County Durham
| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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Villagers vote for new bus service - now they must use it
VILLAGERS who campaigned to save their vital bus service have voted on options for the future of the route.
A number of choices for timetable, route and running days have been put forward for a new service between Darlington and Sadberge.
Residents at an open meeting to discuss the future of the buses also agreed to increase patronage of the service in a bid to safeguard it in the future.
The meeting was called after changes to the funding of the service were made in Darlington Borough Councils budget.
The councils original proposals were to cut 132,000 annually because of the low numbers who used the service.
However, users of the services, Sadberge Parish Council and Coun Brian Jones campaigned to save the service.
The borough councils final budget allocated 80,000 for the service.
Two services currently run to the village, one from Monday to Saturday, the other from Monday to Friday.
Three different options were put before the residents.
service to the surgery in Middleton St George.
Villagers voted on the first option, which will now be put before the borough council. It runs six days a week between 8am and 7pm.
Simon Holdsworth, the councils transport policy manager, said: It is a conventional solution, easy to understand and ticks most of the boxes.
Bus companies have already been approached to make bids to tender for the route.
One of the services will run between Darlington and Sadberge via North Road and Whinbush Way, before going on to other villages including Great Stainton, Stillington, Whitton, Redmarshall, Bishopton and Little Stainton.
The second will run between Darlington and Sadberge via Yarm Road and Middleton St George.
Mr Holdsworth said: I would love this run to be profitable but there needs to be a huge groundswell of enthusiasm from everyone.
The current service is expected to run until June 2008, with the new service taking over when the contract is won and the timetable finalised.
6:42am Tuesday 13th May 2008
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