Diamond have welcomed the first new and improved bus to their North West fleet.

The StreetDeck, made by Wright Bus, arrived last week and is set to hit the road very soon.

Passengers are set to see 128 new buses joining the routes as the firm replaces the tired and outdated vehicles they took over from First Bus after buying the Weston Street depot in August 2019.

The £25m investment is just the tip of the iceberg as top bosses aim to move past their initial turbulence after taking over the service.

Speaking when the new buses were announced in February, managing director Bob Dunn said: “In our first six months here we’ve met a huge number of challenges but it’s nothing we can’t overcome.

“I want to learn from the good experiences and become more modern as we try to get rid of the bad ones as much as we can – we need to turn them round and look for the positive learning opportunities from them.

“We don’t always get it right but we need to think about it and not make the same mistakes again. I know we can do this.”

In addition to modernising the vehicles, the firm has also recruited more drivers, hired a customer experience manager, and has plans to build a new office for staff at the Great Lever site.

The firm is currently operating on a reduced service due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Up-to-date timetables can be viewed at diamondbuses.com.