A BUS company is celebrating after scoring a fantastic 97 per cent with customers in the first year of investment.

The Blackburn Bus Comapny's £2.9m investment in a new fleet is paying handsome dividends - especially on routes 6 and 7 - Blackburn and Accrington, and with up to 24 buses an hour between the two towns.

An amazing 200,000 more customer journeys have been recorded in the first year since both routes were relaunched in August 2016.

The Blackburn Bus Company’s General Manager Shaun Walmsley said: “We’re absolutely delighted with the success of the relaunched 6&7.

"We combine all-new buses with a host of fantastic features and our dedicated team of drivers, who offer the highest standard of customer care - and best of all, a warm Lancashire welcome for everyone as they get on board with us.

“Nine out of ten of those surveyed said they were ‘very satisfied’ with the 6 and 7 – and of the customers who took part, 97 per cent said they’d recommend us to a friend. The buses were given 4.7 marks out of five, with customers loving the free Wi-Fi and USB power points on-board.

“There’s also a big thumbs-up for our drivers, as our customers have rated their friendliness highly at 4.3 out of 5."

Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “It’s fantastic news to hear that people are so positive about the Pennine Reach bus service, given that a great deal of public money has been invested in road improvements in various parts of the borough. Including the new bus station, priority for buses at traffic lights and realtime bus information.

“So I’m delighted to hear that those improvements and the work we have done with partners is paying off.”

A multi-million pound investment by parent company Transdev saw an entirely new generation of buses entering service on the 6 and 7 routes in 2016, each proudly built in the North of England to a bespoke specification, with many features directly inspired by feedback from customers.

Both services are among those benefitting from a £40 million investment in public transport infrastructure on the Accrington-Blackburn-Darwen corridor under the Pennine Reach Scheme.

Funded by the Department for Transport and led jointly by Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, the project is delivering highway improvements, new technology and high quality bus services in partnership with bus operators including The Blackburn Bus Company.