A BUS corridor protester today urged Doncaster residents to use the scheme he tried to block.
Bessacarr ward Coun Paul Coddington was among councillors opposed to running the borough's Quality Bus Corridor scheme along Bawtry Road, because he thought it was the wrong place for it to go.
The scheme went ahead despite a council motion opposi
ng its route - and now its two park and ride sites open on Monday.
Coun Coddington and other Lib Dems had wanted to see the corridor follow White Rose Way rather than Bawtry Road and he says he is concerned about how well-used it will be.
He said: "I've had a lot of emails from people saying they didn't want it.
"More people have told me they will not be using it than have said they plan to travel on it.
"But, having said that, we have it now and I hope people use it. I don't want it to be a white elephant."
The scheme runs between two park and ride sites at York Road, Scawsby, and Parrott's Corner, near Rossington.
The opening of the park and rides follows completion of the third phase of the scheme along York Road, between Jossey Lane and St Mary's Gyratory.
The bus lane in the south, along Bawtry Road, has been open several weeks and transport bosses say passengers are already seeing journey time reductions of up to 20 minutes.
David Young, head of transport Integration at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said: "Following on from the successful launch of the first phase of the scheme in March of this year, I am delighted to see the next phase of this major scheme open.
"This will bring further time-saving benefits to the people of Doncaster.
"When the scheme is fully completed there will be a noticeable improvement in the reliability of existing bus services along the route and also an excellent Park and Ride bus service into the town."
Although much of the work along York Road is complete, work to improve the traffic lights may mean lane closures, diversions and temporary traffic lights are still in place for the next few weeks.
The final section of work, on the bus corridor between Cantley Lane and Racecourse Roundabout, is due to finish in April 2009.
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