People in Kendal will this week get their first look at new low-floor buses due to start running on town centre routes.
One of the fleet of new easy access low-floor buses will be on show on Stricklandgate in Kendal between 11am and 2pm on Wednesday, December 13th, and anyone is welcome to walk on and take a look and discuss the town centre bus services which are paid for by Cumbria County Council - views on the new buses, on how town services are running and how they could be improved will be welcomed.
The vehicle is one of five new low-floor buses being deployed by Stagecoach from Monday, December 18th, on services 41 to 46 in and around Kendal.
Each of the low-floor buses has a single, small step from the kerbside and no steps inside the front of the bus so that everyone can get on and off easily whether they're using an wheelchair or pushing a pram or have any other mobility issues.
The low-floor vehicles are expected to boost the already growing bus usage in the town.
Cumbria County Council has been paying Stagecoach to run Kendal's town centre services since April 2006 and the low-floor buses have been refurbished by Stagecoach while the county council has agreed to make an extra contribution towards running costs.
Ian Stewart, county council spokesman for transport and environment, said: "This is great news for everyone who lives in or visits Kendal. It's a good example of us working with Stagecoach to keep in improving services for the town. These new low-floor buses will make it even easier for everyone to choose to catch the bus. Not only will it improve accessibility on the buses, but it could also convince more people to take the bus and leave the car at home and taking traffic off the roads is better for congestion and better for the environment."
Notes for editors
Since the new network of services were introduced by the county council in Kendal at the beginning of April more than 280,000 trips have been made on the services.
Currently more than 900 trips a day are being made and it is expected that the new vehicles will help this figure to grow further.
The number of fare paying passenger carried has grown since April by 39% whilst, helped by the new Concessionary Travel scheme, there has been a 80% growth in the number of NoWCard holders travelling who now make up over half of those using the services in Kendal. NoWCard holders travel free after 9.30 Monday to Friday and all day on Saturday and a half price at other times.
Cumbria County Council took over the operation of the service in January this year after Stagecoach announced that services in the Town were no longer viable. The services are operated by Stagecoach currently require £90,000 per annum subsidy to maintain.
When consultation regarding the future of bus services in Kendal took place late last year, there were a number of requests for the introduction of low floor vehicles in the town.
The maximum fare on the network of £1.75 allows unlimited travel all day, whilst a Weekly ticket also offering unlimited travel cost £6.50.
ENDS
Media enquiries to Justin Hawkins, Media Officer on 01228 606334