MAJOR improvements are on the way for bus services in North Yorkshire following a £500,000 investment from the county council.

A new high quality service linking Northallerton with Stokesley will be launched next week.

As part of the five-year contract with bus company Arriva, new low-floor buses will be introduced to service the route.

As well as the new buses, there will also be more opportunities for travel.

Services to Great Broughton will be doubled, with new links to Northallerton - and, in Northallerton itself, all journeys will operate to the new surgery in Boroughbridge Road.

In a tie-up with the North York Moors National Park, the new service will also become part of the relaunched Moorsbus network.

With connections to the rail network at Northallerton station, the development will provide much easier access to the moors for more people.

The county council's executive member for the environment, Peter Sowray, said: "We are spending £3.5m supporting public transport this year.

"This contract represents an investment by the council of more than £500,000, an important step towards developing a high-quality public transport network which will help the county council tackle both social exclusion and traffic congestion."

As well as funding the new service, the authority is planning to introduce new waiting facilities in both Northallerton and Stokesley within the next year.

The council's director of environmental services, Mike Moore, said: "This is a prime example of how the county council is combining revenue and capital expenditure to maximise the overall impact and attract new passengers.

"We expect the use of this service to increase by one-third over the period of the contract."

The commercial director for Arriva North-East, Steve Burd, said they were delighted to be the first company to work with the council in delivering the new concept of high-quality services.

"This approach will undoubtedly encourage more people to use public transport in rural areas," he added