By bus
Runcorn, as a new town, was designed with a purpose in mind. Although uniquely Runcorn served as the hotbed for many experiments, one of the main ones was focused on the creation and maintainence of a distinct network of roads separate from those available for use by the general motoring public and sanctioned exclusively for the use of public transport excluding both public and private hire taxis and the emergency services. Every suburb/estate is served by at least one stop on the network. Although the network is less prominent in the older sections of Runcorn that existed prior to the construction of the new town, they are still served.
On the main ring section of the network to the east of the town, encompassing the main area of new town redevelopment there is a frequent service run by Arriva North West & Wales on Routes 1 & 2, a circular service. Other services that frequently use the eastern section of the network include the 110 Arriva to Widnes and Warrington, the X1 Arriva to Liverpool, the X30 Arriva to Chester and the 62 Halton Transport to Widnes and Warrington.
The two main bus operators in Halton are Halton Transport and Arriva North West & Wales. Halton Transport is one of the last few Municipal transport corporations that are owned by the local council and continue to make money. There are also a variety of smaller operators who run usually one or two minor routes that would otherwise be uneconomical for the larger companies to run. The town is also home to two of the country's largest coach companies, Selwyns and Anthony's Travel. They are both national carriers but are based in Runcorn.
Halton Transport tends to serve the older areas of Runcorn to the west better than Arriva while Arriva tends to serve the eastern sections more comprehensively than Halton Transport. The town is unique as it has two main bus stations. Runcorn Old Town primarily serves the outgoing traffic whilst Halton Lea shopping centre mainly serves internal traffic, although it also plays a large role in transporting some of the population to the outgoing services.
