The public are being asked to choose the new look for the park and ride buses serving Durham City.
Working with New College Durham, Durham County Council invited design students to submit their ideas for how the fleet of 10 buses could look. Following the entries being whittled down to two, the public are now being asked to pick their favourite at www.durham.gov.uk/busdesign with the vote open until 8 July.
Two of the 10 buses, which were blank following a new operator taking over the service in 2014, have been wrapped in the finalist’s designs and can now be seen on routes in and around Durham City.
Bliss Litliernhurnest, 20, from Coxhoe took inspiration from road signs and lane markings, turning them into a brightly coloured, abstract design. Scott Foreman, also 20, from Stanley, designed a bus featuring a stylised map of the park and ride service’s routes. Ahead of the vote opening, the two finalists got to see their designs on the buses themselves for the first time.
Scott said: “Seeing my design go from being just a drawing on a piece of a paper to the reality of something I’ve created being on an actual bus is brilliant. The chance to showcase my work like this to thousands of people every day is amazing. It looks really good and I hope people like it and vote for it.”
Bliss said: “It’s great to see my design on a bus driving round Durham. Just making it to the final two is a brilliant opportunity and a great addition to my portfolio but I’d still love to win so I hope people vote for my design!”
Cllr Neil Foster, Cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “We’re really excited to help kick-start the career of two local students by working with them to design our new buses. Both of them have worked really hard on their designs and they look fantastic. We really hope as many people as possible join us in supporting these two young people by voting for how they want the park and ride buses to look.”
