RURAL bus services operating in Summerseat, Ramsbottom and Tottington could be expanded if transport bosses win £900,000 worth of new funding.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) is to bid for the cash to improve public transport services for rural communities in six districts.

These embrace not only the districts of Bury but those in Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

This will be the fourth successive year in which a bid has been made for parts of Greater Manchester's rural communities where it is recognised that more effective public transport provision is required.

If successful in securing the £900,000 of new funding, GMPTA will earmark some of the cash for routes in Ramsbottom, Summerseat and Tottington.

The money will go towards extending the hours of operation of the existing demand responsive APT (Arranged Passenger Transport) service.

APT is a shared taxi service which enables passengers, resident within the allocated area, to simply call the transport operator at least one hour before travel and be picked up at the required time and taken to their destination.

Councillor Andrew Fender of the GMPTA said: "We need to provide real transport solutions for many people in the county's more remote areas who are affected by poor transport links.

"It is particularly important to make services available to parts of the community which do not fall easily within commercial public transport routes."