School bus services to St Mary's Catholic Academy, Blackpool
Hello and a warm welcome to students and parents of students looking to use the St Mary's school buses for the first time from September 2023.
If you have any questions regarding pick up points, times, fares, tickets etc just email, text, WhatsApp or call us and we'll be happy to answer all of your questions.
On this page you'll find all the information you need to know about the two dedicated school bus routes that actually go into the school grounds (we're the only company authorised to do this). We drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon in the school bus bays and make getting to and from school simple for the students.
The buses stop at any bus stop on their route - but the student must put their hand out and signal to the driver that they want him to stop for them to avoid anyone getting left behind, especially for the first few days of using the service. The buses are practically always on time, but the students should be at their bus stop five minutes before the scheduled departure time to avoid missing it. Buy your tickets on the bus from the driver. Weekly tickets can be bought on a Monday or Tuesday and are valid only for that week (you can't, for example, buy one on a Thursday for it to run through until the following Wednesday) and single journey tickets and day return tickets are also available - just ask the friendly driver for a "single", a "return" or a "weekly" or if that's a bit scary to start with, just give him the right money and he'll figure it out! The tickets are valid on both the SM1 and SM2, so if the student goes home to different parents or grandparents on certain days of the week or to a friends' house or into town, they can use their weekly or return ticket on either bus. On rare occasions, if a student looses their money etc., we can issue an "IOU" ticket so kids are not left behind, but we expect these to be repaid strictly the following school day. On the days when school finishes early, the bus departure times are adjusted to coincide with the early finishing time. These school bus routes are a friendly, convenient and reliable way to get to and from school and are great for giving the kids a bit of independence and responsibility. If you have any questions about the route, the pick up points or anything else please give us a call or send us an email; we're happy to help!
If you have any questions regarding pick up points, times, fares, tickets etc just email, text, WhatsApp or call us and we'll be happy to answer all of your questions.
On this page you'll find all the information you need to know about the two dedicated school bus routes that actually go into the school grounds (we're the only company authorised to do this). We drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon in the school bus bays and make getting to and from school simple for the students.
The buses stop at any bus stop on their route - but the student must put their hand out and signal to the driver that they want him to stop for them to avoid anyone getting left behind, especially for the first few days of using the service. The buses are practically always on time, but the students should be at their bus stop five minutes before the scheduled departure time to avoid missing it. Buy your tickets on the bus from the driver. Weekly tickets can be bought on a Monday or Tuesday and are valid only for that week (you can't, for example, buy one on a Thursday for it to run through until the following Wednesday) and single journey tickets and day return tickets are also available - just ask the friendly driver for a "single", a "return" or a "weekly" or if that's a bit scary to start with, just give him the right money and he'll figure it out! The tickets are valid on both the SM1 and SM2, so if the student goes home to different parents or grandparents on certain days of the week or to a friends' house or into town, they can use their weekly or return ticket on either bus. On rare occasions, if a student looses their money etc., we can issue an "IOU" ticket so kids are not left behind, but we expect these to be repaid strictly the following school day. On the days when school finishes early, the bus departure times are adjusted to coincide with the early finishing time. These school bus routes are a friendly, convenient and reliable way to get to and from school and are great for giving the kids a bit of independence and responsibility. If you have any questions about the route, the pick up points or anything else please give us a call or send us an email; we're happy to help!
School Bus SM1 from Mereside, Fat Man's Corner, big ASDA, Highfield, Half Way House, Lytham Rd, Watson Rd, Marton Dr, Spen Corner, Bloomfield, Oxford Square, Devonshire Road, Park Rd and Hornby Rd to St Mary's Catholic Academy
School Bus SM2 from Blackpool South Station, Lytham Rd, Central Drive, Blackpool Town Centre, Dickson Rd, Gynn Square, Warbreck Dr, Red Bank Road (Bispham), Moor Park swimming pool, Devonshire Road Rock Gardens, Devonshire Arms and Layton to St Mary's Catholic Academy
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School Buses SM1 & SM2 - connecting all of Blackpool to St Mary's Catholic Academy.
These are dedicated bus services exclusively for the use of St Mary's Catholic Academy students (including the sixth form) - members of the general public are not carried. The buses drop-off and pick-up in the bus bays inside the school grounds and it is a safe, friendly and reliable way to get to and from school. There are three ticket options: A Single Journey is £2 irrespective of the distance travelled, A Day Return ticket is £3 and a weekly ticket costs £12. All tickets can be bought from the driver upon boarding. Please have the exact money ready, be at the bus stop at least five minutes before its scheduled departure time and signal to the driver that you wish them to stop for you. The buses and coaches are easily identified and have an SM1 St Mary's or SM2 St Mary's sign on the front and Blackpool Coach Hire in green lettering on the front, sides and rear. |
Blackpool Coach Hire Ltd have been successfully running the SM1 school service since Easter 2018 and the route, timetable and ticket prices have remained exactly the same ever since. If you require any further information, especially for those students who will be using the service for the first time, please feel free to email us at hello@blackpoolcoachhire.com call us on 07867 910136 or message us through our Facebook page.
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On 24 March 2021 we carried out an anonymous customer satisfaction survey on our SM1 St Mary’s School bus service to see how we can improve the service for its users. There were four questions and a space for any feedback. Most students completed the optional survey and most that did left the comments section empty. The results show that the service users say the bus is either “Always on time” or “Usually on time/Rarely late” and 100% said that the usual driver is “Nice & Friendly”. The huge majority say they feel safe on the bus and nearly everyone that took part today uses the bus daily or regularly. The comments made were:
“It’s a great bus to get as it drops me off at school on time :-)” “The bus is amazing” “Wait a little longer before leaving school” “(The driver is a) really nice guy” “Best driver you will ever meet” “(The driver is) a swell guy 10/10” “The kids are just not people I wanna be with” “He (the driver) always is polite and kind” A big thank you to everyone who took part. |
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New timetables with the new afternoon departure time of 3.10pm (Monday to Friday) will be available from school soon.
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Route diagram for SM1
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Timetable for SM1
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Timetable for SM2
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If you have Adobe installed you can download PDF copies of the timetable leaflet by clicking where shown above.
Copies can be collected from school or on the bus. Any questions can be emailed to us at hello@blackpoolcoachhire.com
Copies can be collected from school or on the bus. Any questions can be emailed to us at hello@blackpoolcoachhire.com
