Nexus has diverted a bus route through the heart of a Washington village to give passengers a smoother ride.
Route 23, which runs hourly between Washington and Birtley, will from 1st November serve Knoulberry Road in Blackfell.
The bus has until now run round the outside of the village on Blackfell Road.
But after consulting with both existing passengers and local residents Nexus, which fund the bus route using money from local authorities, decided on the change.
Tobyn Hughes, Nexus Director of Strategy, said: “We talk to local people all the time about ways to improve the services we fund.
“A simple change to Route 23 will mean the bus no longer has to negotiate traffic calming measures on Blackfell Road, while still providing a valuable service for local people.”
Councillor Bernie Scaplehorn, represents Washington West on Sunderland City Council, said: “Residents I have spoken to understand why Nexus has made this change. The most important thing is Blackfell has a local bus service.”
Route 23 was launched in June 2010 to provide an hourly daytime link between Washington Galleries, Blackfell and Springwell Village, then down into Birtley.
It provides a direct bus link between Washington and parts of Birtley and Blackfell village otherwise without bus services.
It was one of a number of new and extended routes Nexus provided at the request of local councillors in Washington over the summer to improve local links.