Trial bus route to Westham and Southill praised on first run

Older passengers who travel for free have also been urged to pay one way to keep the service alive.

A trial bus link serving passengers of Westham and Southill in Weymouth was launched yesterday.

It is the first time a bus has run through Southill for ten years - and replaces the number 3 route through Westham which ended at the weekend.

Passengers have praised the new route which gives a "lifeline" to members of the public with limited mobility, but have called on First to extend the timetable to make the service more viable.

The  currently runs seven times a day between 9.30am and 2.30pm on weekdays only, operating as a school bus in the morning and afternoon to help cover the costs.

Passengers were in high spirits on the first bus service of the trial number 3 route (Image: Tom Lawrence)

This means the times of the trial service limits commuters and shoppers being able to use it.

More than 20 passengers rode the bus through Westham and Southill on the 9.30am service yesterday, with the ground floor of the double-decker full with passengers travelling to the town centre.

Terry Hirons led a petition to bring a bus back to Southill and rode the bus for the first time shortly after 9.30am.

Terry Hirons riding the first bus of the new trial service (Image: Tom Lawrence)

Mr Hirons said: "It is fantastic to finally have a bus here.

"We want to stress that we are asking pensioners, if they are able to afford it, to pay one way on the bus.

"The bus will only continue to run if it can make enough money, if people pay for the bus going one way and use their pass on the way back that will help a lot.

"One way is £2 at the moment so hopefully people can support it."

Another passenger was Jools Price from Westham.

Jools Price described the bus as a lifeline (Image: Tom Lawrence)

She said: "It is a lifeline for us otherwise we’ve got no way of getting out.

"There are a lot of people with lack of mobility, so they need the bus to get into town or go to the supermarket just to pick up their shopping, or just to get out and meet people and talk to people, otherwise we are just by ourselves indoors."

Ms Price alongside many passengers are delighted to have a bus service, but have asked for the times to be extended so it can accommodate more people.

She added: "It would be lovely if it ran a bit later, we don’t get a bus on Saturday now, it would be nice if it could at least run until 5, that would be lovely.

Mr Hirons echoed these concerns, adding that the bus should be extended during the six weeks holidays to allow people to ride earlier and later when the bus would normally be operating as a school bus.

Mr Hirons added: "I have said the bus should carry on during the six weeks holiday, if they do the same times and just pick up people instead of kids. If they extended it until 6pm it would give people a chance to go to the beach and come back home.

A spokesperson for First Bus South said: "We will trial the retention of the 3 bus route, and include a new diversion via Southill to serve local people there.

"The trial will run for three months, to allow the route to be tested.

"All future network decision-making on the route will be data led and based on customer demand and usage."

James Eustace, Director, First Bus South, said: “We’re pleased that the first day of the trial has been popular with customers. The best way to support this service is for people to continue to get out there and use it.

“Over the coming weeks of the trial, we will be assessing customer usage and all future decisions on the route will be based on our real-time data that allows us to see who is using our buses and when. This helps us focus our resources where they are needed most, to ensure we can continue to best support the wider network in Weymouth.”