Our hugely popular i4 service is now even more frequent thanks to a £120,000 investment in extra buses and 12 new drivers.

Four newly refurbished buses have been added to the i4 fleet, with peak services now doubled and running every five minutes during the morning rush and every seven or eight minutes at other times.

Sunday 26 July saw the arrival of the new timetable for the 17-strong fleet, all with free Wi-Fi, that is extremely popular with workers, shoppers, students, children and everyone looking to get out and about.

Tom Morgan, trentbarton’s director of service delivery, said: “We asked our passengers how we could make our i4 service even better and the number one improvement they asked for was even more frequent buses.

“So that’s exactly what we have done. We’re confident the demand is there and that’s why we have invested so much money and been able to create a dozen new driving jobs.”

i4 buses link Derby, Chaddesden, Spondon, Borrowash, Risley, Sandiacre, Stapleford, Bramcote and Nottingham. The service was first launched in 2012. Leavers from West Park School in Spondon had already been given a preview of the new service when trentbarton provided one of its newly refurbished i4 buses for a special ride to their Prom.

The free ride in a balloon-filled i4 arose when West Park pupil Neive Ward and her friends decided they wanted to arrive at their Prom at Derbyshire County Cricket Club not in a limo or a sports car but on a bus.

Neive, 16, said: “It was lovely. It had ‘West Park Prom’ on the front and had lots of balloons inside. When we arrived all our friends thought it was very funny. We definitely made an entrance and we’re very grateful to trentbarton.”