The successful Cumbria County Council-funded X35 bus service between Kendal and Barrow will see some timetable and route changes from Monday, September 4th.
The changes mean that most journeys will leave Barrow Town Hall five minutes earlier than at present, while in Kendal the service will run to Westmorland Hospital on the way into the town centre instead of on the way out.
This will mean that most departures from the Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal will be a quarter of an hour earlier than at present.
Most journeys will leave Kendal Bus Station five minutes later and go via Windermere Road and the by-pass to avoid crossing the town centre twice. The first stop after the bus station will be at Heaves Hotel.
Passengers who catch the bus on Milnthorpe Road will now need to board the bus on its way into Kendal. The bus stop used will also change from the stop near the Romney Road/Milnthorpe Road junction to the stop outside the Kendal Arms.
There will be a number of other minor changes to the timetable. Full details will be on new timetables displayed at every stop along the route. New timetables will also be available from libraries and Tourist Information Centres.
The changes will improve connections at Grange-over-Sands railway station with the 532 bus from Cartmel via Allithwaite. Through tickets are sold on this service for Kendal and Barrow, with connections each hour at Grange-over-Sands station to and from Kendal.
Passenger numbers on the X35 route have risen by 27 per cent since the county council introduced three brand new low-floor double deck buses in March using around £500,000 from the Government's Rural Bus Challenge scheme.
Passenger numbers have now more than doubled over the last five years and the X35 now carries close to 200,000 people a year.
The county council currently pays £350,000 a year supporting the service. Thanks to the increased patronage most of that is recouped through fares.
Ian Stewart, county council spokesman on the environment, transport and planning, said: "The X35 is an excellent service and a real success story. Our investment is paying off with passenger numbers doubling over the last few years. We hope these changes will help meet people’s needs better and keep the X35 a popular and punctual service.”
Notes for Editors
Cumbria County Council's public transport unit took over running the X35 service in January 1999 and upgraded the service to 12 trips a day with an evening service.
Three brand new buses went into service in March this year at a cost of almost £500,000. The distinctive blue and green liveried buses are Dennis Tridents with bodies made by East Lancashire coachbuilders, Lolyne Myllenium. They have 79 seats, 32 on the lower deck with a space for a wheelchair.