Leading bus operator Stagecoach Yorkshire has today unveiled a series of improvements across its South Yorkshire network.

The biggest changes will be seen in the Dearne Valley where thirteen brand new buses costing almost £1.5m and featuring an eye-catching livery are set to bring an ultra-modern look to the area’s services.

Coupled with simplified routes, refined timetables for improved reliability and combined ten-minute frequencies on the busiest bus routes into Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster, the low floor easy access vehicles are an addition to the 16 new ones introduced last year.

It means that Stagecoach moves into 2008 with a new image for its Dearne Valley services, with vehicles in a smart new livery carrying a fresh logo bearing the words the dearne link.

Paul Lynch, Stagecoach Yorkshire managing director, said: The new-look network reflects our commitment to deliver a reliable, clean and affordable service to the travelling public and we are confident that users will find a huge improvement.

Changes include new routes and services to improve reliability, with extra journeys operating during morning and afternoon peak times in some cases.

The Dearne Valley is a key area for us in terms of moving people between the important towns of Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster and we feel we have an obligation to make this as pleasant an experience as possible.

In addition, Stagecoach will be introducing a small number of timetable and route changes to some services in Barnsley and Sheffield to improve reliability and meet the needs of customers.

Mr Lynch added: These changes have been made as a result of continuous company monitoring of our networks. We want to ensure passengers see further improvements in our services and we will strive to make these even better over time.

All the changes, which will be introduced from Saturday January 26 2008, have been agreed in conjunction with local councillors and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive following extensive discussions with customers and staff.

More information on the changes is available by calling the Traveline on 01709 515151 or visiting www.stagecoachbus.com/yorkshire. From the end of January, new timetables will be available to collect from Travel South Yorkshire Travel shops in Doncaster’s Frenchgate Shopping Centre or Rotherham, Barnsley and Sheffield Interchanges or download from www.travelsouthyorkshire.com.