Taunton Gateway and Silk Mills park and ride prices rise

Customers can pay up front for tickets using a smart phone app which offers discounts on the cash price on a bus

Peak time tickets for park and ride sites in Somerset are set to rise from 24 December.

The cost of an adult day ticket for Taunton's Gateway and Silk Mills services will jump from £2.40 to £3.50.

The service faced closure in September when Somerset County Council said it could not afford to keep paying for it.

A one-off £170,000 payment from Taunton Deane council will keep it running until September when it is expected to have to become self-funding.

The borough council's Leader John Williams said the contribution has provided "a window of opportunity" to put it "on a sound footing while a commercially viable service is developed to complement existing parking provision".

Somerset County Council will remain responsible for the the park and ride sites until September 2019.

Buses of Somerset will take responsibility for marketing and getting more people to use the services with the expectation that it can run on a purely commercial basis in future.

The bus firm has begun working with Musgrove Park NHS Trust to promote the use of the park and ride with hospital staff.

Customers are able to buy tickets using the Buses of Somerset smart phone mTicket app which offers discounts compared with cash payments on the bus.

New prices for park and ride from 24 December:

• adult day ticket before 10:00 GMT - £3.50 (on the app) or £4 paying on the bus - compared to £2.40 currently

• adult day ticket after 10:00 GMT - £2 on app or £2.50 paying on the bus - compared to £2.40 currently

• monthly anytime - £55 on the app and £60 paying on the bus - compared to £33

• monthly subscription - £50 - compared to £33