STEFAN Dimic has one of the more tricky jobs at County Hall – he has to persuade Buckinghamshire people to leave their cars at home and use the bus or train.

He is the man who told people in Wycombe if they did that just one day a week, the streets of High Wycombe would be as free of traffic as they were during the school holidays.

This week he brought a bus into the town centre and stayed with it all day giving out timetables, post it pads, balloons and pens to draw attention to Route 33 and to try and persuade some of the 13,500 people who live within 500 yards of bus stops along the route they should use it .

Route 33 – formerly route 303 – runs from Totteridge via the railway station, the bus station and Desborough Road to Castlefield .

Arriva, which runs the service, promises a reliable bus every ten minutes during peak times and has added more services on Sundays and during the evenings.

Brian Drury, commercial director of Arriva, said a similar campaign in Aylesbury raised passenger numbers by 20 per cent.

Everyone living along Route 33 will get a pack with a questionnaire asking them if they use the bus and if not, why not. People who answer get their names put into a draw for a weekend in Paris.

People who do not us the bus can be targeted and may be offered special deals.

Mr Dimic said: "It is getting people to try it for the first time.

"People should not have to say the buses never turn up, or they are not regular."

Andy Huxley, the county council’s lead spokesman for transportation, said: “I hope people will give Route 33 a try. It makes sense when you consider what a short journey it is and how much you have to pay to run a car and park it all day.” It costs £40.30 a month for adults to travel on redroute 33. All-day parking in High Wycombe can cost between £3 and £10 a day.

Mr Drury said: “We’re sure new customers will be very pleasantly surprised by the convenience and value this service offers.”