BUS firm First is to introduce a new £6 million fleet of double deckers onto Sheffield streets next month.
The fleet of 37 double deckers will run on the firm's busiest route - the 75/76 service serving High Green in the north of the city through the city centre to Batemoor and Low Edges in the south.
The route carries more than six million passengers every year.
It is one of the longest and most well-established routes in the city - its origins go back to the tram route of the early 1900s. The route is also the city's longest, stretching for around 16 miles.
As well as offering more seats and better comfort the buses will have cleaner engines which should help to reduce pollution along the route.
The £6 million fleet comes on top of 21 new buses introduced on the 47/48 service from Shiregreen to Herdings in June, and brings the total investment in new buses this year to nearly £10 million - a record investment say First.
Currently, more than half the buses on the 75/76 route are single deckers so the new fleet will mean more passengers get a seat at busy times.
There will also be more CCTV camera inside and outside of each bus and a re-designed wheelchair and pushchair area with ramp access on request.
The 75/76 service runs every 10 minutes during the day, Monday to Friday, with 12 buses per hour on much of the route.
First say they have invested heavily in training the 100 drivers who usually staff the key route. All have signed up to NVQ level 2 and are undertaking the successful Ambassador training programme in customer service and professionalism.
Bob Hamilton, MD for First in South Yorkshire, said: "This is a significant investment. Quality vehicle improvements together with strong support from our travel partners can grow passengers and we can build on this success."
First says the investment will have knock-on benefits for other routes.
Service 53 from Parson Cross to Low Edges will get more double deckers on the route and on the 77/78 route the present step entrance buses will be replaced with low-floor buses.
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FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 421 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
