Customers can take advantage of free bus travel for a few hours on New Year's Eve.

Stagecoach Oxford is thanking its customers for their loyalty by running its last services of the Millennium in and out of Oxford free of charge.

From 5pm on New Year's Eve, all services will be complimentary until they stop running.

However, party revellers should not expect free lifts home from Oxford after the midnight celebrations as most services will be ending in the early evening.

Most services, such as those running to Wantage and Carterton, will end between 6pm and 7pm, while many services arriving in the city centre will run until 8pm. It will, however, mean many commuters or shoppers will get a free trip home after work and others will have a complimentary trip into the city to start their celebrations.

Stagecoach has also announced that 10p from every bus fare taken on December 31 will be donated to charity.

David Whitley, marketing manager for the company, said: "All we seem to be hearing lately is how expensive New Year's Eve is going to be, with many companies taking advantage of the hype with sky-high prices.

"Since the festive period is supposed to be a time for giving, we've taken the opportunity to offer a small token of our appreciation to our customers instead."

The company's Oxford Tube service will also be leaving Oxford for London until 9pm and returning from the capital from 2am onwards.

They will then run at least hourly until 7pm on New Year's Day. Return tickets will be at the normal price of £7.50. Mr Whitley said: "Having spent the last 12 years encouraging people to go to London on the Oxford Tube, it would be somewhat ironic to abandon the service on the one day that everybody wants to go there.

"It means a lot to us to be able to contribute to the start - and end - of a great night out that nobody will ever forget."

The company is also offering annual passes for unlimited travel between Oxford and London at half the normal price during the first two weeks of January.

The price will be £599 for travel on its Oxford Tube service - the normal price for six months' travel.

Story date: Tuesday 28 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.