ONE of the first things Transdev did when it bought Rossendale Transport was to change timetables to make some journeys longer in Rossendale, so that the services would be more reliable.

Yet in its changes to the X41 ‘Red Express’ – which now calls in at Ramsbottom on its way to Manchester from Haslingden and Helmshore – they added only 15 minutes to the timetable.

A bus getting in and out of Ramsbottom in 15 minutes at rush hour – or any time when the traffic is building up around the central crossroads – seems ambitious, and so it has proven.

Even if it was ‘just’ 15 minutes extra to add in Ramsbottom, it’s 15 minutes which adds almost a quarter to the total journey time for regular users of the X41.

It’s more like the Red Not So Express now.

Transdev’s response has been disappointing as people report opting to switch back to cars for commutes to Manchester.

A spokesman for the company said: “Given the travel demands of people in Accrington, Haslingden and Helmshore, it is difficult to justify a dedicated fast, half-hourly bus simply for those travellers into Manchester.

“We accept that given the congested roads in Manchester and the unpredictability of the M66 and M60 motorways, issues can arise from time to time.”

In other words, like it or lump it.

That doesn’t bode well for the company now responsible for all of Rossendale’s bus services.

Surely adding in a new town to an express bus service won’t secure its future if people further up the line are forced off it because the journeys are now so long.

It’s not as if Transdev weren’t warned by passengers this would happen.

It seems a poor way to treat people who pay up to £900 a year to commute on their buses.