Rocketing petrol prices and free travel for pensioners have contributed to a massive leap in the number of people travelling by bus in Poole.

Bus users in the borough increased to more than nine million over the last year (2010/11).

This was an 11 per cent rise over the previous year and a massive 71 per cent since 2003/4.

Borough of Poole monitors the number of passengers boarding local bus services on an annual basis and noted a slight decline in numbers for the two years before the sudden increase.

Improvements to some services, particularly reliability, together with investment from the council in bus priority lanes and better information have been put forward by the council as contributing reasons.

And more people have been leaving their cars at home due to the huge hike in petrol and diesel costs.

A study carried out by the Green Flag breakdown company shows a dramatic change in driving behaviour fuelled by petrol prices.

More than one in five motorists has been driven off the road in the past year by rising fuel prices and 27 per cent use public transport more often.

Approximately a third of bus journeys in the borough, 3,068,204 were undertaken by holders of concessionary bus passes, up 6.3 per cent on the previous year.

“This is clear evidence that travelling by bus is becoming the first choice for increasing numbers of Poole people,” said Cllr Xena Dion, cabinet member for transport.

“There has been significant investment made by the council and the bus operators in recent years for the benefit of bus passengers.”