We have been trying for days to confirm if the former 501 service, now named the Portland Coaster, from Weymouth Esplanade to Portland Bill is charging £2 single only.
There has been some confusion, as their leaflets would have been printed before the date was extended, with actual drivers and passengers alike left in the dark. Social media has lit up with stories of being charged more than the £2 flat fare. We are aware some of the holiday park services are not included in Weymouth, but today we can confirm that the Portland Coaster has come into line with all other Coasters run by FirstDorset Buses.
The tweet we have received in the last hour confirms this (which you can see re-tweeted @chesilradio):
Hi there Chesil Radio. The 501 Portland Coaster is incorporated within the £2 fare. Please see below for more information:
-Dan...
You can now enjoy this route at £2 each way, and yes it is cheaper than a return, so just ask for single tickets each way to avoid confusion or overcharging. However if you are going to want to hop on and off the day ticket, to do so is more expensive than the normal day tickets, so plan ahead and see if single £2 tickets work out cheaper, between the stops, for most it will.
Top Tip: Why not go to Portland Castle and/or Portland Bill and then decide if you want to hop off, each single ticket will cost £2, but if you are only hopping off once or twice, the single tickets will still be cheaper than day ones.
And you can also use the Service No 1 for most of Portland, so if you have hopped off and on using single tickets, this service runs more often around Portland and back and forth to Weymouth, sadly though most have a full roof on that route!
For full First Buses timetables in Dorset visit: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/wessex-dorset-south-somerset as there are some other amazing places to go with them and it's cheaper than parking at the moment for most with the price hikes recently.