A SENIOR Conservative has rejected a call by Labour politicians for local authorities to be given back powers to regulate bus services.

The demand was made by Blackburn with Darwen transport boss Phil Riley and his former Lancashire County Council counterpart John Fillis.

They said giving elected bodies control of bus routes, fares and frequency was the only way to persuade people out of their cars and onto public transport.

Their intervention follows the news that bus passenger mileage in Blackburn with Darwen had dropped from 4.9 million in 2009/10 to 3.8m in 2016/17 and in the Lancashire County Council area from 61.3m to 45.5m in the same period.

Cllr John Slater, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council Tory group, said: “Re-regulation is not the answer. The council needs a properly-structured forward plan for buses taking account of the needs of rural communities.

“This involves working more closely with the bus companies, not more rules and regulations administered by the council.”

Cllr Andrew Snowden, the county council's lead member for buses, said: “Improving public transport is one of our key priorities.

“We increased the budget to support bus services from £2m to £3m as soon as we won control of the council last May. The impact of that increase hasn’t been captured in these numbers.

“Our investment has restored services to a number of rural areas. The success of Pennine Reach in increasing passenger numbers on its journeys by around six per cent shows the value of investing in good reliable services.”

Blackburn with Darwen’s lone Liberal Democrat, Cllr Roy Davies, said: “I would support re-regulation if it got more buses back to Darwen and villages like Hoddlesden.

“With new parking charges in the town and no direct service to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, is it any wonder people in Darwen drive rather than catch the bus?” said Cllr Davies.

Cllr Riley said the new £40million Pennine Reach scheme has improved the frequency and speed services from Darwen town centre to Blackburn.

The Pennine Reach scheme to speed buses between Blackburn, Darwen and Hyndburn, largely completed last year, has seen a six per cent increase in passenger numbers.