THE boss of coach firm National Express has spoken of the importance of Bournemouth and Poole to its network as he tours the country to mark its 40th anniversary.

MD Andrew Cleaves stopped off at Bournemouth as part of a nationwide tour that marks with the milestone for the firm.

He said: “Every six months or so I spend a week travelling around the network incognito, speaking to passengers.

“This year it coincides with our 40th anniversary.

“National Express has over 600,000 passenger journeys every year to Bournemouth, so it’s a major location for us.

“This year we put on 200 extra coaches to deal with demand. Bournemouth travellers were some of the most keen going up to the Olympics .

“A lot of people pick the coach over the train because we guarantee a seat, look after your luggage and you get a nice view travelling through the countryside.”

National Express’ business model sees local coach firms run services from the hubs – in Dorset’s case RATP Yellow Buses and Excelsior Coaches – securing local jobs.

Mr Cleaves added: “One of the really important things about our business model is we employ local people, so they know the area and get to know our passengers really well, as we have some very regular passengers that travel with us.”

He said the future would see Bournemouth and Poole as important as ever to the firm.

“This area continues to be very successful as regards coach transport.

“Looking to the future, frequency is becoming a key part of providing a service,” said.

“We’ve launched a real time check where you can look at the progress of the coach against the timetable.”