A Highland coach company has invested £3.5m into new low-emission vehicles.
D&E Coaches in Inverness, which employs 70 people, bought the new coaches as part of a reinvestment plan.
The group also acquired or refitted six coaches to meet the latest wheelchair accessibility standards.
The company, which has an annual turnover of £5m, has also launched a new website to attract more customers following the hit to the travel industry during the pandemic.
It lost 6,000 cruise line passenger bookings almost overnight, but being able to continue operating the Inverness to Ullapool link and its Highland Council school contracts proved vital.
The company has a fleet of 64 coaches and controls 80% of the private market in the Highlands.
Owner Donald Mathieson said: “We were transporting almost a million people a year before the virus and hopefully we’ll see a return of much of that activity.
“It’s been an extraordinarily difficult time for our industry, with many coach firms going bust, but it has proved the fundamentals of our own business are right.
"We’re delighted to be able to sustain jobs, with a number of our drivers being with us for 15 to 20 years.”
Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.
