IT'S not about to paint its buses bright orange but Wilts and Dorset believes it can be the easyJet of the roads.

Launching a new More bus service from Bournemouth town centre to Castlepoint, operations director Andrew Wickham said the company was following in the footsteps of Tesco and easyJet.

He said the company had gambled by spending more than £4 million on state-of-the-art More buses with air conditioning and coach-style seats.

But Wilts and Dorset is now reaping the rewards and, with Yellow Buses firmly in its sights, has plans for further expansion.

Mr Wickham said: "The public response has been phenomenal - more than we ever expected.

"While it took us from December until the end of April to record the first million passenger journeys, it has taken just three months to notch up the second million and the growth is continuing.

"Just as Tesco or easyJet have showed, if you have a successful formula - roll it out.

"I am convinced we have come up with a bus service that motorists are confident using and at this rate of growth, More could make a real difference in stabilising or even reducing car traffic levels on Bournemouth's roads," he claimed.

Passenger numbers on More buses are up 56 per cent compared to the previous service, enabling Wilts and Dorset to extend the M1 service to Castlepoint and also to double frequency on the M2 route to Christchurch.

The company is also planning to buy additional More buses within the next few months for use in Canford Heath and other areas of the conurbation.

But not everyone is pleased.

As revealed in yesterday's Echo, Wilts and Dorset's expansion into Bournemouth is being funded by the axing of 30 unprofitable bus routes in Poole, to the fury of many passengers.

John Ashmore, managing director of Yellow Buses, said he remained unconcerned about the threat posed by Wilts and Dorset.

"We will sit back and keep our nerve and watch them wasting money," he said.

"It's costing them the earth and they're disadvantaging lots of their other customers so we're letting them get on with it.

"In contrast, we're just trying to do what we're supposed to do - operate our services properly."

First published: September 1, 2005