73187-03SWINDON may have a proud railway history but it seems that buses are clearly a firm favourite with the town's residents today.

During 2004, one of the town's main bus operators, Stagecoach reported passenger growth of 6.5 per cent, bucking a national decline of roughly three per cent throughout England,

Particularly popular were the routes heading west. Service 54 from Swindon to Wootton Bassett and 55 from Swindon to Chippenham, via Lyneham saw the greatest growth with 13.7 per cent more passengers.

Stagecoach's recently re-branded 'popin' services to Kingsdown, Highworth and Freshbrook, which run at 10-minute intervals between 7.30am and 6pm Mondays to Saturdays, also grew by a combined average of 6.2 per cent.

Ian Manning, managing director of Stagecoach West, said: "In 2003, our Stagecoach in Swindon operation was one of the Top 10 fastest growing bus networks in the UK, and we're delighted to report continued growth across the network throughout 2004."

"More and more people are appreciating the convenience, reliability and cost effectiveness of travelling by Stagecoach in the Swindon area, and we look forward to welcoming new and existing customers on board in 2005."

Earlier this year a new bus text-messaging scheme was launched where bus passengers could check the times of the next three buses to any stop in the Swindon area.

The company also recently launched its Megabus which offers a service to London for as little as a £1.