PASSENGER numbers on a North Yorkshire bus route have risen by 2,200 in just three months.

People travelling between Stokesley and Northallerton leapt from just more than 1,600 in April to 3,800 in July, according to research carried out by North Yorkshire County Council.

It says the increase is due to the introduction of modern low-floor buses, customer care training for drivers and wider distribution of timetables.

The higher standards were set out in a so-called quality contract, agreed between operators Arriva and the authority earlier this year.

However, the contract is more expensive than other less demanding agreements, so it remains to be seen whether similar passenger increases will happen elsewhere.

At a county meeting last week, transport experts, bus operators and passenger groups welcomed the news about passenger increases on the route. In addition, they said there had been other bus service improvements and good transport initiatives.

However, there were fears that many parish councils were not seizing new opportunities to improve and extend public transport locally. Richard Owens, county public transport manager, said the Government had legislated to give parish and town councils a greater role in transport provision.

However, some community representatives said parish and town councils were either unaware of their powers to improve existing services and set up new ones - or felt unable to do so. They claimed councillors needed help with grant applications and complicated documents.

Mr Owens said there were problems with poor quality bus shelters, stations and information. However, it was hoped facilities would be built in key villages and market towns, mentioning Stokesley as an example.