BUS bosses plan to cash in on the popularity of an American TV drama to get youngsters to use an unpopular service.

Blackburn Transport wants to rebrand the 5A and 5C bus services, which operate a circular route around Blackburn, as The OC the outer circle.

The new name is the same as the popular US drama The OC, which stands for Orange County.

Under the plan, buses would also be painted orange, purple, blue and yellow.

The services had been due for the axe at the end of this month after suffering a massive drop in passenger numbers.

Managers blamed congestion at areas such as Shadsworth for making the service unreliable, which in turn put passengers off travelling on it.

If it was scrapped, passengers who used it to travel to outer suburbs would have to catch a service into the town centre, and another back out.

But the new plans depend on funding from Blackburn with Darwen Council, which has not yet been secured.

A council spokesman said they would have to decide whether they could support the service.

Blackburn Transport managing director Michael Morton said: "The route had not been making a profit for a long time.

"It would be the first time a route has had its own branded buses for us. They are aimed at attracting more people of all ages to use the bus.

"We have chosen the logo OC because of the popularity of the teen programme Orange County or The OC. We hope that will encourage the younger generation.

"The safety and comfort will be greatly improved and we are looking at possibly fitting some of the buses with air conditioning. The bright image should attract many more people to use public transport."

Two full-time staff would be allocated to run the buses, which would also be completely re-seated and fitted with CCTV cameras.

The route would also be changed to allow the buses to avoid congestion after this was blamed for the service's dwindling popularity over recent years.

Alterations would include a reduction to just one stop outside Shadsworth Industrial Estate, rather than circling it, and the service would go straight along St James Road and turn on to Whalley New Road instead of down Openshaw Drive.

The service would have its own micro-website, www.track5.info.