BUS passenger numbers in Hertfordshire are the highest they ve been for 20 years, with 35 million passenger journeys being made during 2008/09. That is an increase of almost five per cent since the previous year, the county council revealed today (Wednesd

BUS passenger numbers in Hertfordshire are the highest they've been for 20 years, with 35 million passenger journeys being made during 2008/09.

That is an increase of almost five per cent since the previous year, the county council revealed today (Wednesday).

A large proportion of this increase stems from the new concessionary travel scheme which has provided free local bus travel for over-60s since April 2008.

Two routes which have shown dramatic increases are the 700 (Trustybus) service from Stevenage to Stansted, with a 21 per cent rise in passenger journeys and the 390 (Centrebus) service from Hertford to Stevenage which had a rise of 18 per cent.

"It is encouraging to see such an increase in usage on the county's bus network," said Stuart Pile, executive member for highways and transport. "While we know that a significant proportion of the increase is attributed to concessionary travellers, it is still positive news that people are using the bus instead of cars and we are now matching bus usage figures from 20 years ago when car use was lower."

Hertfordshire's bus network includes over 340 bus services and 4,200 bus stops.

More information about bus travel in Hertfordshire, including timetables, maps and journey planning, can be found at www.intalink.org.uk