CHANGES have been made to a town bus service in a bid to attract more passengers.

Following a review of Bridport's Service 7, set up by the town council, a new route and timetable will take effect from March 6.

The changes divide the current single loop into two serving different areas, meaning there will be trips to the town centre more frequently and shorter journey times for passengers.

Bridport Town Council hopes the improvements the improvements will encourage more people to use the 'use it or lose it' service, which launched in August last year.

The service is running as a pilot until August 2019 on Wednesdays and Saturdays to coincide with Bridport' market.

Funding comes from the town council and Bradpole and Allington parish councils.

Town council leader, Cllr Sarah Williams, says passenger numbers haven’t been as high as hoped so far, but hopes the changes will make the bus a more attractive option. Cllr Williams said: “We do need to see more people using the number 7 bus before we can say the community benefit matches the cost. We’ve listened to comments on the service and we know the journey times have been a concern. The new route will address that by coming into the centre more often. One particular part of the route will see a journey of 45 minutes reduce to just four minutes.”

The changes will also see the bus visit Bridport Hospital. Cllr Williams added: “We had some feedback that suggested this would be a helpful addition so we’re happy to give it a try.”

Fares will remain unchanged at £2 single or £3 return (under 16s £1 single and under 5s free), and town clerk, Will Austin, says the council is keen to encourage concessionary pass holders to buy a ticket, if they can afford it. “None of the funding from bus pass journeys comes to the councils that are funding the service," he said. "It will help sustain the service if passengers pay the fare, but obviously only if it’s within their means.”

The additional visits to the town centre means that the bus won’t travel to and from West Bay. Mr Austin added: “West Bay is already well served by the X53 and as a result hardly anyone uses Service 7 for that journey. We don’t think it’ll adversely affect West Bay but of course we will continue to listen to comments about how the service is working and, if needed, we can look again. We’re keen to see this important community initiative succeed.”