BUS passengers will be able to buy weekly and monthly tickets at local shops.
From Monday, Arriva tickets will be sold at 70 shops across County Durham with PayPoint facilities at which people can pay phone and utility bills.
Arriva says the scheme is its reaction to market research and passenger feedback that people want easier ways to buy tickets.
The company hopes that, with fewer people having to find change at the bus stop, the bus will have a shorter waiting time.
Passengers will still be able to buy daily and weekly tickets direct from bus drivers.
Arriva North-East commercial director Liz Esnouf said: "We believe this represents a significant improvement to the service we offer customers, especially as so many of the PayPoint outlets are within just a short walk of an Arriva bus service. Many of our customers will already be familiar with the convenience of topping-up their mobile phones or paying their BT, gas or electricity bills at PayPoint outlets."
Paypoint chief executive Dominic Taylor said: "We expect this new service to be extremely popular with customers, as many of them are regular bus passengers and most PayPoint outlets are located in residential areas."
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