The service will link South Tyneside with areas north of the River Tyne.

The borough of South Tyneside still has one of the country's highest unemployment rates.

Tyne and Wear transport operator Nexus, says the "on demand" service will be a valuable free aid to job seekers who cannot find work close to home.

South Tyneside has recently seen several hundred electronics jobs go at the troubled Circatex printed circuit board factory in South Shields.

Regeneration fund

A spokesman for Nexus said: "By offering a tailored service to users that allows them to pre-book their journey and be collected and dropped off at the point on the route most convenient to them, the new 'U Call' service has the flexibility to aid workers and employers alike."

Nexus has teamed up with South Tyneside Action Team for Jobs and South Tyneside and North Tyneside Councils to provide the new free bus service.

The two local authorities provide �3,500 from a jointly administered single regeneration budget fund.

North Tyneside mayor, Linda Arkley said: "There are considerable employment opportunities in North Tyneside and we hope the new route will support employees and the borough's employers alike and look forward to more initiatives like this."

Hilton Heslop, Action Team for Jobs leader, added: "We need to encourage more people to widen their job search horizons and consider travelling slightly further afield to work."