The Chief Minister has approved plans to trial a town bus service, which is due to launch by the end of 2021.

In January, the government said the service would be up and running this summer.

Senator John Le Fondré has now agreed the £365,000 contract with operator LibertyBus.

Buses are due to operate Monday-Saturday, excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays, with buses every 15 minutes between 9am and 6pm.

The route is set to cover:

• Liberation Station
• General Hospital
• Town Library
• Arts Centre
• Co-op Grand Marché
• Springfield Stadium
• Millennium Park
• Halkett Place (for Central Markets)
• Pier Road
• Commercial Buildings

A round trip of the route is said to take around 35 minutes in average traffic conditions.

The government will pay a fixed price to LibertyBus to operate the route, rather than reimbursing the company as it does on its other services.

Fare prices are said to 'mirror existing [LibertyBus] services', to avoid undercutting the company's other routes.

A 'hoppa' service previously ran in 1999, looping around the St Helier ring road for a 20p flat fare. It only operated for a few months before funding ran out.

The new service is planned to start running 'within 30 weeks' (6-7 months) of funding being approved.