Buses in Lancashire

The boundaries of the current county of Lancashire were established in 1974 when the Furness district was lost to the newly formed Cumbria. Meanwhile Merseyside and Greater Manchester gobbled up much of the southern portion of the original county. However, some parts of the former West Riding of Yorkshire were gained. The major bus operator was, for many years, Ribble Motor Services. After sale it became part of the Stagecoach Group, though the East Lancashire operations were sold on to Blazefield, which later went to Transdev. Back in the 1970s many municipalities in Lancashire operated their own buses and these provided a great variety of vehicles and liveries. Most of the council-owned companies were eventually sold off leaving Blackpool. Until the 1986 deregulation of the bus industry, there were very few independents running stage services in the county. This company ceased trading in 2015, but others have entered the market, such as Pilkington's in the Accrington area.