Wakey, wakey! Don't miss the night bus (From Warrington Guardian)

Wakey, wakey! Don't miss the night bus

NIGHT buses are being introduced from November as the new licensing laws kick in.

Four services will operate from the town centre between 1am and 3am.

Each will cost £2 and will have CCTV and a door supervisor for the safety of the driver and passengers.

The project is being paid for by the Department of Transport and operated by Warrington Borough Transport - the final announcement on the bid for funding should come in October.

The money will pay for the service for three years. The hope is that the night buses will be commercially viable by then, and can carry on indefinitely.

Last Christmas saw a short five-day trial of night buses and Nigel Featham, managing director of Warrington Borough Transport, says his company hopes to build on that success.

"We were really pleased with the way it went at Christmas and everyone was behind it," he said.

"It helps deal with the issue of people loitering around waiting for taxis."

The buses will run every 30 minutes on Friday and Saturday nights from Barbauld Street, near Brannigans, running to Orford, Stockton Heath, Penketh and Great Sankey - roughly north, south, east and west.

Former Warrington police chief Julia Clayton called for a full-time night bus service after the success of the Christmas service, and the police have welcomed this new scheme.

Insp Damien Smethhurst, who covers Warrington town centre said: "If the proposed bus service goes ahead, it could help to reduce the potential for incidents of disorder that can occur if large groups of people are waiting around for lengthy periods of time at the end of a night out."