Three months ago, the bus company extended its 600 service between Carlisle and Cockermouth to continue on to Whitehaven, and the half-hourly service has proved so popular with the public that last Friday, 6 March, it reached the milestone of carrying its 10,000th passenger. This has been made possible by financial support from Cumberland Council through its Cumberland Go initiative.

To mark the occasion the lucky 10,000th person on board the 600 service from Whitehaven Hospital to Cockermouth was given a special prize: three months of free travel on Stagecoach services and a £50 high street voucher. Plus there were goodie bags for all the other passengers on the bus.

The 10,000th passenger was Mr Stephen Edwards from Ravenglass who said: “I can’t believe I’m the 10.000th passenger. Thank you very much. I use the bus regularly to get to Cockermouth from Ravenglass, which involves a change at Whitehaven. I like the bus. I’ve always been interested in buses.

“I use the bus for things like going to the doctors and shopping. It’s great that the route has been extended between Whitehaven and Cockermouth. Buses are really important as they play an important role in connecting local communities across Cumbria.”

The expanded Cumberland Go network introduces new routes, upgraded services, more frequent journeys, and additional Sunday connections. These improvements are based on what our communities told us they wanted most: reliable, accessible and greener transport that links towns and villages with hospitals, education sites and key community hubs.

Tom Waterhouse, Managing Director of Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire, said: "I’m delighted to hear that the extension to the 600 route between Cockermouth and Whitehaven is proving so popular amongst our customers.

“We are always looking to improve our services and we are confident that the extension to this route will benefit our customers and encourage more people to take the bus.”