhall Heys |
| 42A | Lymm High School - Thelwall - Grappenhall - Warrington |
| 95 | Gorse Covert - Birchwood - Locking Stumps - Longbarn - Padgate - Latchford - Priestley College (AM only) |
| 253 | St. Gregory's High School - Sankey - Lingley Green - Penketh |
| 267 | Sankey High School - Sankey - St. Gregory's High School (PM only) |
| 281 | Culcheth High School- Culcheth - Croft - Kenyon - Lowton - Hermitage Green |
| 283 | Newman High School - Latchford - Padgate - Padgate Campus - Locking Stumps - Oakwood - Gorse Covert |
| 284 | Newman High School - Latchford - Bruche - Manchester Road - Woolston - Padgate - Longbarn |
| 285 | Newman High School - Padgate - Longford - Winwick Road (limited service) - Dallam(limited service) |
| 286 | Newman High School - Padgate - Longford - Winwick Road - Dallam |
| 293 | St. Aelred's High School - Newton - Winwick - Winwick Road - Greenwood Estate - Cinnamon Brow - Padgate - Woolston - Bruche - Fairfields |
| 295 | St. Aelred's High School - Newton - Winwick - Croft - Culcheth - Risley - Locking Stumps - Oakwood - Gorse Covert |
| 978 | St. Aelred's High School - Newton - Lowton - Golborne - Edge Green (PM only) |
| 979 | St. Aelred's High School - Newton - Golborn - Lowton - Leigh (PM only) |
[edit] Tickets
WBT offers single journey tickets, day returns, day rovers (valid for all WBT services on the day of sale), weekly, monthly and annual tickets (with a choice of town-only and all-network tickets), and thoroughfares to Warrington Hospital.
[edit] Branding
WBT has used a number of different brands and liveries in its history, as follows:
- Warrington Corporation Tramways
-
- The original livery adopted on trams and early motorbuses was a deep crimson and light yellow, with ornate gold lettering and lining.
- Warrington Corporation
-
- In 1945 a new livery was introduced of maroon with ivory bands, three bands on double deckers and one on single deck vehicles.
- Warrington Borough Council
-
- Following the local government reorganisation of 1974, vehicles started appearing in a mainly light red livery with a large white band around the windows. The new logo of Warrington Borough Council was applied, consisting of a large stylised "W" encompassing the Cheshire sheaf of wheat and the Lancashire rose. This would be replaced with the borough's revised coat of arms in the early 1980s.
- Advertising liveries
-
- The first all-over advertising bus appeared in 1977 when a Daimler Fleetline was painted in a mainly white livery with graphics advertising Baldwins, the local Leyland car dealership. Other all-over advertisements have appeared for Vladivar Vodka and Warrington Wolves amongst others.
- Warrington Borough Transport
-
- Upon the establishment of the arms-length company WBT Ltd in 1986, a new logo appeared incorporating the borough coat of arms. The primary colours of red and white remained generally the same until the white was replaced with ivory in the late 1990s, although vehicles started to appear with a "Welcome aboard" legend in the front windscreen and forward near-side window.
- CoachLines of Warrington
-
- Set up as a subsidiary company in 1987 offering coach hire and a programme of tours and excursions, the coach fleet built up to 14 vehicles before being downsized around 1995. The subsidiary ceased trading a few years later. The livery used was Aircraft Blue and Canary Yellow diagonal stripes on a Naples Blue livery.
- MiniLines
-
- Mini bus services to Penketh and Dudlows Green were started in 1987 and used a primrose and blue livery, the colours used by the local rugby league club. The MiniLines fleet was repainted into the standard red and white livery around 1995.
- Mid-Cheshire Bus Lines
-
- Four vehicles bought in 1988 to operate newly acquired services to Northwich retained the blue and cream livery of their previous owner, Eastbourne Buses. A new service to Warburton, started around 1990, saw the arrival of four extra vehicles from Preston Bus wearing a similar blue and cream livery. The fleetname would be phased out of use by 1995, with the vehicles receiving standard WBT red and white livery.
- MidiLines
-
- New deliveries of Dennis Darts up until 1995 received the CoachLines livery but with MidiLines fleetnames. New deliveries and repaints from 1995 onwards retained the MidiLines branding as secondary to the main WBT logo on the standard red and white/ivory livery.
- Route branding
-
- This has been attempted on some high-profile services since 1995, albeit mainly taking the form of white lettering on the front windscreen and forward-most side windows. Such route branding includes Chester CitySprint (30X Warrington - Chester), Runcorn CitySprint (X1 Runcorn - Liverpool), The Runcorn Link (T11 Warrington - Murdishaw), The Northwich Link (45A/46A Warrington - Northwich Sunday services) and The Trafford Link (5 Warrington - Trafford Centre). In 1999, new low floor buses were delivered with extra yellow and blue logos for the 20•21 circular services, and in 2001 two buses featured purple and blue branding for the 16•16A service. Both of these brands have been lost in recent years as a common pool of low-floor buses has been established.
- Super Mini and Super Midi
-
- The fleet renewal started in 1998 saw new mini and (low-floor) midi buses appearing with this branding instead of the ones previously used (i.e. MiniLines and MidiLines).
- Centrelink
-
- A special purple and yellow livery and brand is used on the single minibus that operates the circular town centre shuttle service. Publicity and timetable leaflets are designed by Best Impressions.
- network warrington
-
- To co-incide with the 2006 opening of the new bus interchange in Warrington town centre, the fleet has started to appear in a new red livery with cream and orange circular detailing, designed by Samantha Beeley. The fleetname "network warrington" is used, with "warrington borough transport" appearing underneath in small letters.
[edit] References
- 75 Years of Municipal Transport in Warrington 1902-1977, Warrington Transport Department.
- Hesketh, Peter (1998) "After the War is Over". Buses 50 (523). ISSN 00076392
- Hesketh, Peter (2005) "A Model of a Modern Municipal". Buses 57 (601). ISSN 00076392
- Hesketh, Peter (2006) "A Merseyside [sic] Makeover". Buses 57 (616). ISSN 00076392
- Morris, Stephen (2004) "Warrington - Heading for a Golden Future". Buses Focus 32. ISSN 13553011
- Phillips, Ron. (2002) Warrington Borough Transport, 1902-2002: 100 Years of Service to the Community, DTS Publishing. ISBN 1-900515-50-4
- Robinson, John P. (1987) Warrington Trams & Buses: A History of Municipal Transport in Warrington, Cheshire Libraries & Museums. ISBN 0-904532-24-0
- Robinson, John P. (1990) "Warrington Borough Transport Since Deregulation". Buses Extra 66. ISSN 01419927
- http://www.warringtonboroughtransport.co.uk/new/fleet.htm (for fleet list)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Warrington Borough Transport official website
- Traffic and transport section on Warrington Borough Council website
- Yahoo Group mailing list for news, pictures and information on bus operations in Warrington area
- Warrington buses preserved in Europe
