As reported in the Mail last month, Stagecoach intended to stop running services 6, 7, and 7A from Saturday, August 23, and on Sundays to Thursdays after 6.30pm.

The Number 1 service would also have stopped every evening after 6.30pm and all day Sunday.

The move sparked anger from councillors and commuters.

They said it would leave residents from areas such as the Headland and Seaton Carew cut off from the centre of Hartlepool after 6.30pm.

Although Mayor Drummond agreed in principle to give cash support to the services, he spoke of his dismay at Stagecoach's stance.

And he cast doubt on the firm's long-term future in the town.
Mayor Drummond also asked Hartlepool Borough Council transport chiefs to explore longer-term transport alternatives.

Stagecoach bosses blame the decline in passenger numbers, the volume and price of car parking in Hartlepool and the strength of the taxi market.

Mayor Drummond said: "I think we should pull every single penny out of Stagecoach because it is costing Hartlepool taxpayers' money.

"This report has come before us time and time again, and it will come in front of us again in the future saying that other services are no longer viable.

"It has to stop and we should look to see if there is some alternative that we can do and if we can do it differently ourselves.

"We need to do some work on how we are going to provide a better town-wide bus service.

"It may seem a knee-jerk reaction but we continue to put money in and keep getting a worse service. It wouldn't be so bad if we were getting a better service but we are not."

The council's cabinet committee agreed to fund the service until March 31 2009, when the contract with Stagecoach expires.

In order to maintain the current service it will cost the council £42,971 for the number 1 service, £20,148 for the number 6 and £16,502 for the 7 and 7A services.

The council supports 18 services, run by various operators, at a total cost of around £400,000 a year.

In 2006-07 the council provided Stagecoach with £276,922 for supported services, in 2007-08 it was £271, 901 and for the current financial year, 2008-09, that figure was £258,654.

Mayor Drummond added: "In principal we are going to continue the funding of these services until the end of March but a report will come back to cabinet in a fortnight to look at the exact details of how it can be funded."

Councillors agreed to subsidise the four threatened bus services after deciding the move was in the best interests of local people.

Councillor Peter Jackson, the council's neighbourhoods and communities portfolio holder, said: "I would suggest that we support these services for a limited time to give ourselves a chance to look at what we can do for the people of the town and how we can do it.

"I think we should explore alternatives such as working with local taxi firms."

Councillor Robbie Payne, finance and efficiency portfolio holder, said: "We need to look at how we can provide a better service that benefits the people of Hartlepool and not shareholders' pockets."

Robin Knight, commercial director for Stagecoach North East, gave the following response: "The evening and Sunday services of routes 1, 6 and 7 have seen insufficient levels of patronage to cover even basic running costs for some considerable time.

"Despite promotional activity and vehicle improvements we are still not seeing levels of patronage that could ensure the sustainability of these routes as commercial services.

"The public transport subsidy system is an important function in situations such as these, as it provides local funding to ensure that unsustainable services deemed to have social need continue to run for those people that need them. After much consultation with the council, we are pleased that they have agreed to fund these services until March 2009, and this timescale will provide their officers the opportunity to explore potential alternatives for the future.

"We remain committed to providing sustainable services across Hartlepool that meet customer demand and that are viable for all parties involved.

"With this in mind, we will continue to work closely with the council to try and achieve this."