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Boost to buses with launch of improved evening and weekend services

People are being urged to make the most of new and improved evening and weekend bus services which have been launched across some North Lancashire routes.

The extra journeys have been introduced on a number of routes which are already popular during the daytime, but evening and weekend connections were limited or non-existent.

The investment is the first phase of a £34m programme to make buses the best travel option for more people.

The improvements see new hourly evening journeys on the coastal Service 5 route linking Overton and Carnforth via Heysham and Morecambe on Monday to Saturday.

In addition, there are new evening journeys on Service 42 which links Lancaster and Blackpool via Garstang and Poulton-le-Fylde, operating every 90 minutes from Monday to Saturday.

County Councillor Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Our aim is to get more people using buses by making them a more attractive and convenient option, and the funding we've received for our Bus Service Improvement Plan gives us the chance to make some really significant improvements.

"We'll be investing over £34m in our bus network and public transport infrastructure over the next 3 years, with the extra services introduced this week being just the start.

"These buses are already very well used and operate on a commercial basis during the daytime from Monday to Saturday. Introducing later evening and additional Sunday journeys extends the option of using the bus to people who want to travel at these times, whether they work late shifts, are visiting friends, or going out for an evening's entertainment.

"We'll be working closely with operators to build passenger numbers with the aim of making these services commercially sustainable over the long term, and I'd encourage everyone to support them."

Bus Minister, Richard Holden, added: "People up and down the country deserve a clean, reliable and affordable public transport system. That’s why we’ve provided Lancashire County Council with £34 million to boost its bus services.

"New evening and weekend services are great for local passengers, who will now benefit from new routes and more frequent services to make the most of the fantastic work, business and leisure opportunities Lancashire has to offer."

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