New appeal for Barnoldswick bus link (From Craven Herald)

New appeal for Barnoldswick bus link

9:00am Saturday 20th October 2012 in News

Councillors have called for the reintroduction of part of a Barnoldswick bus service that was scaled back to accommodate a route serving a different area of the town.

Recent modifications to B1 and B2 circular bus routes have been criticised by councillors on the West Craven Area Committee.

The routes, which used to serve Manchester Road and Gillians Lane near Bancroft Mill, have been “chopped off”, according to Craven ward councillor Ken Hartley. “And part of the route, which used to serve the Monkroyd estate twice an hour, now runs hourly.

“It was a route that looked like a finger and they have cut off that finger,” said Coun Hartley (Lib Dem). “For residents living in the far reaches of Manchester Road, it’s a public safety issue because there are no public footpaths. They’re taking their life into their own hands by walking down Manchester Road.”

Douglas Robertson, business director for Transdev Lancashire, said: “In Barnoldswick, the B1 and B2 serve different parts of the town. They are fully subsidised and operated by Transdev for Lancashire County Council. Going back to last year, there had been various requests to extend the service down Gisburn Road.

“The bus drivers would have been pushed in order to serve the old Fosters Arms down Gisburn Road, so they had to take out another part of the service to accommodate this new extension.”

He said when analysing the route, it was determined that the Manchester Road area was the least used section of the route. “It’s a county council organised route and at the end of the day we operate what they want us to operate,” he said.