Public transport in the Fylde

Public transport in the Fylde is available for three modes of transport—bus, rail and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to the Fylde, a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England, to travel around much of the area's.
As of 2025, seven operators provide bus and coach services in the Fylde, the largest being Blackpool Transport, which also operates the Blackpool tram network. With Blackpool being the main public transport hub, most of Blackpool Transport's eighteen bus routes have stops in the town. Services with the most frequency include three of "the 5s", which serve Blackpool Victoria Hospital every fifteen minutes; the 5C, meanwhile, travels to Knott End-on-Sea, via Poulton-le-Fylde, every forty minutes. Coastal routes include the 1, 7 and 11. The 7 and 11 run every ten minutes or so, while the longer route number 1 is every hour. The 853 serves Myerscough College.
The next-most-popular operators are Archway Travel, which runs fourteen routes, and Transpora North West, which replaced Nuttall's Coaches in 2007. Some of their routes serve the Fylde's numerous schools. One of Transpora's most popular regular services is the 24, which runs between Fleetwood and Blackpool town centre via Thornton and Poulton-le-Fylde.
The Fylde is home to eleven railway stations, each of which is on one of the two Blackpool branch lines. The two train operators are Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains.
Although Blackpool, the most populous settlement in the Fylde, has an airport, Blackpool Airport, it is no longer used for commercial flights.
In 2024, Lancashire County Council unveiled an "Any Bus" smart card scheme, enabling travellers to transfer between buses—regardless of the company operating them—and Blackpool trams. Initials plans were to roll out the initiative in phases, with the aim of cover the whole of the Lancashire by 2029, but the Fylde coast will be the first area to benefit from the full scheme. No date has yet been announced for its introduction.

Bus

Distribution

Seven bus operators serve the Fylde: Archway Travel, Blackpool Transport, Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire, Preston Bus, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire, Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire and Transpora North West.
24 bus routes either begin, end or pass through Blackpool: Blackpool Transport's routes 1, 2, 3, 3A, 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 6, 7, 7A, 11, 11A, 11B, 12, 14 and 18; Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire route 42; Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire routes 61 and 68; Archway Travel's route 76; Transpora North West's routes 21 and 24; and National Express.
Cleveleys is served by ten routes: Blackpool Transport's 1, 2, 3, 3A, 7 and 7A; Transpora's route 21 and 24; and Archway Travel's route 74 and 75.
Poulton-le-Fylde is served by six routes: Blackpool Transport's route 5 and 5C; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74, 75 and 76.
Lytham and/or St Anne's-on-the-Sea is also served by six routes: Blackpool Transport's 11, 11A and 11B; Archway Travel's 76 and 78; and Transpora's route 21.
Fleetwood is served by five routes: Blackpool Transport's 1 and 14; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74 and 75.
Thornton is also served by five routes: Blackpool Transport's 5C and 14; Transpora's route 24; and Archway Travel's routes 74 and 75.
Kirkham is served by four routes: Archway Travel's routes 74, 75, 76 and 78.

Blackpool Transport

Established in 1885 and owned by Blackpool Council, Blackpool Transport serves Lytham, St Annes-on-the-Sea, Blackpool, Bispham, Thornton, Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Poulton-le-Fylde and Knott-End-on-Sea. Its main bus interchange is the Blackpool Bus Hub, on Market Street and Corporation Street in Blackpool town centre, which replaced Blackpool bus station.
There are eighteen routes in operation:

Route	Frequency	Origin and destination
1	60 mins	Fleetwood to Blackpool's North Pier
2	60 mins	Cala Gran Holiday Park to Blackpool Zoo via Cleveleys, Norbreck Hotel, Promenade and Piers
3	15 mins	Mereside Tesco to Cleveleys Crescent via Blackpool
3A	15 mins	Mereside Tesco to Cleveleys Park via Blackpool
5	40 mins	Blackpool Victoria Hospital to Poulton-le-Fylde via Halfway House
5A	40 mins	Blackpool to Staining via Layton and Blackpool Victoria Hospital
5B	40 mins	Blackpool to Blackpool Zoo via Blackpool Victoria Hospital
5C	40 mins	Blackpool to Knott End-on-Sea via Poulton-le-Fylde
6	20 mins	Mereside to Department of War Pensions Peel Park via Blackpool town centre and Layton
7	9 mins	Cleveleys to Blackpool
7A	9 mins	Cleveleys to Blackpool via Bispham
11	9 mins	Lytham to Blackpool town centre via St Annes
11A	9 mins	Lytham to Blackpool town centre via St Annes
11B	9 mins	Blackpool to Lytham via Common Edge and St Annes
12	—	Blackpool to Baines School via Bispham, Carleton and Poulton-le-Fylde
14	12 mins	Fleetwood to Blackpool via Layton
18	60 mins	Blackpool to Mereside Tesco via South Shore
853		St Annes to Myerscough College via Kirkham

In November 2023, Blackpool Transport announced merges of and additions to existing routes. A Route 1A will run seasonally between Cleveleys and St Annes. Route 3A will run between Cleveleys Park and Mereside, having previously been part of route 3. Route 5 gained the most changes: the base route was extended to Poulton-le-Fylde. Route 5A will run from South Shore to Staining, initially following the base route, then taking the former route 15 to Staining. Route 5B adds a stop at Blackpool Zoo. Route 5C is a "reimagined" 2C from Blackpool to Knott End with increased frequency. Route 6 was extended from Grange Park to the Department of War Pensions office at Peel Park, with hourly extensions to Whitehills Business Park. Route 7 dropped the leg to Lytham, which will now be part of the 11A. Route 7A is a revamped route 9 which runs between Cleveleys and Blackpool via Bispham and Layton. Route 11A continues from Starr Gate to Lytham. Route 17 was rebranded as Route 11B. Route 18 will continue to run hourly, while the changes to the other routes have resulted in shorter connection times.
In April 2025, they announced the introduction of a new route 2 and combined the route 1 with the route 2 for a combined "Resort Rider" brand. The new route 2 runs from Fleetwood's Cala Gran Holiday Park to Blackpool Zoo every 60 minutes. With this, the 1A, which extended the 1 to St Anne's Square during the season, was discontinued.
Four months later, Blackpool Transport adjusted its timetables, including the extension of route 5 to include Thornton and Cleveleys, as well as amending routes to accommodate Blackpool and the Fylde College's campus in Bispham.

Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire

Based in Morecambe, Lonsdale routes 88 and 89 serve Pilling and Knott End. Route 88 is slightly longer as it serves Garstang, whereas the 89 travels directly between Lancaster and Pilling before terminating in Knott End.

Preston Bus

A subsidiary of Rotala, Preston Bus was founded in Preston in 1904. It was sold to Rotala by the Stagecoach Group in 2009. Route number 76 runs between Blackpool and St Annes via Blackpool's Victoria Hospital and Booths in Poulton-le-Fylde.

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire

Begun in 2011, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire runs one route in the Fylde:

Route	Origin and destination
42	Blackpool to Lancaster via Garstang

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire

Operates the regional bus and coach services in and out of Blackpool.

Route	Origin and destination
61	Preston to Blackpool via Wrea Green
68	Preston to Blackpool via Warton and Freckleton

Transpora North West

A rebirth of Nuttall's Coaches and established in 2007, Transpora serves Blackpool, St Annes, Cleveleys, Thornton and Fleetwood.
Eleven routes exist:

Route	Origin and destination
21	St Annes to Cleveleys
22	Blackpool Tower to Blackpool Zoo
24	Fleetwood to Blackpool town centre via Poulton-le-Fylde and Cleveleys
26	Marton Mere circular
523	Carleton to Saint Aidan's, Preesall
524	Fleetwood West View to Saint Aidan's, Preesall
568	Cleveleys to Millfield, Thornton
594	Weeton to Staining via Hodgson Academy, Poulton-le-Fylde
648	Fleetwood to Poulton-le-Fylde schools
660	Cleveleys to Hodgson Academy, Poulton-le-Fylde
916	St Annes Queen's Manor to St Bede's, Lytham

Archway Travel

Fourteen routes in operation:

Route	Origin and destination
74	Fleetwood to Preston via Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Great Eccleston, Elswick, Kirkham, Inskip, Catforth and Lea
75	Fleetwood to Preston via Thornton, Cleveleys, Poulton-le-Fylde, Staining, Weeton, Kirkham and Newton with Scales
76	Blackpool to St Anne's via Poulton-le-Fylde, Weeton, Kirkham, Wrea Green, Warton and Lytham
78	Great Eccleston to St Anne's via Elswick, Kirkham, Freckleton, Warton, Lytham and Ansdell
525	Rossall Point to Saint Aidan's Church of England High School in Preesall
526	Larkholme Parade, Fleetwood to Saint Aidan's
527	Ship Inn in Elswick and Saint Aidan's via Great Eccleston
541	Pilling to Hodgson High School and Baines High School, Poulton
552	Derby Arms, Inskip, to Bowgreave via Elswick, Great Eccleston, St Michael's on Wyre and Churchtown
567	Knott End to Lancaster schools
607	Thistleton to Baines High School via Elswick, Great Eccleston, Little Singleton, Singleton and Little Poulton
675	Elswick to Broughton
813	Hambleton to Garstang Academy
SF1	Lytham to Blackpool Sixth Form College via Freckleton, Warton, Wrea Green, Kirkham, Greenhalgh-with-Thistleton, Elswick and Great Eccleston

National Express coaches serve Blackpool's Central Coach Station.

Rail

The Fylde has eleven railway stations. Each is on one of the two Blackpool branch lines, while those between Kirkham and Wesham and Blackpool North are also on the Calder Valley Line, which continues on towards Preston. The two train operators are Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains.
From west to east:

Tram

An dual stretch of tramways run between Starr Gate, on Blackpool's South Shore, and Fleetwood. Blackpool Tramway, operated by Blackpool Transport, was established in 1885. It carried 4.9 million passengers in 2022–23.

Funding

In April 2025, over £4m of funding was to be spent on improving bus services in Blackpool, including upgrading shelters. It was part of the town's Bus Service Improvement Plan, which sets out a number of priorities, including bus lanes on Talbot Road, replacing worn out bus shelters and general cleaning. It also includes rolling out more Real Time Information screens at town-centre bus shelters.
The funding included £2.5m of capital and almost £1.7m of revenue funding allocated to the council by the Department for Transport.