Rosso can trace its history back to 1907 when both Rawtenstall and Haslingden Corporations ran a motor bus within their boroughs. Both undertakings merged in 1968 to form Rossendale Joint Transport Committee and later in 1974 with the local government reorganisation the boroughs were merged, along with Bacup and Whitworth to form the present Borough of Rossendale. To comply with the Transport Act 1985, in 1986 the assets were transferred to a new legal entity. It expanded over the following 20 years and now operates buses throughout Rossendale, Bury and Rochdale as well as operating into Burnley, Blackburn, Bolton and Todmorden. Concerns were raised in 2009 about the council's intentions with regards to its continued ownership of the company, culminating in a public protest outside the town hall to dissuade the council from selling. In July 2009 the council announced that it was retaining its ownership of the company, its valuation not having been met by potentially interested parties. In August 2013, the Rossendale Transport bus network was rebranded as Rosso. In December 2017, Rosso was sold by the Rossendale Borough Council to Transdev Blazefield.
Services
Rosso operates services within the Borough of Rossendale and into surrounding areas, including Rochdale, Bury, Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn and Todmorden. In recent times, it has also extended operations into Middleton and Oldham. The network of services is branded as Rosso with vehicles and publicity carrying this name.
Depots
Rosso's main depot and office facilities were in Haslingden, which replaced the previous Bacup Road depot in Rawtenstall in September 2008. The company also operates from a depot on Corporation Road, Rochdale which was established in September 1990 to support new routes introduced in the town following bus deregulation. The site is on the western outskirts of the town centre, located next to the River Roch. Around 40 vehicles are based there. Shortly after the acquisition by Transdev Blazefield the Haslingden depot was closed, as this was not part of the sale agreement. Its buses were transferred to Transdev's depots at Queensgate, Burnley and Intack, Blackburn. Rosso's current fleet consists of 109 buses.
