Preston Bus lifts lid on recent disruption when M6 closures gridlocked city

Preston Bus lifts lid on recent disruption when M6 closures gridlocked city | Blog PrestonBlog Preston [1]Menu

Preston Bus lifts lid on recent disruption when M6 closures gridlocked city

Posted on - 3rd June, 2025 - 7:00am | Author - Ed Walker | Posted in - Politics, Preston News, Roads, Transport [2][3][4][5][6]

Emergency services at the scene on Thursday afternoon where smoke is continuing to come from the lorry trailer Pic: Chris Lear/Preston Traffic and Travel

The lorry trailer being recovered by emergency services which caused gridlock in the city Pic: Chris Lear/Preston Traffic and Travel

Preston Bus says 'not a single bus service was running on time' when recent M6 disruption hit the city. One of the city's main bus operators has given its backing to calls for the government to look at what can be done about the oldest stretch of motorway in the country. Commercial director of the Rotala-owned firm, Thomas Calderbank [7], has written an open letter - seen by Blog Preston - backing the pressure being applied by Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis [8] and fellow Labour MP for Preston Sir Mark Hendrick [9].

Special report: Can the M6 gridlock around Preston ever be resolved?[10] As reported by Blog Preston last week [11], Ms Ellis is due to meet with transport secretary Heidi Alexander to explore how the stretch of the M6 from Junction 29 to Junction 33 can be dealt with due to frequent and disruptive closures and the issue was raised in the House of Commons. Mr Calderbank said of the incident on Thursday 22 May - where a lorry fire shut the M6 southbound where it meets the M61 for a number of hours [12], causing widespread gridlock on Preston's surrounding roads, caused 'a month's worth of bus cancellations in one day'.

He said: "Almost 10% of the Preston Bus network did not operate as buses were stuck in queues and unable to complete their journeys.

70 individual bus journeys, amounting to over 350 miles, had to be cancelled and hundreds more delayed. At 4pm last Thursday, not a single Preston Bus service in Preston was running on time, with buses taking well over an hour to travel between Royal Preston Hospital and the City Centre."

Preston Docks bumper to bumper on Thursday afternoon Pic: Hitesh Ghedia/Preston traffic and travel

Mr Calderbank went on to say motorway closures were now the 'number one factor affecting the reliability and punctuality of Preston's bus network'. He says thousands of passengers were disrupted and it was leading to 'dissatisfaction and confusing' as passengers shunned bus services.

He praised Ms Ellis efforts as 'not only welcome but essential'. The Preston Bus [13] chief also praised his 'dedicated and hard-working drivers' as many stayed on beyond their scheduled finishing times to see journeys through and operate disrupted services to help stranded passengers. Both Ms Ellis and Sir Mark have backed a new River Ribble crossing [14] which would connect the A582 at Penwortham to the new Preston Western Distributor at Lea - providing a link up to the M55 and then the M6 northbound or vice versa for the M6 southbound at Junction 29.

Preston Bus has faced criticism in recent months for its vehicle reliability - with a number of bus fires [15] - and also scrutiny from city councillors who have heard about a poor service [16] being provided in the city. The firm also apologised after over-charging for Bank Holiday trips [17] during the Easter weekend. Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel [18] and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter [19].

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References

^ Blog Preston (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Posts by Ed Walker (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Politics (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Preston News (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Roads (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Transport (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Thomas Calderbank (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Sir Mark Hendrick (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Can the M6 gridlock around Preston ever be resolved? (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ reported by Blog Preston last week (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ lorry fire shut the M6 southbound where it meets the M61 for a number of hours (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Preston Bus (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ backed a new River Ribble crossing (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ number of bus fires (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ scrutiny from city councillors who have heard about a poor service (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ over-charging for Bank Holiday trips (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ join our WhatsApp channel (whatsapp.com)
^ subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter (eepurl.com)
^ See the latest Preston news and headlines (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ comments powered by Disqus. (disqus.com)
^ Local BlogPreston photos (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Advertise on BlogPreston (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Advertise on BlogPreston (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Advertise on BlogPreston (www.blogpreston.co.uk)
^ Ed Walker - Journalist, blogger and hyperlocal site founder (edwalkerjournalist.wordpress.com)
^ Preston based website design & development (3manfactory.co.uk)
^ Preston based hosting (clook.net)
^ IPSO link (www.ipso.co.uk)