Drivers have warmed to Wroughton's Park and Ride scheme six months after the project looked like it was struggling to make an impact.

Figures reveal that, far from being another millstone around the council's neck, the scheme, which opened in April 2002, is good for both the environment and those wanting to save time.

During a period of unprecedented roadworks and diversions around Swindon, people are beginning to use buses instead of clogging up the town centre with more traffic.

The picture has not always been so positive. Last August the Evening Advertiser monitored bus movements in and out of the Croft Road site between 7am and 6pm. Only 190 people were seen climbing aboard, with many counted twice as they had bought return fares.

But today the picture is looking far healthier, with scores of commuters from as far as Salisbury, Melksham and Chippenham taking advantage of the cheap fares and swift service which this service offers.

At 8.30am yesterday, the Advertiser clocked 46 people hopping onto buses; by 9am that figure had risen to 106. By 11am, 148 people had parked and at lunchtime 160 passengers had passed through the park and ride gates.

That figure was expected to swell further as an afternoon influx of shoppers, mothers and children and day-trippers let the bus take the strain.

The car park caters for 652 vehicles and civic chiefs and commuters think that before long they will be full.

Jayne Watson, 40, travels from Melksham every day to catch the Park and Ride to the town centre, where she works at Heath Lambert Insurance Brokers.

She said: "The park and ride is far cheaper than parking in the town. It used to cost me around £6 a day to park in Swindon, but using this scheme is around £1.50 and it takes me right to the doorstep.

"I'm a big advocate of the scheme and hope that other people realise just how good it is and start to use it."

A return tickets costs £1.70, but weekly season tickets are available at £7, or 12 return journeys can be paid for in advance for £16. In addition the car park is monitored by CCTV and regularly patrolled, ensuring peace of mind for commuters.

Driver Archie Houghton, 62, has been on the buses for more than 30 years and has been driving the park and ride vehicles since the scheme started four years ago.

He said: "These schemes really do keep the traffic out of the town centre and anything that does that has to be a bonus. I'm convinced park and rides are the way forward because they are cheap and convenient.

"The Wroughton site is new and has taken some time to catch up with The Copse, but I'm sure more people will start using it from now on."

Gayle Wood, 30, travels to Wroughton from Salisbury each morning to use the park and ride to get to work at Zurich Financial Services in Station Road.

She said: "I used to park in the town, but the prices went up by a huge amount and I ended up paying something like £60 a month to park and still my car was vandalised.

"Park and ride scheme is simple, safe and convenient and the 16 journey season ticket represents really good value. There is always a bus within five minutes of me arriving and it's only a couple of minutes walk to work when I get off."

Since it opened in November 1998, The Copse, five miles up the road in Penhill, has become a roaring success.

It is the template Swindon Council hopes to use for four planned schemes around Swindon one of which could be at the Great Western Hospital site at Commonhead.

By lunchtime yesterday, more than 300 commuters had travelled to the site from places like Cirencester and Blunsdon in the north.

At the time construction work started on the Wroughton park and ride in September 2001, accusations were levelled that it would struggle to attract motorists and could leak thousands of pounds a year from the council's revenue budget.

The total running costs of the scheme are around £450,000 a year, with £230,000 recovered through fares or income.

Critics have said this money could be better spent on social services and education.

Sceptics also complained about its location, access and the decision to create a priority route for its buses by placing new traffic lights at Devizes Road and Victoria Road, which caused extra congestion during the Old Town rush hour.

It takes the buses less than 10 minutes from leaving Wroughton to get to the town centre, with services running approximately every 10 minutes from 7am to 6pm.

From Wroughton the buses rattle through Old Town, down Victoria Hill, along Princes Street, Holbrook Way, Faringdon Road and Commercial Road before heading out towards Gorse Hill and the Great Western Way to their Penhill destination.

The scheme is also an award winner: it has become the 10th Swindon council car park to pick up the prestigious Association of Chief Police Officers Secure Car Park Award, which recognises its extensive security systems.