A growing number of people in Moray are choosing the bus as their preferred mode of transport, according to new figures from operators Stagecoach.

More than 2.6 million bus journeys were made with Stagecoach in the local area in the 12 months to April 2007 – an increase of 8.6 per cent compared with the previous year.

Passengers in Moray have benefited from service improvements over the past year as a result of initiatives between Moray Council and Stagecoach.

The Bluebird service between Moray and Inverness, for example, was enhanced in June 2005 and runs up to every 20 minutes, allowing people in the area fast and frequent travel to shops and attractions in Elgin and Inverness. 

An additional 27 accessible low floor coaches have also been introduced in the last 12 months, making it easier for families, the elderly and the disabled to use public transport and all new buses are fitted with state-of-the-art environmentally engines.

William Mainus, Operations Manager for Stagecoach Bluebird in Moray, said: “This is a great public transport success story for Moray. It shows what can be achieved when there is a strong partnership approach between good bus operators and proactive local authorities.

“Stagecoach has been at the forefront of new ideas on improving bus travel for local people. These new figures prove that if bus operators and local authorities work in partnership and share responsibility for improving public transport, we can all share in the benefits of rising passenger numbers and less congestion on our roads.”

Mr Mainus added: “Customer feedback is always very welcome, and I would encourage our passengers who have any comments or suggestions about our services to contact us in order that we can seek to implement further improvements in the coming year”.

The busiest route in Moray was the 328/329 service between Pinefield, Elgin and Lossiemouth, which was used by 520,433 passengers last year.

Bob Walker, Moray Council's Deputy Public Transport Unit Manager, said: “The joint initiatives between Moray Council and Stagecoach have proven to be beneficial to all bus passengers in Moray.

"We are currently developing our new second integrated transport strategy, and the bus network is a key element within this.  Moray Council’s Public Transport Unit hopes this co-operation between Stagecoach and ourselves continues well into the future.”

The number of passengers using Stagecoach bus services in Scotland, where the company operates more than 1,300 vehicles, went up by 3.6% between 2006 and 2007.