AN open-top shuttle bus intended to boost South Tyneside’s tourism industry cost the borough’s council taxpayers more than £25 for every journey it made, it has emerged.
The bus service, launched in July 2013 to link South Shields town centre to the seafront, was introduced by South Tyneside Council and operated by bus firm Stagecoach with the aim of making it easier for summer visitors to get around.
But new statistics, released in response to a request made under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act, reveal that the bus was often running with few or no passengers.