MORE buses will run between Bolton and Blackburn during the morning and evening rush hour.

The timetable changes, which will come into force on July 26, will mean buses will run every 15 minutes from Blackburn to Bolton from Monday to Saturday.

The change is part of wider improvements being introduced by bus operator Transdev across its network in East Lancashire.

Transdev announced its Lancashire United route 1 will be more frequent on a Monday to Saturday and the timetable has been re-timed in the evening to improve connections to other services in Blackburn.

The timetable changes, will also affect a number of services in Blackburn and Burnley, including later bus journeys between Prestwich and Manchester on a Friday and Saturday night.

The change will means hourly departures from Manchester until 11.20pm on the Lancashire Way X41 route.

Alex Hornby, managing director, said: “We have made a number of changes to further meet the needs of our passengers including introducing user-friendly timetables, improved connections and additional services.

“We know our customers want services that are on time and that’s why we have put in a lot of work to make these changes work as effectively as possible.

"We are constantly looking at passenger data and within these timetable improvements we have recognised which services are busy and when and as a result we have increased capacity. Likewise where there is a low passenger demand we have taken the decision to re-route services.

“These changes are a positive move and we hope our customers will see an improved service as a result.”

The news comes as two other vital bus routes in Bolton were scrapped.

Arriva North West has confirmed it will not operate the 535 service to Belmont or its 537 route to Astley Bridge after Sunday, August 30.

The firm says it was forced to act as the the buses did not carry enough customers to keep them running.

TfGM is putting the contract out to tender but the replacement will be dependent on an acceptable bid being received.

A spokesman said the organisation was also assessing the impact on local bus users.