Luxury bus travel is coming to one of the busiest commuter routes in North Yorkshire.

Passengers on the route between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds have been promised a touch of airline-style travel when the twin deck vehicles are phased in next month.

Harrogate and District Travel bought 12 of the buses for £2.2m. They were made to order for the company, which hopes to tempt drivers from their cars and train passengers from the railways

The vehicles were launched yesterday at a national coach exhibition in Birmingham.

Features on the black, chrome and red vehicles include security cameras, leather reclining seats, extra leg room for passengers and space for wheelchairs and buggies.

The buses also have computerised signs showing the exact route location and information on approaching stops.

They will be decorated with murals of local attractions.

Meanwhile, new-style bus shelters along the route on the A61 in the Harrogate area between Buttersyke Bar and New Park will tell passengers how long the next bus will be and why there are any delays.

Harrogate and District Travel's managing director Stuart Wilde said: "The new buses - they're virtually coaches - will simply change the perception of daily travel by bus."

Dave Alexander, the company's operations director, said the twin deckers incorporated features which customers had been asking for through surveys and the newly established Bus Users' Group.

The buses will be introduced on the route between Leeds, York and Scarborough next March and April.