Lincolnshire County Council’s award-winning CallConnect bus service has seen one of its most successful years to date and has been firming up plans to ensure this continues.

CallConnect, which responds to public demand, saw a 23.5% growth (from around 201,200 to more than a quarter of a million) in the number of people using the service and well over 300,000 bookings.

Conservative Executive Member for Highways and Transportation, Cllr. William Webb, said:

"The CallConnect service plays a crucial role in keeping people connected to public transport throughout the county’s towns and villages, especially in the light of a reduction in our annual transportation budget which helps to subsidise bus services. It’s so easy to use - people can just pick up the phone to book a ride whenever they need one.

"We’ve extended the opening times and made smarter use of technology. There have been improvements to the CallConnect online booking service and people can book by text message too. During busy periods, we also operate a callback service so that people don’t have to wait to get through on the phone."

Several of the services recorded considerable growth in passenger numbers including Grantham, Kesteven, Stamford, Spalding, Sleaford, Louth and Gainsborough. New services were launched in Boston and Skegness in April and proved an instant hit with travellers throughout the area.

CallConnect Manager Mr. Paul Sanders said: “As we enter our second decade of service we are looking forward to working even harder to ensure that patronage is high, that people are getting the service they want and that customers can access the service as easily as possible. That’s our New Year’s Resolution.”