Councillors want to make buses commercially viable again

In July, the maximum fare on all the town's buses was set at �1.

But Cumbria County Council said more needs to be done and researchers will be telephoning locals to get their views on how to reverse the trend.

A bus with councillors on board will be parked at Stricklandgate on Saturday to give people their say on the issue.

The move comes after South Lakeland Council stepped-in with funding to retain town centre buses after Stagecoach decided to halt the service from January 2006.

But to tackle the problem long-term, Cumbria County Council wants to completely redesign the service to best suit the needs of the town.

Gather ideas

Alan Bobbett, chairman of the South Lakes local committee, said: "It is hard to stress just how important these consultations are.

"We are asking the people of Kendal to help us to help them. We have stepped in to support the bus routes in town for the time being.

"But we have to try to find a way to make it commercially viable for operators to offer bus services in town."

He urged locals to take the time to also complete at online survey on the county council's website set up to gather ideas.