Rossendale Transport to Rosso: The Last 10 Years of Municipal Transport

Motor bus operation in the Rossendale Valley boroughs of Haslingden and Rawtenstall dates back to 1907. The two corporation bus companies formed at that time combined in 1968 to form Rossendale Joint Transport Committee (RJTC), with a total of 55 vehicles adopting Rawtenstall’s maroon and cream livery. Bus deregulation under the terms of the Transport Act 1985 prompted the establishment in 1986 of Rossendale Transport Ltd, an arm’s-length legal identity that was now obliged to face competition. The company itself took the opportunity to expand beyond its traditional territory and did so with success, opening a second depot in Rochdale in 1990. Rossendale Council’s intention to sell the company to one of them in 2009 met with resistance. This book covers the last ten years of independent Rossendale and Rosso operations between 2007 and 2017, after which Rossendale Council sold the company to Transdev.