PEOPLE passing a car dealership in West End have been surprised to see a bright red double decker bus parked on the forecourt.

The ex-London Buses vehicle will be there until September, while West End Garage’s showroom undergoes a major refurbishment.

The Kia dealer is using the 2006-registered bus as a workspace for its sales and service teams, and customers are loving it.

“Instead of using standard boring and grey Portakabins, we elected to buy a London double decker and convert it to a temporary workspace,” said the company’s operations director Andy Simpson.

“Customers have commented on how much fun it is and it seems to have gone down a storm.”

The bus has been fitted out with tables, a coffee machine and a cold drinks bar and it has air-conditioning. Nearby are executive-style temporary toilets and picnic benches with parasols for customers to use.

The showroom is being fully refurbished to bring it into line with the new Kia Global Store concept, following Kia’s corporate redesign.

West End Garage was founded as a Datsun dealer in 1969 by Donald Dunne and is still a family-owned business, managed by his sons Damian and Brendan. It now has a total staff of just under 50.