YELLOW Buses is running extra evening services and launching a night bus after noticing that more people want to enjoy Dorset’s nightlife rather than go shopping.

The Bournemouth operator found its evening buses were stretched while the traditional daytime trip to town centres was declining.

Simon Newport, Yellow Buses’ head of commercial, said: “In some cases last summer we were experiencing capacity problems on journeys departing the town centre after 10pm.

“We are reacting to this by introducing extra journeys throughout the evening from April 7 in our new summer timetable and also starting a new night bus service.

“These improvements to the bus network are being taken at our own commercial risk because we believe that there are opportunities to carry extra people.

“We will be working with the night time economy team to promote these additional journeys and help locals and visitors alike to get home easily and safely after a good night out.”

In the new timetable, the 5/5A service will be stepped up from half-hourly to every 15 minutes in the evenings. Between these routes and the number three, there will be a bus every seven or eight minutes from Bournemouth town centre to the railway station and Charminster, up to around 10pm.

The new Night 1, will operate on Friday and Saturday nights from 12.30am to 4am, between Westbourne, Bournemouth, Boscombe, Pokesdown, Iford and Christchurch.

Night 5 will run every 30 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays between the Square, station, Charminster, Winton, Moordown and universities.

Mr Newport told the Daily Echo: “We’re carrying fewer people during the middle of the day, when you would have come into town, done some shopping, met some friends, had a cup of coffee. That kind of journey has declined but we had some capacity problems at nine in the evening.”

He said the company had observed the popularity of the existing late night bus between the campus, Charminster and the town centre. “In the run-up to Christmas, we found the majority of users were not students but local residents,” he said.

He added: “I think Bournemouth is really changing. It’s becoming a thriving leisure destination. We want to embrace that as best we can.”