MORE buses will be running across North Yorkshire from the weekend as an injection of cash from the Government takes effect.

Westminster announced it would be pumping extra money into the public transport network earlier this year - but it has taken time to determine where it should be spent and which firms should be awarded the contracts.

North Yorkshire County Council decided it would concentrate first on main roads, introducing new routes in some areas and increasing the frequency of services in others.

Stephensons, of Easingwold, has been awarded a Quality Contract and will be introducing low-floor, easy-access buses running between Malton and Helmsley.

Drivers on the route will also have to attend customer care training before taking the wheel - reflecting similar standards set on services running between Tadcaster and Sherburn, and Northallerton and Stokesley.

"These services confirm the county council's commitment to providing high-quality services which benefit the economy and contribute to sustainable communities," said the council's environmental services executive, Councillor Peter Sowray.

"The Government has, rightly, made rural transport a priority and set targets for us to meet. These new services make an important contribution to the achievement of those targets."

As well as the Malton to Helmsley service, other new bus services include:

l Additional evening runs on the 843 between Malton and Scarborough, from Saturday, September 15.

l An additional peak-time service through Wensleydale to Darlington on the X59, plus an extra return service from Monday.

l An additional peak-time journey on the 30 service through Swaledale to Richmond, with connections to Darlington College, also starting on Monday.

l Additional peak-time journeys linking Ripon, Thirsk and Northallerton on the 70 service, also starting on Monday.

l A new service from Brompton to Northallerton, at 7.53am, also running from Monday.

Further improvements are planned in Scarborough as part of a review of services in the town, with new timetables running from January.

More details are available by calling the Traveline on 0870 608 2 608 or visiting the journey planner website on the Internet at www.ukbus. co.uk