Blackpool Buses - Past Era

The images from today's town centre reflect the present style of Blackpool's public transport. A recent rebranding has transformed the once familiar black and yellow bus fleet to a grey tone with 'palladium' highlight. It was not too long ago that the town's buses carried an entirely different branding 'Metro Coastlines' with individual bus services bedecked in their own distinct colours - giving the Rigby Road Paint Shop team a massively busy time. Three different corporate themes of BTS over two decades made Blackpool an unusual operator as far as the fleet branding was concerned.

All of this contrasted with two preceding colour schemes which endured from 1921 to 1934 and 1935 to 1991. The most enduring being green and cream which typified both buses and trams into a new century from the mid 1930s. A nostalgia for these former times has seen two of the bus fleet gain these former colours in recent years. The heritage tram fleet is almost decked out in green and cream from the 1930s when a new Manager ordained these colours for both buses and trams - replacing conservative red and white livery which emerged in the 1900s.

Just how long the 'Palladium' branding will endure is anybody's guess but given the likelihood of the town's bus operations being overwhelmed by transition to all-electric vehicles - there is a better than evens chance of the fleet livery evolving yet again into a 'green' age. The less said about the current tram fleet's style the better - with a rebooting and brighter transformation overdue replacing the Council ordained black, purple and white colours. Hardly appropriate for a seafront operation in a town overwhelmingly leisure focussed.

The yellow and black styling introduced by Manager, Trevor Roberts who did away with the multi-coloured bus fleet and its 'Metro Coastlines' branding brought in by his predecessor, Steve Burd from 2001.