A bus company’s decision to increase its ticket fares in Weymouth for the second time this year has sparked a backlash from residents. 

First Dorset announced the increase of the price of an adult daily return ticket by 20p from £3.30 to £3.50.

The new fare was launched on Monday, and applies to people travelling within the Weymouth zone of the network. 

The increase has been defended by First Wessex general manager Simon Newport, who claimed that customers in Weymouth had been getting a ‘bargain’ previously. 

It comes just six months after First increased the prices of all adult return ticket fares across its services in Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester on February 1 this year, after a lengthy dispute between drivers and the company.

The Weymouth zone fare was increased to £3.30 during the price hike, and has now seen a further increase less than a year later. 

Jackie Isbell, chairman of the First Buses panel, said: “A lot of people are really unhappy with the price increase especially as it’s only six months since the last one. 

“As a panel member, these sorts of things are discussed in meetings but this particular increase has not been mentioned at all.

“I would encourage passengers to either buy a weekly or monthly ticket which is certainly better value for money.”

Mrs Isbell also added that residents often come to her with concerns, especially regarding the number 3 service which travels from Weymouth to Westham. 

Mr Newport said: “The bus service needs to make a profit to make it sustainable so that we can reinvest in it. 

“It now matches all the other areas such as Portland and Dorchester where an adult daily return ticket is £3.50. There was an anomaly in the price increases in February, they all should have been the same – customers in Weymouth had a bargain. 

“You can travel all day with this ticket, morning afternoon or night, and £3.50 is cheaper than a large latte from a coffee shop chain.” 

When asked about resident’s concerns over the reliability of the service, Mr Newport said: “Every summer we have similar issues, it’s mainly the traffic congestion. We rely on our partners at Dorset County Council to keep our network moving. 

“Our drivers work on different services. If they are stuck in traffic coming back from Dorchester and need to get the next bus to Chickerell, they are going to be delayed.” 

Mr Newport added that concerns over the number 3 service could be down to a change in its frequency from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes, which was also decided in February. 

He said that any residents who have concerns are welcome to contact the company’s customer service department.