A £3MILLION contract has been signed by a bus operator for four new services to be set up.

Accrington’s Pilkington Bus company has announced it will be investing £500,000 in four new buses and eight drivers to fulfil a contract recently awarded by Lancashire County Council.

The new contract, worth in the region of £3m, will boost connectivity for people particularly in the Ribble Valley.

The new services are:

* Clitheroe to Chipping (The existing two-hour service will increase in frequency to every hour, seven days a week including all day on Sunday)

* Blackburn, Mellor

* Blackburn, Mellor, Brockhall

* Blackburn, Mellor, Brockhall, Clitheroe

Alan Pilkington, Pilkington Bus managing director, said: “We’re proud to be offering this new service to the public. It’s a vote of confidence from Lancashire County Council. We’ve been partnering with LCC since 1979 and we’ve come to be a preferred supplier because we always provide a 100 per cent service.”

Lancashire County Councillor Alan Schofield, Ribble Valley South West, said: “We want to celebrate this investment of nearly £3 million. It’s great news for everyone involved. It means better connectivity and an improved service for the whole community and further afield.”

The coronavirus crisis has caused challenges for the company in terms of social distancing and the temporary suspension of school run services.

Mr Pilkington said: “We are doing everything we can to keep the public safe. That’s why we’ve been taking extra measures to ensure the cleanliness of our vehicles and we’re making sure the public comply with the government’s obligatory face masks.”

The new contract comes at a very good time for Pilkington Buses, which has been operating for 50 years.

The coronavirus crisis has caused challenges for the company in terms of social distancing and the temporary suspension of school run services.

Mr Pilkington said: "We are doing everything we can to keep the public safe. That's why we've been taking extra measures to ensure the cleanliness of our vehicles and we're making sure the public comply with the government's obligatory face masks on public transport."

Rochdale bus manufacturer, Mellor, supplied two of its popular low-floor Strata buses as part of the the vehicle deliveries.

Area sales manager, Jane Dransfield, said: "We're delighted to be supporting Pilkington Bus and other local bus operators as they recover from extremely challenging circumstances."