FIRST Bus has announced its Christmas and New Year timetables including special Boxing Day services.

The firm is introducing special services on Weymouth Service 1 and 10 on Boxing Day. Both will run every half an hour between 8.30am and 6.15pm.

Service 1 runs from Portland to Weymouth, via Wyke Regis, and Service 10 runs from Weymouth to Dorchester via Upwey and Broadwey.

General manager of First Wessex, Simon Newport, said the new services would help people get round to see their relatives and friends and get to the sales.

He said: “Service 10 also calls at Dorset County Hospital so this will be ideal for any customers who work there or have friends or relations in there that they would like to visit over the holiday period.”

He added: “We have not offered bus services in Weymouth on Boxing Day for many years but we now believe the time is right to run them again. We have selected the key routes where we feel the customers will like to travel. These services are being operated on a commercial basis without financial support from the local authority and we hope customers and those who do not usually use the bus will give them a go.”

The services over Christmas and New Year for Weymouth are:

  • Sunday, December 21: normal Sunday service
  • Monday, December 22: Saturday service
  • Tuesday, December 23: Saturday service
  • Christmas Eve: Saturday service with early termination around 8pm
  • Christmas Day: no service,
  • Boxing Day: special half hourly services on Services 1 and 10
  • Saturday, December 27: normal Saturday service
  • Sunday, December 28: normal Sunday service
  • Monday, December 29: Saturday service
  • Tuesday, December 30: Saturday service
  • New Year’s Eve: Saturday service until 8pm
  • New Year’s Day: – no service,
  • Friday, January 2: Saturday service.