YORK'S latest new Park& Ride service has been hailed as a "huge hit" with passengers.

City of York Council revealed today that during its first 15 days of operation, about 8,000 people were taken to the city centre on the buses from Monks Cross.

A spokesman said that between 550 and 700 people were now using the silver line service daily on weekdays and Saturdays, with more than 300 using it on Sundays.

At the same time, York's other four existing Park&Ride services - at Askham Bar, Rawcliffe Bar, Grimston Bar and the McArthur Glen designer outlet at Fulford -are also continuing to attract more passengers.

The council said that in the first three weeks of July, there had been a massive 19.1 per cent increase in the use of the sites compared with the same period last year, with passenger levels rising from 150,558 to 179,337.

Figures for the two previous months also increased significantly, with a 5.1 per cent increase in June and an 8.1 per cent increase in May, compared with the same months in 2003.

Martin Revill, head of transport planning, said: "These figures demonstrate that the popularity of York's Park&Ride services continues to rise month by month.

"With the opening of the new Park&Ride site at Monks Cross, we envisage even more demand for the service, which hundreds of thousands of visitors to York see as a convenient, efficient and affordable way of accessing the many attractions in the city centre.

"Clearly we are very pleased to see how quickly the public have responded to the new Park&Ride site at Monks Cross. It's a welcome addition to the service."

Coun Ann Reid, executive member for planning and transport, said she was "absolutely delighted" by the take-up of the new service, which she said was bringing people into the city centre while also reducing congestion.

She said the service, in association with a shuttle bus, was also being used to get people from the city centre out to shops and offices at Monks Cross.

She said Park & Ride across the city had been a great success. "Most people feel it represents value for money," she said.

Updated: 11:18 Friday, July 30, 2004