New park and ride buses unveiled

The buses will run a regular service to and from Durham city centre

A fleet of buses will soon be servicing three new park and ride sites on the outskirts of Durham City.

The single-deckers, with their distinctive livery, are part of a £10m scheme to alleviate traffic and parking problems in the historic city.

The park and ride sites will offer a total of 1,100 long-stay places and free up an equivalent number of short-stay places in the city centre.

The service will be fully operational from 3 December.

The sites will be at each of the three main routes into the city centre, at Belmont near the A1(M) motorway interchange, Sniperley near the main western approach and at Howlands Farm on the main route in from the south.

Smart cards

Motorists will be able to park free of charge and complete their journeys on the dedicated bus service for a daily return charge of either £1.70 or £1.50 for holders of regular-user "smart" cards.

Information on the service is available on a new website set up by Durham County Council.

Council leader Ken Manton said: "I'm sure park and ride will quickly establish itself as the preferred means of getting into Durham City for commuters, shoppers and tourists."