LATE night revellers are celebrating after a new night bus was launched to connect Oxford and nearby towns in the early hours of the morning.

Thames Travel has announced it will ferry night owls back home on Friday and Saturday nights, starting this evening.

The NX2 will depart from St Aldates at 12.30am, 1.35am, 2.35am and 3am.

It will then stop at Abingdon, Steventon, Great Western Park and Didcot town centre before terminating at Didcot Parkway station.

Passengers wanting to go the other way are also in luck with return buses leaving from Didcot Parkway at 12.30am and 1.30am - timed to meet late night trains from London.

The bus company said it was introducing the service after customer feedback and having had requests from Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire, one of the main developers working on the new Great Western Park housing estate west of Didcot.

Punters have responded to the news with excitement and are hoping it will save money on taxi fares and tempt their friends to stay out on the town for longer.

Phil Southall, managing director of Thames Travel, said: “We have listened and responded to customer and partner feedback in relation to night services to Didcot.

“More people are working varying shift patterns and enjoying nights out in Oxford city centre and so this service is designed to support people seeking value for money travel in the early hours of the weekend.

“We have launched this in partnership with Taylor Wimpey and are grateful for their support in helping improve services to Great Western Park.

“This is a pilot scheme and will hope people embrace it and we will be in a position to make it a permanent part of our network.”

Season tickets, key cards and return tickets are all valid for use on the night service. An adult night bus fare to Didcot is £6 while it is £4 to travel to Abingdon.

Mark Edmonds, managing director for Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire, said: “We are thrilled that Thames Travel are launching a weekend night bus service for Great Western Park and the wider Didcot area.

“Trains between Oxford and Didcot typically stop running around midnight, and taxis in the area can be costly for some after the trains stop running.

“We hope this additional bus service will aid the affordability of leisure time and socialising for all local residents.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to Thames Travel whom we have been working closely with for providing connectivity to Great Western Park.”