MOREBUS has unveiled the first of the 41 British-made buses which it has bought for its key routes through Bournemouth and Poole.

The company has spent £7.2million on the low-emission buses for its M1 and M2 services that run through both towns to Southbourne and Castlepoint.

The first two buses were on show in Bournemouth Square yesterday and will be put into service over the coming days. The rest will be delivered from Yorkshire within six weeks.

Morebus managing director Andrew Wickham said: “They are our third generation Morebus, the third we’ve had since 2004.

“They’re all going to be used on the M1 and M2

“These buses take about seven million passenger journeys a year. They’re really important to the local area. The buses themselves are fantastic new models.”

The new buses are Alexander Dennis E200 MMCs, built in Scarborough.

“That’s £7m investment that’s going back into the UK economy,” said Mr Wickham.

Mr Wickham said the investment was being made with no public subsidy.

“Like the buses, the routes themselves are on an entirely commercial basis and we don’t require any public sector support from the council tax payer or taxpayer,” he added.

The vehicles have a glass roof at the back so they are lighter inside. They also have lighter coloured floors, after the company’s work with a dementia charity showed dark floors could be unsettling for people with dementia.

They have the free Wi-Fi and device charging introduced on the previous generation of Morebus vehicles. Passengers can pay via mobile phone app, contactless card or cash.

Mr Wickham added: “What’s important for wider society is that they’re the latest Euro 6 low emission engines, the lowest emission diesel buses you can get. These buses emit fewer harmful particulates than a new diesel car. The bus takes 60 people and most car journeys take one person.”

The mayor of Bournemouth, Cllr Lawrence Williams, said: "That’s a really good investment that you’ve made at Morebus.

“I can see that they’re really state of the art.”

The current M1 and M2 vehicles, five-year-old Volvos, will go onto other local routes, enabling Morebus to retire 31 vehicles which are 13-14 years old.