Pilkingtons Buses
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| Parent | Pilkington family |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Accrington |
| Service area | Lancashire |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Fleet | 34 (September 2013) |
| Website | www.pilkingtonbus.com |
Pilkingtons Buses[1] is a bus company operating in Accrington, Lancashire.
History
Pilkingtons Buses was established in 1967 as Rays taxis . Ray Pilkington began with an ex Hyndburn mayor ford zodiac after a few years more zodiacs and 3 minibuses ,2 ford transit and an Austin AU were used for a variety or taxi and minibus work a 41 seater Bedford VAL was owned for a short time on a colliery workers contract in Burnley .Around 1978 Ray had problems with his back and struggled to walk without aid of crutches after many tests doctors found no reason was until they operated and found a birth mark had slowly strangled his spinal nerves causing him to be paralised from the waist down . This came as a shock to all who knew him big towering RAY in a wheelchair ! After a short period of disbelief and "why me " Ray father of 7 children at the time aged from 2 to 12 got on with the help 24 hrs a day of his wife mary who single handed assisted Ray brought up 7 children and ran the taxi and Bed and Breakfast business . in 1986 Ray decided to have a bash at bus service this brought tough competition from council owned Hyndburn transport who blocked buses in and made allegations to Traffic Commission and other bodies this was met with more routes being registered but in 1988 the Pilkington family withdrew their buses . years later when the kids had grown up each of them obtaining psv licences and sitting CPC exams it was time to return to bus service it was very successful many schools contracts and 7 day bus services were operated through Rossendale , Clitheroe , Accrington and Blackburn . The Pilkington family carried out maintenance and drove the buses and managed in a very efficient and productive way to the envy of other operators who got together and attacked routes that pilkingtons operated
in 2006 new company was formed from the next generation of Pilkington's family members King Travel and is one of numerous other companies run by Pilkingtons (Accrington) Limited.
2014 Pilkingtons operates 8 local services including hyndburn circular routes and 12 school contracts in a handsome red and cream livery. Dennis darts and Leyland / Volvo Olympians are the main fleet
Services
The company had operated route 20 from Accrington to Blackburn via Oswaldtwistle, in frequent competition with Lancashire United's routes 1, 6 and 7. Thus, services are not as frequent. They also operated route 20D, a direct service between Accrington and Blackburn, this service was withdrawn and now the company concentrate their services in Accrington.
In August 2007, the company started operating route 114 between Preston and Chorley on behalf of Lancashire County Council.[2] This route was previously operated by Blue Bus of Penwortham.
In March 2010, Pilkington's started the number 3 Huncoat circular, then in July introduced 4 more Accrington town services when the company saw a gap in the market.
Fleet
As at September 2013 the fleet consists of 34 buses.[3]
References
- ↑ Companies House extract company no 2346720 Pilkington's (Accrington) Limited
- ↑ "Bus service changes, August 2007" Lancashire.gov.uk Retrieved 1 January 2008
- ↑ Lancashire Independents North West Buses
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