AFTER the crowds and bluster of Saturday's opening ceremony, yesterday morning dawned chilly and quiet in Derby's new bus station.

Staff were busy making final checks, polishing and dusting hand rails to a shine and giving the toilets a last-minute clean.

It was 7.30am and in 20 minutes' time the first bus of the day was due to pull in – the first to use the new station.

Among the first of the passengers was Alwyne Caborn, 68.

Mrs Caborn, of Fulham Road, Mackworth, was catching the Transpeak service to Buxton.

She said: "At the moment it's still early and the station seems empty. But it will soon be busy and next week will be a real test.

"This will be a big change for a lot of people, coming here and getting the bus. But to have it all under one roof again, that's going to improve the city a lot."

The first bus arrived – a Skylink shuttle running to East Midlands Airport and provided by Kinchbus.

Steve Clulo, brand manager for Kinchbus, said it was an honour to be the first bus to use the station.

He said: "They've done well with the place. It looks great. It's quite a different sort of building to the old bus station but it seems to work well."

After the bus reversed out of its bay and drove off, more began peeling off Morledge and pulling into the station.

Throughout the morning, people made their way in through the automatic doors, stopped and looked about them.

They eyed up the long, shining concourse. They noticed the rows of empty bays, waiting to be filled with vehicles.

They spotted the banks of information screens overhead and timetable boards dotted about the walls.

They also saw the boarded-up space to the back of the station, due to be filled with a refreshments shop.

Finally their gaze rolled upwards to the high ceiling and intricate lighting design.

Many were surprised to see it opened at all.

Steve Annable, 59, of St Peter's Street, Derby, said it had been a long time coming.

He said: "It's finally here and it's bringing Derby kicking and screaming into the 21st century. It looks beautiful and it's in a great position, right next to the city centre.

He said the 20p charge to use the toilets was perhaps unnecessary but thought it was an improvement over the last bus station, which closed in 2005.

He said: "The old one was real Art Deco. But it was out of date and time for a new one."

Others seemed less enthusiastic about it.

Bus enthusiast John Hardy, 49, of Allestree said the station did not seem complete.

He said: "There's not even a shop or cafe yet.

"It beats four years of waiting outside in the rain to get my bus but the concourse is too narrow.

"If it gets busy, it will get crowded quickly.

"The old station had a definite style, an Art Deco design. I'm not sure about this one."

From the other side of the glass, it was the start of a new relationship for the bus drivers, too.

A drill of dummy runs and practice sessions may have got them familiar with the station, but none were sure what to expect come launch day.

Steve Lovett, 46, is a Trent Barton driver. He said the bays might prove to be too narrow.

He said: "If you have two or three of the bigger buses lined up next to each other, there's not much room.

"There's always a danger when you reverse in a bus but visibility is not great from the bay. I can't see anything directly behind me very well. I was a bit nervous about starting today but it will be Monday when the real test begins.

"The traffic is so much busier – most buses are late on Monday mornings.

"That's when we'll see if the system works."

But Keith Myatt, spokesman for Arriva buses, said the company was looking forward to using the station.

He said: "It's a modern facility and meets passengers needs.

"It has room to expand and the place itself is light and airy. Compared to the previous station the waiting area is far superior and we run 15 services from the station.

"Using it should help to ease traffic on Morledge."

Most bus services will operate from the station, with the exception of the routes to Mackworth and Mickleover, which will follow a circular route through the city centre.

Most importantly for many passengers, the station will see an end to 45 services departing from temporary stops in Morledge, Corporation Street, Albert Street and Full Street.

Nigel Skill of Skills Holidays, which operates European and international tours from out of the station, said the building was visionary.

He said: "It's one of the best bus stations I've seen in the UK and can rival any other facility out there. For people who have not been to Derby before it creates a fantastic impression as the first thing they see when they step off the bus."

Saturday saw City Mayor Councillor Sean Marshall perform the opening ceremony.

Members of the public were able to get their first glimpse of the building they have been waiting for since plans were first announced in 1996.

As yesterday drew to a close, station manager John Evans said he was pleased with how the first day had gone.

He said: "Everything went reasonably smoothly and nothing untoward happened.

"There were no major hiccups."