More buses... better links
BUS users can look forward to better transport links from early 2018 thanks to new investment by Lancashire County Council.
Improved services are due to begin in West Lancashire after the county council last year agreed to make an extra £1m available to support bus services, increasing the budget from £2m to £3m.
A raft of improved services began in December 2017, restoring lost links between rural communities, putting extra buses on routes where there is more demand, and helping to stabilise the network to support routes which might otherwise disappear.
But more services are now on the way.
From Monday, February 12 Lancashire County Council will operate a new Service 315 between Ormskirk, Haskayne, Halsall and Shirdley Hill, restoring a public transport link to the Shirdley Hill area which has not had a bus since a commercial service was diverted away from there in 2014.
The new service to be run by Holmeswood Coaches will provide a bus every two hours linking the villages to Ormskirk and Southport. Two further services are being started in Lancaster and East Lancashire.
County Councillor Andrew Snowden, lead member for highways and transport, said: “Supporting a good public transport network is one of our key priorities as it helps our economy, widening access to opportunities for work and education.
“Buses also provide journeys for essential activities such as seeing friends and family, visiting the shops and attending vital appointments.
“These new buses add to all the improved services which began in December 2017, restoring even more public transport links to local communities.
“We’ve listened to what people have told us about the local need for these buses, and the difference they will make to their lives.
“These new contracts are for three years I’d ask that everyone support these services once they begin operating to help us sustain them.
“I know how much these services will mean to local residents.
“I have been working with a number of my fellow county councillors who have put the case forward passionately for services to these three areas.
In December the 337 bus from Chorley to Ormskirk reinstated a number of links along the route – including serving Burscough Industrial Estate – while the 347 from Chorley to Southport started a revised route to serve Croston as well as its stop at Mawdesley.
Find out more about improved services by searching ‘bus improvements’ at www.lancashire.gov.uk.
Timetables for the new services will be published on the website as soon as they are finalised.