COMMUTERS travelling from North Somerset villages into Bristol can soon take advantage of a more environmentally friendly service.

COMMUTERS travelling from North Somerset villages into Bristol can soon take advantage of a more environmentally friendly service.

A minibus will run through Winscombe, Churchill, Wrington, Redhill, Langford and Blagdon to transport people to Bristol International Airport to catch its Flyer coach into the city centre.

From Monday a three-month pilot scheme will begin. The bus will run through the week, starting from Winscombe at around 7.10am to arrive at the airport at 7.55am.

The return service will leave the airport at around 6pm.

Travellers will be asked to pre-book journeys the week before they want to use the service to arrange a pick-up location and time.

A return ticket will cost around £5 depending on where each passenger lives and single tickets will be sold for flexibility.

The project will be run by Dragonflyer Mobility, which operates the bus into Bristol, and Weston Dial-a-Ride, which will pick up villagers to take to the airport.

Weston Dial-A-Ride coordinator John Baker said: "Once the minibus has taken people to the airport in the morning it will then return to the villages to pick up any passengers wishing to travel to Weston for shopping or to go to the hospital.

"This service allows our group to provide a profitable service outside of our current busiest hours."

Dragonflyer project manager Steve Tainton said: "Hopefully this service will encourage people out of their cars.

"By arranging pick-up times and locations with each passenger it also means our service will be more convenient than current bus routes."

To use the bus travellers need to become a member of Dragonflyer Mobility by calling Steve Tainton on 07771 583760.

For more details log on to www.thewestonmercury.co.uk