BRITAIN’S LONGEST coaches are to take to the road later this month following an £11 million investment by transport giant Stagecoach Group.

Manufacturers Volvo and Plaxton are supplying 45 of the 15-metre (50ft) coaches for the budget travel service megabus.com and inter-city coach operator Scottish Citylink.

Designed to carry as many passengers as 13 fully-loaded cars—and three metres (10ft) longer than a traditional coach—the first of the vehicles was delivered to Stagecoach in Perth yesterday.

Passengers in Scotland will be the first to experience the coaches when they go into operation later this month.

All of the new 65-seat vehicles, the first of their kind to be manufactured in the UK, will be on the road by the end of May.

“We believe it will help attract more people from cars and low-cost airlines and on to coaches,” said Stagecoach Group chief executive Brian Souter.