SALISBURY Reds has announced it will increase daytime bus services across Wiltshire from next week.

The move follows higher demand - after the Government’s decision to begin easing the coronavirus lockdown.

From Sunday 31 May, passengers across the region will benefit from more frequent buses - with some running up to every 10 minutes.

“Since March, we have been providing essential travel for those who have relied on us in order to be able to carry out their vital roles. And now others are returning to work,” said Salisbury Reds managing director, Andrew Wickham.

“We are responding to a rise in demand, by re-introducing a number of services, and increasing the frequency of those we have been running since lockdown began.

“We want to make sure all our drivers and customers are safe on-board our buses, so we have introduced even more stringent cleaning regimes - sanitising our vehicles throughout with anti-viral wipes. We have also taken measures to enable social distancing, by altering the layout of our seating.”

Among the timetable changes are an increase in frequency for R1 - which runs to and from Salisbury District Hospital - which will now run every 10 minutes Monday to Friday, and every 20 minutes on Saturday.

Mr Wickham added: “With social distancing measures in place, the number of passengers each vehicle can carry is reduced - but our customers will notice a significant increase in the number of buses running across the city.

“We ask those on-board to wear face coverings if they can, and to avoid using cash - paying by contactless, smartcard or app instead if possible.

“We are delighted to be re-introducing so many of our services here. I would like to thank our customers for their continued support, and my key worker colleagues for their incredible resilience and dedication during these very challenging times.”