THE big chap in the pork pie hat had never looked so nervous as we waited on Blackburn’s new bus station for the 7A to Accrington.

Well he might, for this was County Cllr John Fillis’s first trip on the £40million scheme he partly bankrolled to make the trip between the two towns quicker and more comfortable for passengers.

His mood lightened as we had trouble finding two seats together.

County Cllr Fillis said: “You see the bus is pleasantly full, busy, but not overcrowded.”

Safely seated, hat still firmly on his head, he revealed proudly: “Transdev tell me passenger numbers have gone up on the routes since Pennine Reach was completed by six per cent.

“We’ve still not finished everything at the Hyndburn end and there is a missing link in Blackburn but that figure shows it’s working.”

The bus company are understandably coy about exact passenger numbers, but it runs into many hundreds of extra journeys every week.

County Cllr Fillis, a proud Liverpudlian and amiable company, relaxed further as the new Optare Versa bus sped through the traffic lights along Furthergate, its special electronic equipment switching signals to green as it approached.

He said: “See the new whizz-bang technology works.”

As we left Blackburn and weaved our way through Intack, Knuzden and Stanhill towards Oswaldtwistle, he pointed out: “Some of these roads are not designed for modern traffic but we can’t do much about that.

“But the new buses from Transdev are really good with comfortable seats, audible and visual display next stop annoucements and Wifi.

“They have been an excellent partner and done everything they promised in terms of investing in routes and buses.

“The passengers really like them and as we equip the bus stops with real-time interactive information and roll out the new app with the latest timings on them, it will get even better.

“The buses are frequent and reliable so people aren’t left standing waiting in the wind and the rain and if one is full they know when the next is coming.”

In Oswaldtwistle, the smooth travel stutters a little with narrow streets, chicanes and cars suddenly parking and shooting out, but by Accrington’s bus station the journey is back on time.

There we run into Shaun Walmsley, general manager of Transdev’s Blackburn Bus Company, which operates the route.

Not quite as gushing over Lancashire County and Blackburn with Darwen councils as County Cllr Fillis was about his company, he admits the new system is bringing results.

He quickly turns to problems at the Hyndburn end of the route, particularly delays at the Hare and Hounds junction in Clayton-le-Moors.

Mr Walmsley tells County Cllr Fillis: “We need to sort that out.

“Buses are getting backed up short of the transponders to change the lights and improvements on one route simply impacts on the other.”

County Cllr Fillis promises to look at moving the traffic signal priority system further from to ‘the loop’ but admits the bridge and M65 traffic are thorny problems.

Mr Walmsley said: “It is unfortunate we are not yet seeing the full anticipated improvement in overall journey times due to issues in Hyndburn.

“We are certainly encouraged by the early signs, therefore I can only be positive.”

He is particularly impressed by improved flow of traffic through Church thanks to mini-roundabouts, the Furthergate link road between Burnley Road and Blackburn town centre and the ‘significant success’ of the Ewood Gyratory system in speeding buses.

When we get on the Number 6 bus back via Great Harwood and Clayton-le-Moors, the bus is closer to half-full than the three-quarters of the 7A.

County Cllr Fillis still thinks the mid-afternoon numbers are good and is jubilant as the bus speed through the notorious Hare and Hounds crossroads.

Arriving on time back in Blackburn, he highlights how much better both it and Accrington bus station are than the old-style shelters on the town centre streets the multi-million pound structures replaced.

Hat still firmly on, County Cllr Fillis smiles and admits: “I am relieved.

“It’s all gone well and anything can happen on a bus journey.

“We know there has been a lot of disruption for passengers but as you can see it’s working well on an ordinary weekday afternoon. Six per cent more passengers every week says all you need to know.”