FROM Blakey and Butler to Cliff Richard in Summer Holiday, buses have long been condemned as the least glamorous form of transport.

That could all change with the arrival of FirstGroup's space-age vehicle.

The purple people carrier could herald a new era where the coach is considered classy and the bus stop becomes the trendiest city hang-outs.

When fashionable folk swap the fast lane for the bus lane, we will know the desirable StreetCar has truly arrived.

Updated: 10:05 Thursday, March 10, 2005