Bus passengers in County Durham are among the most satisfied in the North East.
But council bosses insist more can be done to improve transport in the county, which also recorded some of the best performance statistics in the country.
This is expected to include better links to and from some of its more neglected towns and villages.
Coun Alan Napier, the deputy leader of the council, said: "I think over the years I've met with so-called expert planners and regional bods when we were trying to drive forward the Core Cities programme.
"But they didn't take any consideration of 'Tommy' or 'Sally' who live in Horden and who need three buses to get to Newcastle or Sunderland.
"It's more important for us to have integrated transport with a region or a sub-region than between regions."
Coun Napier was speaking at yesterday's (Wednesday, April 3) cabinet meeting, which was held at the Witham arts centre, in Barnard Castle.
Plans to merge two schools in Horden to save more than £60,000 a year have been approved
According to a report for councillors, satisfaction rates for bus passengers in County Durham put the county joint top in the North East and joint fifth nationally.
Bus users gave an overall satisfaction rating of 91 per cent, although this fell to 70 per cent and 77 per cent for 'value for money' and 'punctuality', respectively.
Coun Simon Henig, the leader of the council added: "Some of the data is very positive but these are clearly very difficult times and it's consistently challenging to be able to carry on providing services."
