COUNCIL chiefs have defended their funding of buses on a toll road.
Durham County Council introduced the country's first congestion charge in October on Durham City's peninsula, which includes the castle, cathedral and university colleges.
Unless they have exemptions, motorists have to pay £2 between 10am and 4pm on weekdays.
The council also introduced a minibus service between car parks, the bus and rail stations, and the cathedral.
Its move has resulted in a 90 per cent drop in traffic, 40 per cent more than expected, but the bus service has failed to attract large numbers of passengers.
A council spokeswoman said that it had always been intended that the service would be subsidised.
She said: "The intention was that we expected the charging scheme to pay for itself and any surplus would go towards the running costs of the bus service and Durham Shopmobility. The prime objective of the charging scheme was to reduce traffic."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article