A special celebration to launch a fleet of brand new, top of the range buses costing £1.5 million for one of the area’s busiest routes is to be staged in Barnsley Town Centre. They will commence operation on TownLines 66 between Barnsley and Elsecar via Birdwell and Hoyland from October 24th 2009.

Civic dignitaries led by the Mayor of Barnsley, Coun John Parkinson, will be at the Stagecoach Yorkshire event, which will mark the introduction of eight new vehicles on the popular 66 route corridor. 

The British built ADL Enviro 400 low-floor double decker buses, which meet tough Euro V emissions standards, are designed to be fully accessible to elderly passengers, people with disabilities and families with young children.

The event, in Peel Square on Wednesday, October 21st, runs from 9.30am to 4pm and there will be a children’s entertainer and brass band, along with one of the brand new vehicles, to allow people to have a look around the new vehicles in closer detail.

The 66 route links the town centre with Worsborough, Birdwell, Hoyland and Elsecar. Around 1.4 million passenger journeys a year are made on the route and buses run every eight minutes at peak hours and every ten at other times during the day.

Each new bus is fitted with 80 seats, which will provide much needed additional capacity throughout the day. Paul Lynch, Stagecoach Yorkshire managing director, said: “The new vehicles mark a real step forward for public transport in the region and a boost for passengers. 
“We wanted to make this a public celebration because it is the community who will benefit from our investment in the new fleet of buses. We are constantly striving to improve our offering to passengers throughout the Barnsley region and this represents another positive move forward.”

Thanks,
Staff at South Yorkshire Transport