Blackpool Transport introduced data-driven service changes on 7 January in work that it says provides additional options – including new direct links – and improved frequencies, while delivering what supplier CitySwift adds will be a projected £160,000 cost saving.
The operator’s Head of Marketing and Commercial Daniel Atkinson explains that the overhaul is part of collaboration with Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council “to improve the public transport offering across the Fylde Coast and make it easier for customers to navigate their journeys.”
The revised network utilises “almost the same resource and vehicle numbers as previously,” but both have been redistributed “across the network to support frequency, punctuality and reliability.” Overall mileage operated is the same as in January 2023, and the municipal continues to look at further improvements later this year, Mr Atkinson adds.
All of the changes fall within the £2 bus fare cap. They include a 15-minute frequency between Blackpool town centre and the Blackpool Victoria Hospital on the 5 group of services; a bus on the 11 group up to every 12 minutes between Blackpool, Lytham, and St Annes; and eight buses per hour between Blackpool and Cleveleys on the 3 and 7 groups.
Speaking about the service changes, Blackpool Transport Finance and Commercial Director James Clough adds that in a typical week the operator carries 300,000 passengers and that the revised network has been created “to create more options for those customers to reach their destinations and make it easier to navigate our routes.”
CitySwift first engaged with Blackpool Transport during 2023, and the supplier notes that the operator now captures 38% more data since that work began. The partnership first led to a reliability increase via schedule revisions made in September of that year.
For the January service amendments, CitySwift adds that without the volume of data provided by its platform, such changes could not have been deployed so comprehensively, quickly, or accurately. Mr Clough adds that they are expected to give a 5x return on investment.
Printed timetables and leaflets were created to promote the changes, with Blackpool Transport’s Street Team having been active in handing out such material and engaging with customers during rollout.
