Chapter ends as Book Bus to be retired

NORTH Tyneside Council is retiring its Book Bus amid opposition calls for the service to remain in place.

- AUSTEN SHAKESPEARE

Since the closure of Tynemouth Library in 2020, with work to restore the facility due to begin this summer, the Book Bus has been stationed outside from Monday to Friday.

However, council chiefs have decided to scrap the bus following a decline in its use and the fact the vehicle reached its lifespan in 2009.

According to the local authority, the bus is now only used 22 times a day, with 90 care home or shelter accommodation residents using it in the past month.