City of Newcastle has stepped in to save the city's park-and-ride bus service two days before it was set to be axed.
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The council will fund the service for the next month while it lobbies for the state's transport department to continue the operation.
It comes after the Newcastle Herald revealed last week that Transport for NSW's funding for the service would stop at the end of the month.
City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council "owe" it to regular users of the service to continue the buses.
"City of Newcastle will underwrite the park and ride for the month of April," he said on Wednesday.
"In a city that has traditionally refused to use public transport, the park and ride has proved Novocastrians will catch a bus to work when the service is affordable and reliable.
"More than 41,000 people have used the park and ride since it started in November 2017 in response to the impact of the construction of the NSW government's light rail project.
"While public transport is very clearly a responsibility of the NSW government, we owe it to the almost 1000 passengers that use the park and ride weekly to do everything we can to continue the service."
Mr Bath said the council would examine the cost of operating the service, which he believed under the current model to be about $500,000 per year.
"Over the next four weeks we'll undertake a detailed analysis of the costs of the park and ride," he said.
"This will include speaking with bus operators, including Keolis Downer, to establish the true cost of running the park-and-ride service under a variety of hours of operation.
"We will also speak with users of the service to understand their needs versus their wants when it comes to public transport."
The council will not change the price of the service over the next month but it likely will change if the service is to continue.
Park-and-ride users told the Herald last week they would be prepared to pay more if the service continued.
"For the park and ride to continue the price will have to rise," Mr Bath said.
"The price of the service hasn't increased since it was launched and that was done to encourage car enthusiasts to try public transport, often for the first time.
"However, if the city is going to bear the cost of the park and ride then we will need to re-examine the pricing model. But that decision can't be made until we understand the true cost of operating the service as well as people's willingness to pay for an express bus to the city and back."
Mr Bath was critical of Transport for NSW's recent lack of consultation.
"TfNSW's refusal to confirm whether they will continue to fund the park and ride has created angst and frustration for its users," he said.
"To date, we've heard nothing from TfNSW other than a promise more than a week ago to provide a decision by last Friday.
"This is despite four months of regular discussions in which we we were led to believe the park and ride would continue to be funded by the NSW government."
The council has administered the service and funded the availability of parking spaces on the Venues NSW-owned stadium grounds while the state government has paid Keolis Downer to operate the buses.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the Newcastle Transport network had a variety of alternative options for commuters.
"We encourage locals to consider nearby public transport options that may suit their travel needs," the spokesperson said.
"Alternatively, customers may choose to park their car close to any frequent bus route and complete their journey into the city on public transport.
"Bus routes 13 and 26 pick up on Lambton Road and travel into the city, and bus routes 11, 13 and 14 travel into Newcastle's east end with frequent services every 15 minutes on weekdays."