8:20pm Tuesday 22nd December 2009
By David Watkinson
NO buses or trains will run on Boxing Day in East Lancashire, it has been revealed.
Bus services across the area will also be out of action on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
The move has sparked criticism from campaigners who said that Transdev Lancashire United would 'leave people stranded'.
And people hoping to go to the first day of the post-Christmas sales or to football matches on public transport will have to find alternative means.
The firm runs services including Spot On, Transdev Burnley and Pendle, Lancashire United, The Witch Way and Lancashire Way in East Lancashire.
Elsewhere local and national train services are not running on Boxing Day either.
Northern Rail, Virgin Trains and Cross Country Services are all postponed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Coun Maureen Bateson, who has campaigned for better bus services in Blackburn, said: “This is extremely disappointing news.
"It is important that people can get to the hospital or to see family and friends.
“But Boxing Day is also about getting out and about.
“This year we have had price rises and route cuts and this shows yet again that bus users are treated like second class citizens.”
Coun Julie Cooper said the news was a blow for the people of Burnley.
She said: “We are trying to encourage people to use public transport and I am shocked there will be no service on Boxing Day.
“I would have thought there would have been plenty of demand for public transport, especially with the football and the sales.”
Nigel Eggleton from Transdev Lancashire United said there had been no services on Boxing Day for three years since council support for the services ended.
He said: “In the end the decision was taken that with so few people using the services on Boxing Day it was not the best use of public money.”
"Over the last decade the number of people using the buses on Boxing Day has steadily declined to a point where so few were travelling that the services weren’t viable.”
On Christmas Eve there is a normal Thursday service, which finishes earlier at around 8pm.
Services also finish on New Year's Eve ay 8pm before normal service resumes on Saturday, January 2.
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