More bus journeys to be launched across Lancashire this Autumn thanks to funding boost

People will be able to benefit from more frequent bus services in Lancashire from now thanks to increased funding.

The extra journeys will cover places right across Lancashire, including Lancaster, Garstang, Poulton, Blackpool, Morecambe, Heysham, Halton, Caton, Hornby, Blackpool, Preston and Tarleton.

The enhancements include more frequent daytime services in Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre, Sunday service improvements between Lancaster and Morecambe and evening journeys in Lancaster and the Lune Valley.

The improvements will also extend beyond the Lancashire border to Blackburn, Blackpool and Southport

The updated services are being supported by Lancashire’s share of HM Government's Bus Service Improvement Plan funding, from which Lancashire County Council has secured £41.9m so far, in partnership with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.

County Councillor Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said:

"Thanks to the funding we have secured from the Department for Transport for our Bus Service Improvement Plan, there will be many improvements to services in Lancashire.

"One of our main aims is to encourage more people to use the bus by providing extra journeys at times that people find convenient.

"Enhanced daytime frequencies and later services are often helpful to people who use the bus to get to and from work, as well as being convenient for anyone going out for the evening or visiting friends and family.

"I'm also really pleased that we are working in partnership with our bus operators and neighbouring authorities to provide better links right across Lancashire and beyond so that more people have easy access to bus services.

"We've been working closely with operators to build passenger numbers with the aim of making these services sustainable over the long term.

"Our aim is to get more people using buses by making them a more attractive and convenient option, and the funding we've secured from HM Government for our Bus Service Improvement Plan gives us the chance to make some really significant improvements.

"For the people of Lancashire, this is a huge benefit as they can now travel on any bus in Lancashire for £1 for  each journey, after 7pm, 7 days a week and all day Sunday.  I'd encourage as many residents as possible to try them out."

The changes are as follows:

Service 10/11 – Lancaster City, covering Ridge and Marsh:

More evening circular journeys with Stagecoach North Lancashire from September 1 including

• 1955, 2055, 2155 and 2255 from Lancaster – Marsh – Lancaster
• 2028, 2128 and 2228 Lancaster – Ridge – Lancaster

For more detail on Stagecoach timetables, click here 

Service 42  Lancaster – Garstang – Poulton – Blackpool:

There will be more morning journeys, including a new 0820 departure from Blackpool Monday to Saturday, and the timetable will be revised to improve reliability.

For more detail on Stagecoach timetables, click here 

Service 100  University – Lancaster – Bare – Morecambe – Heysham

Daytime services will run half hourly on Sundays between Lancaster Bus Station and Morecambe. They will be operated by Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire, in partnership with Lancashire County Council, and using funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

For more detail on Stagecoach timetables, click here 

Service 81  Lancaster – Halton – Caton – Brookhouse – Hornby

There will be evening journeys from 2 September 2024 between Lancaster and Hornby at:

• 1952, 2052, 2152 and 2252 from Lancaster to Hornby
• 2022, 2122 and 2222 from Hornby to Lancaster

The journeys will be operated by Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire on behalf of Lancashire County Council, and there are no changes to the daily daytime journeys operated by Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire Ltd.

For more detail on Stagecoach timetables, click here 

BLACKPOOL, FYLDE & WYRE SERVICES

Service 12  Blackpool – Victoria Hospital - Bispham – Carleton – Poulton

A new hourly daytime service will run from 1 September from Monday to Saturday, from 7:00am to 5:30pm, linking Blackpool and Poulton via Whitegate Drive, Victoria Hospital, Bispham and Carleton.

On school days, some journeys  will run as Service 12A and extend through to Baines School.

The new service is being launched by Blackpool Transport in partnership with Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council. utilising funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

For more information on the new timetable, click here.

PRESTON SERVICES 

Service X2  Preston – Tarleton – Southport – Formby – Liverpool

The Monday to Saturday service will return to running half hourly between Preston and Southport from 1 September this year.

It will be run by Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, in partnership with Lancashire County Council utilising funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

More detail on the new timetable can be found here.

 WEST LANCASHIRE SERVICES

 Service 310  Liverpool – Maghull – Ormskirk – Skelmersdale

 Changes to the timetable of the current half hourly Arriva service will mean customers will benefit from buses every 15 minutes between Ormskirk and Southport from Monday to Saturday, since this service is coordinated with Arriva’s existing 375/385 services.

This has been made possible by a partnership between Lancashire County Council and Merseytravel.

For more information on the new Arriva timetables, click here.

 Service 375  Wigan – Skelmersdale – Ormskirk – Bescar – Southport

An extra early morning journey from Skelmersdale to Southport will start at 0555 from Monday to Saturday.

This will be run by Arriva in partnership with Lancashire County Council, using funding from HM Government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

For more information on the new Arriva timetables, click here.

CHORLEY SERVICES:

Service 2  Blackburn – Feniscowles – Abbey Village – Brinscall – Chorley

Service 2A  Blackburn – Feniscowles – Abbey Village – Brinscall – Chorley Hospital – Chorley.

The Monday to Saturday daytime services between Chorley and Blackburn will run every 30 minutes and provide a new direct link to Chorley & South Ribble Hospital from the north of Chorley district.

The changes include:

• Service 2A, a new service operated by the Blackburn Bus Company in partnership with Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council, on Mondays to Saturdays, running via Chorley & South Ribble Hospital (A6 entrance) rather than Eaves Lane.
• The new service, 2A, combined with the existing service, 2, also operated by the Blackburn Bus Company, will see half hour journeys between Chorley and Blackburn from Monday to Saturday daytime. 

However, there will be no changes to the Monday to Saturday evening and Sunday service operated by Stagecoach on behalf of Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Chorley Council.