PEOPLE living in rural south Cumbria villages now have greater access to public transport.

Blueworks Taxi Bus Company is expanding its service to visit more villages and reach more people, providing a valuable resource to many residents who have been cut off from public transport.

The X70F route first started in 2022, offering regular transport to Ulverston. Now a new, longer route will run through Furness every week.

The bus will travel from Askam through Kirkby, Grizebeck, Gawthwaite and Broughton Beck to Ulverston, offering passengers a chance to stop at M&S, Aldi, Booths and the town centre.

Blueworks specialises in rural bus routes and has a 16 seater low floor bus which is perfect for older passengers.

If you can’t drive and want to visit Ulverston, town, the shops or just visit friends it is not possible without great expense, which many pensioners cannot afford.

Based in Backbarrow, the taxi bus company was founded in 2000 and has slowly grown by word of mouth. Today Blueworks pride themselves on being there for those who cannot drive.

When Cumbria County Council ceased funding the bus services in 2014, Blueworks was given the choice to stop running transport or to become independent.

They decided to risk the future and became a community service, starting The Friends of the X112 so they could continue running a service from Coniston via Ulverston to Barrow.

In 2015, Lecks Transport liquidised, allowing Blueworks to take over the X70 Ulverston Town Service. They then stepped in to replace the X7 Millom to Barrow route at the request of Dalton Councillor Ben Shirley when Stagecoach withdrew in 2017.

Bluework’s director Phil Halliwell said: “Being a small fish in system dominated by Stagecoach can be difficult and is a major challenge to this day. A lot of people don`t know we exist, even though we may be the only means of transport for the aged with no cars. We have had some lovely reviews and are probably the only bus in the country where a group of residents have adopted a local operator to share five bus services.”

A Flexible route allows passengers to order transport 24 hours in advance. Blueworks accepts bus passes and is currently taking part in the Government incentive to slash prices, offering fares for £2.