Customer-friendly specification for The Blackburn Bus Company’s new buses includes several features never seen before in the North West.
Following a £2.5million investment by parent company Transdev, 13 new ADL E200MMC buses are now in service with The Blackburn Bus Company on its The 1 linking Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton.
The features built into the new buses include several never seen before on any North West route, including a mobile device dock on seat backs housing fingertip controls including an individual stop button, reading light, USB power socket and wireless charging pad – plus a handy coat hook.
The 40 seat buses were built by Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) at its Scarborough factory. ADL engineers worked closely with Transdev on a unique specification, inspired by customer research.
Renowned design agency Best Impressions devised a distinctive and eye-catching livery for the new buses with a proudly Lancashire theme, featuring key route landmarks including Blackburn Cathedral, Darwen Tower and Bolton Town Hall alongside Transdev’s own ‘postmark’ style logo, reinforcing pride in its Lancashire roots dating back over 90 years to 1929.
Inside, a vibrant yet relaxing design features soft blue neon concealed lighting, LED spot lighting to reduce glare and improve night-time visibility for customers and drivers, and high back seating. An overhead information screen delivers live arrival times and connections with other routes.
The Blackburn Bus Company launched its new buses onto its route 1 on Sunday (19 January 2020), after Saturday shoppers enjoyed a VIP preview in front of Blackburn Market – while The Very Reverend Peter Howell-Jones, Dean of Blackburn Cathedral, joined media and invited guests including ADL Chief Executive, Colin Robertson CBE, and Best Impressions’ design director Ray Stenning, to formally welcome to welcome four of the new buses in front of the historic Cathedral.
Two winners of a competition to find proud Lancashire voices for audible on-board announcements, Kara Rhodes-Gilrane from Darwen and Ian Slack from Bolton, also joined the launch.
Transdev CEO Alex Hornby said: “We’ve been able to incorporate so many amazing features into these wonderful buses thanks to valued feedback from our customers, and in partnership with the team at ADL, who from the outset shared our vision to create something unique and special.
“ADL’s flexibility and ability to deliver a high quality, high specification product for us has been outstanding, and the customer reaction to these new buses has already been extremely positive.
“Nearly 7,000 customers every weekday travel on The 1 – their feedback has influenced every aspect of these buses that we believe people really want to be seen on. From the moment customers hear a Lancashire voice welcoming them aboard, they know this is like no bus they’ve ever been on.”
Key features of the new buses include:
· Custom built seats – each with mobile phone holders, USB and wireless charging
· Double glazed windows and a skylight roof – no more misted up mornings
· Digital destination displays with countdown timer – showing when your journey will begin
· Colour next stop screen with live information on connecting buses
· Audio announcements with a Lancashire twist – specially recorded by proud local voices
· Comfortable seats each with mobile device holders, USB and wireless charging pads
· Bigger bins including a dedicated recycling bin on each bus
· Superfast, free and reliable 4G Wi-Fi to stay connected throughout the journey
· Live tracking of every bus on the free Transdev Go app, linked to sensors on each bus
· Low emission engines with a Euro VI rating to deliver cleaner air for Lancashire
The 13 new 40-seat buses are now in service on The Blackburn Bus Company’s ‘The 1’ route, offering customers a versatile range of payment options linked to the Ticketer electronic systems already rolled out across the company’s services. Customers can pay using contactless cards, smart phones and even smart watches as well as cash, and using e-ticketing via the Transdev Go app.
More information on The 1 and all buses operated by Transdev across the North of England is available online at: https://www.transdevbus.co.uk and on the Transdev Go mobile app, available for free download for Apple and Android mobile devices.