RESIDENTS and commuters are giving Bromsgrove's bus services a wide berth according to new figures.

The latest statistics released by Worcestershire County Council showed that bus passenger numbers had increased in four of the county's six districts over the last year, but Bromsgrove has seen a dramatic 26 per cent decrease in the last year.

The county as a whole showed a 0.5 per cent rise in users, despite a national decline in bus use outside of London.

The figures come as a blow to the town, at a time when the government is trying to encourage the use of public transport.

Lorna Phillips, divisional marketing manager for Passenger Transport, said there is no clear answer as to why the use of Bromsgrove's bus services is rapidly declining.

"The figures are for last year, and only include the main bus operator, First, but we do not have the figures for the smaller operators.

"However, there is no clear reason as to why the figures for Bromsgrove are not so good.

"We need to look at what we can do in Bromsgrove in the coming years.

"We have worked with other districts, looking at funding, and in Worcester we had the Project Express scheme where the park and ride system was redeveloped.

However, passenger numbers for travellers aged 60 and over, and those with a disability have soared thanks to a new concessionary travel scheme.

The scheme was introduced to allow concessionary and disabled passengers free travel across the county, and over county borders, at all times.

Last month's figures for concessionary travellers around Bromsgrove were five times previous monthly totals.

by Dan Harrison