ORGANISERS of the taxi bus service in Redditch are celebrating a huge take-up following its launch in September.

The pilot scheme was launched in response to complaints about the difficulty in travelling around the town after bus company First axed its late night service in January 2003 because of ongoing vandalism and attacks on drivers.

And since the first week of the scheme, there has been a 164 per cent rise in weekly passenger journeys.

Passenger numbers also rose from 384 in September to 790 in October.

Worcestershire County Council transport development officer Chris Wilson said: "The early signs are encouraging and we hope residents will continue to support this scheme, which is helping to provide evening transport provision in certain areas."

The project currently serves Batchley, Headless Cross, Oakenshaw and Crabbs Cross.

And a county council spokesman said with the passenger increase, they were well on the way to making it a financially sustainable scheme. If that happened, they could look to expanding the service to other estates as well.

The "Eurocab" style vehicles, which seat up to seven passengers, run from 8-11pm at 20-minute intervals.

The scheme has been developed by the county council with Redditch Council and the Government's Urban Bus Challenge and is operated by taxi company A Touch of Class.

A single flat fare of £1 is charged per journey and concessionary passes and other bus operator saver tickets are accepted.