A NEW dial-a-ride bus service where passengers help decide the route has been launched in the Ribble Valley by television actor John McArdle.

The Ribble Valley Rider, which has been running for two years in the villages around Clitheroe, now has two new buses, bringing the total to five. The service was set up by the East Lancashire Partnership with cash from the Countryside Agency and Lancashire County Council.

Passengers can phone a hotline and asked to be picked up by the bus at mid-points along its timetabled route and can also hail it from the roadside. The two new buses are user-friendly, with low floors and easy access, for people with mobility problems and mums with pushchairs, as well as cycle racks.

The Ribble Valley Rider is run by Ribble Valley Community Transport. For route details ring 01200 444484.