A NEW bus route has been introduced to once again link the communities of Weymouth, Crossways and Dorchester.

First Wessex has worked alongside Travel Dorset to create the route, in part replacing the 4A service Dorset County Council previously operated between Dorchester and Crossways.

The route comes as welcome news as many residents riled against the council's announcement earlier this year that it intends to reduce the number of services around Dorchester and rural Dorset from 35 to just seven as of July.

The cuts are a result of budget-cutting as the council seeks to save £1.85m from the public and schools transport budget on top of the £500,000 saved from subsidised bus routes in the previous 12 months.

Simon Newport, general manager of First Wessex, said: "We're delighted to be able to step in and maintain the route between Dorchester and Crossways, as well as provide new links to Weymouth and Dorchester for both holidaymakers and local residents.

"This has been made possible with the help the team at Travel Dorset at the Dorset County Council. We will not receive any direct financial support for providing the route, which is the same across the rest of our network.

"Our objective by serving Warmwell Holiday Park and Seaview Holiday Park is to generate enough revenue in the summer to sustain it throughout the winter, but at a lower frequency During the summer, passengers can expect a bus every hour between Mondays and Saturdays and a two-hourly service on Sundays.

Service 5 will also stop at Seaview Holiday Park and Warmwell Holiday Park, and at specific times there will be journeys to and from Thomas Hardye School.

Mr Newport added: "We hope that the additional communities that we serve with this new route will receive it positively and encourage people to use it. We’re confident that this route will be successful and will provide a great long-term travel solution."

The new Service 5 will operate hourly over the summer from Saturday, May 20 and after the summer it will run every two hours Monday to Saturday.

For more information about the First Wessex services and timetables, visit: www.firstgroup.com/wessex-dorset-south-somerset