STAGECOACH South West is launching a new fleet of buses for the Plymouth network, which connects with Dartmouth.
Members of the Dartmouth Transport Group have been invited to a roadshow that is taking place on Friday at the city’s Civic Centre Piazza, in Royal Parade.
Three of the new fleet of 26 buses for Plymouth including an example of the new vehicles that will be running on route 3, connecting Dartmouth with Plymouth, will be on display.
This will also be the first official public appearance for the South West Falcon, a new coach service which starts on February 14 and connects Plymouth with Exeter, Taunton and Bristol.
The operator has invested £5m in 26 buses for the network. Some of them are entering service immediately with the rest to follow over the coming weeks. The majority of buses feature free Wi-Fi, allowing customers to connect, share and play on the move.
Ten buses will operate on the park and ride routes, completing replacing the current fleet. These vehicles will be in a smart, new livery celebrating Plymouth’s status as ‘Ocean City’ with luxury leather seating inside.
The remaining 16 will run on the 1/X1 service, connecting Plymouth with Tavistock and on service 3, connecting Plymouth with Dartmouth.
Stagecoach South West managing director Bob Dennison said: ‘I’m really looking forward to being able to show off our new buses which, I hope, demonstrate to locals the serious commitment we have made to provide quality, affordable transport for the Plymouth and South Hams areas.’
Cllr Brian Vincent, Plymouth City Council’s cabinet member for Streetscene, said: ‘The launch of this new fleet is good news for Plymouth and for bus passengers. It’s great to see investment in new, modern vehicles for these services, which will help encourage more people to use public transport in and around the city.’
A new park and ride service timetable will come into operation from Monday, February 1, which will improve the overall reliability of the services.
The £5m investment comes just three months after Stagecoach South West announced its acquisition of certain assets of First Devon & Cornwall’s Plymouth operation.