BUS fares in Bolton are set to rocket by up to 16 per cent.

The main service operator in the town, First Bus, says it is revising the fares in a bid to cover the increasing cost of fuel and employee salaries.

The price hike means an adult single fare, which until now cost 60p, will now cost passengers 70p. A return ticket has risen from £1.50 to £1.60.

Most other fares have also increased by ten pence, with Unlimited Travel tickets increasing from £2.70 to £3.00.

The move will hit occasional passengers hardest, with adult single and return fares facing the biggest increase.

But the company says it is rewarding regular customers by maintaining the price of its weekly, monthly and annual tickets, which they feel is equivalent to a saving.

First have also introduced a new off-peak day saver ticket at £2.50 -- cheaper than the original day saver, at £2.70.

But bus passengers said they would be left out of pocket. Emmett McColgan, aged 23, of Chorley Street, Bolton, said: "I don't use the bus every day to get to work, as I occasionally get a lift, so I don't tend to buy weekly or monthly tickets.

"But an extra ten pence seems steep on one journey, especially when you consider how many passengers First carries. That's an awful lot of money."

A spokesman for First Bus said: "There are a number of reasons for the increases. There are a lot of cost pressures on the industry at the moment. We have increased employment costs due to salary changes for drivers and engineers.

"We also have to contend with increasing fuel prices so our fares have had to be adjusted to match these factors.

"We have tried to minimise the impact, and the core of our customers, the regular service users who buy First Week, monthly or annual tickets, will notice no change in the price of their fare, which is in effect a saving.

'We also have the new First Day off-peak ticket which can be purchased after 9.30am at a cost of £2.50, cheaper than the original first day ticket itself."

Stagecoach, which supplies buses to Preston and Lancashire, has also put up its fares at a similar rate, while Blue Bus, which operates from Moor Lane Bus Station, increased fares more than a month ago.