A COMMUNITY bus service is up and running following successful negotiations between a council and a not-for-profit company.

The route will run between Port Clarence and Billingham Town Centre after Stockton Borough Council joined forces with Know How North East and agreed to trial the Monday to Saturday service.

The initiative comes after the regular bus service was withdrawn earlier this year.

Councillor Mike Smith, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said: “This is fantastic news for residents of Port Clarence who rely on public transport services but the most important thing of all is that people support the service by using it as often as they can.

“There is no fare – anyone wishing to use the service just needs to register at the Know How hub and fill in a questionnaire. The information provided will help Know How gather information about the most popular days and times for the service.

“The huge financial challenge the council continues to face meant that in 2014, we reluctantly had to make the difficult decision to withdraw the subsidy we pay bus operators, which helps to sustain some rural, weekend and non-commercial routes.

“But we were clear at the time that we would work with the voluntary and community sector to find new transport solutions where commercial operators decided to withdraw services.

“We know how much our communities value transport links and we are delighted that Know How are able to provide this transport link which makes it convenient for residents to access local amenities and after school activities.”

The service is available now and will run on a trial basis until March 31.