A Saturday park-and-ride service in Oxford is to be split in two because of congestion problems in the city centre.

The Oxford Bus Company's 300 service, which runs between the Redbridge and Pear Tree sites via the city centre is the busiest route.

But recent problems at weekends in Abingdon Road with weekend traffic queues for the Westgate car park and congestion in George Street in the evenings has prompted the firm to split the route in two on a trial basis.

From tomorrow, the 300 route will run in two sections - Redbridge to St Aldate's via Donnington Bridge and Iffley Road, and Pear Tree to Magdalen Street east via Woodstock Road.

The city centre pick-up for Redbridge will be in St Aldate's. The city pick-up for Pear Tree will be outside Debenhams in Magdalen Street West.

Park-and-ride stops opposite the St Aldate's police station, on the Abingdon Road into the centre and in George Street, New Road and Bonn Square will not be in use on Saturdays.

Oxford Bus Company commercial manager Phil Clark said: "This is an effort to give our passengers the first class service they expect.

"Experience and current circumstances have shown that we need to avoid the Westgate car park area, due to the extreme queuing.

"We have also taken park-and-ride buses out of George Street, particularly in the evenings when our drivers have extreme difficulty negotiating through traffic and pedestrians."

The frequency of the 300 park-and-ride buses will be unchanged, and the split service will be reviewed at Christmas.