The Witch Way X43
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC atShudehill Interchange in January 2025
Overview
Operator	The Burnley Bus Company
Garage	Queensgate
Vehicle	Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC
Peak vehicle requirement	14
Predecessors	GM Buses Ribble Motor Services Stagecoach Ribble
Route
Start	Burnley
Via	Rawtenstall M66 Prestwich
End	Manchester
Service
Level	Daily
Frequency	Monday–Saturday: 15 minutes Sunday: 30 minutes Evening & night: 60 minutes
Route map Legend Route X43 Queensgate bus depot, Burnley (Positioning journeys only) Burnleybus station Summit Crawshawbooth Rawtenstall bus station  M66  Lancashire Greater Manchester boundary  M60  Prestwich Higher Broughton Deansgate Manchester Chorlton Street This diagram: view talk edit ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

The Witch Way is the branding for long-standing English bus routeX43, which runs betweenBurnley andManchester. The service is currently operated byThe Burnley Bus Company.

The route has operated continuously since 1948. It was previously operated byRibble Motor Services,Stagecoach North West andBurnley & Pendle, whileGM Buses briefly competed with Stagecoach on the route. During its history it has served several places no longer on the present route, includingBury and theTrafford Centre.

The service was rebranded as The Witch Way in 2005 to coincide with the introduction of new vehicles. It had previously been branded asThe X43 and before then was unbranded. Between 1982 and 1986 the route was known asTimesaver, with buses carrying dedicated liveries.

Route X43 was introduced betweenColne andManchester byRibble Motor Services in 1948, replacing another route betweenBurnley and Manchester. In the early 1950s it was extended to start fromSkipton. In 1978, the route was rerouted to use the newM66 motorway, bypassing Bury. Some journeys continued to serve the traditional route, as route number 743.^[1]

Ribble Motor Services was privatised in 1986 in amanagement buyout. In April 1989 it was sold toStagecoach.^[2] In 1992, in response to competition onroute 192,GM Buses used its Charterplan coaching subsidiary to compete with route X43 between Manchester and Burnley.^[3] The competition ended in 1994 following Stagecoach's withdrawal from route 192.^[1] Stagecoach went on to acquire the southern half of GM Buses in February 1996.^[4]

For a short time in the late 1990s, the route operated through toKeighley, this ceased in 1999. In 1998 the route was extended south of Manchester to theTrafford Centre.^[5] A further change in 2000 saw the northern end of route X43 rerouted to avoidBarnoldswick, prompting some criticism from local residents.^[6]

Stagecoach's operations in the Burnley area were sold to theBlazefield Group on 15 April 2001 and rebranded asBurnley & Pendle.^[7] In June 2001 one X43 journey in each direction was extended through to Skipton andHawes on summer Sundays.^[8][9] This proved relatively successful, and the single-deck coach initially used was replaced by a double-decker.^[10] It continued to operate into 2003,^[11] but was withdrawn at the end of September.^[1] Fares on the route increased by 30% in the two years up to August 2004, prompting some passengers to abandon the route in favour of a car-sharing scheme.^[12] Despite this, the route saw an average of 12% yearly growth between 2001 and 2004.^[13]

In August 2005, the route was upgraded with new vehicles and rebranded as The Witch Way.^[14] The service frequency was increased to every 20 minutes, with a Saturday frequency of every 30 minutes and a Sunday frequency of one bus per hour, while the extension to the Trafford Centre was withdrawn.^[15] The section of route between Nelson and Colne was also abandoned, prompting criticism from local councillors, although the parallel "Mainline" routes 20-29 were increased in frequency to partially replace these journeys.^[16]

Blazefield was sold toTransdev in January 2006.^[17][18] During the first six months after the new vehicles were introduced, passenger numbers on the remaining section of route increased by 24.1%, with total passenger numbers up by 16.1%.^[19] The route was shortlisted for a UK Bus Award in October 2006,^[20] going on to win the Viacom Outdoor Bus Marketing Campaign of the Year award.^[21]

In October 2011, the Witch Way services underwent a revamp with an increase in journeys between Burnley and Manchester, running every 15 minutes Monday–Saturday daytime, but with a reduction between Nelson and Manchester to every 30 minutes Monday-Saturday daytime. Route X44, which differed from the regular route by additionally servingEdenfield, was also withdrawn from service.^[22][23]

On 1 May 2016 the route saw several changes. Faster buses were introduced at peak time between Manchester and Burnley, and the route was extended twice an hour beyond Burnley to Skipton via the M65 and Colne. Nelson, however, is no longer served by off-peak X43 buses, although services remain during peak hours. A Sunday extension of the route toGrassington was introduced; these services had already operated, but had previously used route number 872.^[24]

In May 2020, it was announced that the X43 would be curtailed to Burnley. A new service, branded Pendle Wizz, was introduced between Burnley and Skipton, following the same route as the X43.^[25] In April 2023, Pendle Wizz was replaced by the introduction of service M6 – an expansion to Burnley's Mainline bus network.^[26]

Route X43 currently runs between Burnley and Manchester, serving the intermediate communities ofRawtenstall andPrestwich. The service makes use of both theM60 andM66 motorways, and connects two notable educational establishments:Alder Grange School andBurnley College. Another point of interest on the route is theSinging Ringing Tree near Burnley.^[27]

Route X43 was initially served with a mixture of double-deckLeyland Titans and single-deckLeyland Tigers. In the early 1960s these were replaced by newLeyland Leopards. From 1974 coaches were used on the route, with Leyland Leopards again the preferred choice. In 1982 a small number were branded for the route, using the nameTimesaver and the taglineRegular Motorway service.^[1]

In 1984 the route was converted to double-deck operation using newLeyland Olympians painted in a unique white and blue livery withTimesaver branding. FourLeyland Tiger coaches in a yellow and red livery also using theTimesaver name, arrived a year later. The route branding was replaced by Stagecoach's corporate image of white with red, orange and blue stripes following their takeover of Ribble Motor Services in 1989.^[1]

Stagecoach would rebrand the X43 and introduce a new set of Leyland Olympians in response to the competition from Charterplan in 1992. The route was marketed asThe Mancunian, with the Olympians carrying the name alongside Stagecoach corporate livery.^[28] NewDennis Javelins were later introduced to replace the Olympians. The route was briefly operated withVolvo B10MAarticulated coaches in 1996,^[29] but this proved short-lived owing to restrictions on their use in Rawtenstall, with services returning to Javelin operation.^[1]

The Javelins were transferred away from the route shortly prior to Stagecoach's sale of the operation to Transdev, and the service was briefly operated with 15-year-old Leyland Olympians.^[1] In July 2001, a fleet of 15 newPlaxton President bodiedVolvo B7TLlow-floor buses, which were specified with features that were unusual to ordinary buses at the time such as wheelchair spaces, high-backed seating and CCTV cameras, were introduced to the route.^[9][30]

In August 2005, the route was again re-launched alongside its new brand identity – "The Witch Way" – with 16 newWright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs entering service. These buses carried a red, grey and black livery dedicatedly branded for the route and were installed with high-specification interiors, including coach-style leather seats. They were also each named after thePendle witches from the 17th century. Coinciding with the high-specification nature, the service was advertised with the slogan "business class as standard".^[15][14]

In November 2013, new vehicles were introduced to the route, in the form of 15Wright Gemini bodiedVolvo B9TLs. These buses carried a new two-tone gunmetal-grey coloured livery, dedicatedly branded for the route. Additionally, the new vehicles debuted the introduction of free WiFi, which allows passengers to connect to the internet during their journey.^[31][32]

On 13 December 2020, a brand new fleet of 14Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-deck vehicles were introduced to the route. These buses are fitted to the company's Sky Class specification, and are dedicatedly branded for the route in a two-tone orange and black livery. Features include free WiFi, USB and wireless charging, group seating with tables, individual seating upstairs, an on-board library and audio-visual next stop announcements, voiced byCoronation Street actressJennie McAlpine, who grew up in Bury.^[33][34]

There have been five alternative routes similar to route X43 operated in the past. When route X43 was diverted away from Bury in 1978, some journeys continued to serve the town. These were numbered 743 and were operated by Ribble Motor Services with a mixture of coaches and buses. Route X43's infrequent extension to Skipton was also transferred onto route 743. The route was withdrawn in 1985 due to a fall in passenger numbers which coincided with the rebranding of the main route asTimesaver.^[1]

Route X53 took a different route betweenBurnley andRawtenstall, viaWater andWaterfoot in the upperIrwell Valley. In the early 1960s these journeys were 4-hourly and started/ended atBurnley. By the 1970s frequency had declined to a southbound morning and northbound evening peak working, but it survived to be renumbered 753 when X43 became 743. It was withdrawn along with the 743.

A variation of the route operating via theRossendale Valley betweenRawtenstall and Burnley was introduced in 2002, taking the number X45. It was operated with route brandedVolvo B10M coaches, but was cancelled after a year because of low patronage.^[13] In early 2002, route X43 journeys which extended beyond Manchester to the Trafford Centre were renumbered to X42 to distinguish them from the short workings.^[1] This pattern continued until the August 2005 rebranding, when the extension was withdrawn. The most recent variation was route X44, which ran until October 2011. It ran viaEdenfield between Rawtenstall and the M66 motorway. This allowed commuters and shoppers to travel to/from Manchester with the service running several journeys during the day Mondays to Saturdays. The service was partly replaced by route X8, which ran between Burnley,Rawtenstall and Manchester viaBacup, andFirst Greater Manchester's route X35, which was extended fromStubbins.^[22][23]

In November 1999, a bus travelling on the route fromManchester toBarnoldswick was involved in a crash with a car travelling in the opposite direction inEarby. Four passengers and the car driver suffered minor injuries.^[35]

In September 2006, the driver of an X43 on the M60 motorway fell unconscious while the vehicle was moving. Irene King, a 47-year-old passenger, was able to take over control of the bus to prevent a serious accident. She won several awards for this action, including an award for Outstanding Bravery at the 2006Pride of Britain Awards,^[36] a Vodafone Life Savers Award, a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum, a Chief Constable's Commendation.^[37]

In October 2020, a blue SUV pulled out from a side in front of an X43 travelling along the A682 near Clowbridge Reservoir inDunnockshaw. Three passengers and the driver of the car suffered minor injuries. The driver of the bus was shaken but unhurt. The accident was recorded on thedashcam of a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction to the bus.^[38]

• Media related toThe Witch Way at Wikimedia Commons
• The Witch Way page at Transdev Lancashire

• Bus routes in Greater Manchester
• Transport in Lancashire

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