Fylde Borough Transport

Fylde Borough Council Transport commenced operations in April 1974, replacing Lytham St. Annes Corporation. Under the management of John Nye it expanded into its new territory, taking over some Ribble operations to Kirkham. It also built up a coach operation focusing on short local excursions and private hires. It struggled greatly to make ends meet with patronage plummeting and costs escalating, it nearly ceased in 1982 when a narrow council vote rejected a takeover bid from Blackpool Transport. Under Ian Marsh the operation was slimmed down and reduced from 46 to 32 vehicles.

Deregulation in 1986 saw Fylde Borough Transport (FBT) expand rapidly and marketed as "Blue Buses". It purchased 23 Renault minibuses and a large fleet of second hand double deckers – the former for competing routes in Blackpool and the latter mainly for schools. Trunk routes from Lytham to Blackpool now extended into Cleveleys and by the 1990s Fylde’s minibuses had taken over most of the Cleveleys to Marton corridors from Blackpool. Fylde made these work with a lower cost base compared to Blackpool’s.

Although FBT was profitable, it struggled to keep up with investment. It now had over 80 buses, and with a high average age it refurbished some buses, rebodied others and bought a handful of new buses when it could afford to. It was sold to its management in late 1993 who quickly sold it to Blackpool Transport in 1994 – ironically passing FBT back into 'municipal' ownership and achieving something Blackpool had aspired to since the 1930s.

FBT ceased trading in 1996 with all buses and services now run by Blackpool Transport. Squires Gate depot remained in use until 1999 and was subsequently demolished after the site was sold for housing development. Most of the former FBT buses inherited by Blackpool Transport had been replaced by 2004, though the last pair of Optare Deltas survived until 2010.