Newport Transport has appointed a new senior fleet engineer to its ranks with the responsibility of managing one of the biggest bus fleets in Wales.

Mike Diez, who has worked in the bus and engineering industry for more than 30 years, joined Newport Transport in the 1980s.

He will be in charge of a fleet of more than 100 buses operating across 50 services and covering an area of more than 250 square miles throughout south east Wales.

Keeping the company’s modern fleet of buses running and in pristine order will be one of the biggest responsibilities of Mr Diez’s role as the company delivers more than seven million passenger journeys a year as well as popular leisure tours across the UK.

He will also be in-charge of Newport Transport’s newly-improved MOT centre as well as its specialist engineering Contract Maintenance Division.

The MOT centre performs thousands of MOTs, services and repairs every year for car owners across Newport and has recently been improved with investments in new diagnostic and repair technologies. It also features a VOSA test lane.

The Contract Maintenance Division specialises in mechanical engineering services and repairs.

Its clients include haulage companies and other transport operators while it is also responsible for maintaining and repairing Newport City Council’s fleet of vehicles and engine-based stock.

In total Mr Diez will be in-charge of a team of more than 25 specialists engineers and support workers.

He said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for me and one in which I am looking to use my experience and expertise to help improve and grow the departments I am responsible for. Newport Transport has one of the region’s leading team of specialists engineers and in managing this professional team we will continue delivering a first-class fleet of buses for the region as well as providing specialists engineering services for companies with vehicle stocks of their own.”

Scott Pearson, managing director of Newport Transport, said: “We are delighted with Mike’s appointment in this role. He is an astute and experienced engineering professional with multiple years of experience at managerial level already within the company. This new role gives him the opportunity to support our efforts in Newport Transport not only becoming one of the UK’s leading bus operators, but also a engineering centre of excellence for other companies with vehicle stock to benefit from.”