Stagecoach East
Parent | Stagecoach Group |
---|---|
Founded | 6 December 1995 |
Headquarters | Cambridge |
Service area | |
Service type | Public bus |
Depots | 5 |
Fleet | 333 (April 2023)[1] |
Website | Official website |
Stagecoach East is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the East of England, operating in the counties of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered and registered in Cambridge.[1]
History
Under the control of the
In December 1988, Cambus Holdings acquired most of the bus and coach operations of Cambridge-based Premier Travel Services, with the exception being the Cambridge–London Airports coach services, which remained with the
In February 1992, Cambus Holdings bought Millers Coaches of Foxton from its owner, Bernard Miller, on his retirement. Millers Coaches had been competing with Cambus on a number of bus routes, using the Millerbus name, and this operation became a new Millerbus Ltd. subsidiary, under the direct control of the Cambus management; the operation lasted for about three years before being absorbed into its parent. Meanwhile, Millers Coaches itself was placed under the control of Premier Travel, although the name was retained (and both companies adopted liveries using different colours applied in the same style). By the autumn of 1995, however, the operations of Premier Travel and Millers Coaches had been absorbed into the main Cambus company, although the Premier Travel name survived in use with Cambus a few years longer.[5]
On 25 November 1992, Cambus Holdings expanded in
Cambus Holdings was sold to
On 30 January 1998, the wider Buckinghamshire operations were sold to Sovereign Bus & Coach, owned by
Stagecoach East expanded into
Services
As of 2021, Stagecoach East uses the brand names Stagecoach in Bedford for the former Cambus operations in Bedfordshire, Stagecoach in Cambridge for the former Cambus operations in Cambridgeshire, Stagecoach in Peterborough for the former Viscount operations and Stagecoach in the Fens for the former Huntingdon & District operations.[citation needed]
Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
Stagecoach East are one of the two bus companies operating services on the 16 mi (26 km)
As of September 2023, Stagecoach East operate three routes on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, these being routes A, B and C serving Cambridge,
Cambridge Park and Ride
Stagecoach East are the operator of the Cambridge Park and Ride network, operating five services on contract from Cambridgeshire County Council from five colour-coded sites at Babraham Road, Madingley Road, Milton, Newmarket Road and Trumpington.[23] The network, first introduced in 1996 with the opening of Madingley Road park and ride site,[24] operates seven days a week using a fleet of 30 MCV bodied Volvo BZL double-decker battery electric buses, which were introduced to the service in May 2023.[25]
Prior to 2017, Stagecoach East's operation of the Cambridge Park and Ride network consisted of three colour-branded services operating across Cambridge via the city centre, making use of dual-door Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker buses delivered new in 2007. Alongside the launch of new colour-branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses for the network, the Cambridge Park and Ride network was revised in January 2017 to introduce five colour-coded routes which served only one park and ride site and terminated within the city centre.[26][27]
X5 and 905
Introduced in its original form in 1992, the X5 service is operated by Stagecoach East at a 30-minute frequency between Bedford and Oxford via Milton Keynes, Buckingham and Bicester, making use of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-deckers. Before double-deckers were introduced, the X5 service ran through to Cambridge using Plaxton Elite bodied Volvo B11R coaches; in late August 2020, supported by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, the Cambridge leg of the service was split into a separate 905 route serving Bedford and Cambridge. The Enviro400 MMC double-deckers were subsequently introduced onto the X5 in October 2021.[28][29]
'TING' trial
In October 2021, in cooperation with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and technology provider Via, Stagecoach East began trial operation of the 'TING' demand-responsive transport system in west Huntingdonshire. The service, operated by Fenstanton Depot, made use of buses that were not restricted to a timetable and bookable through a smartphone app at a flat fare of £2. The trial period was extended to June 2022 shortly after its launch,[30] and by the time the service was handed over to Vectare Buses in November 2022, the service had served around 31,000 passengers and travelled 401,686 miles, additionally transporting passengers to music festivals and other area events.[31]
See also
References
- ^ a b "About Stagecoach East". Stagecoach East. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ "Eastern changes". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 28 July 1984. p. 15. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ "Sale of Cambus sparks a pre Christmas rush". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 13 December 1986. p. 18. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ "Premier deal for Cambus Holdings". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 22 December 1988. p. 14. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5267-8103-1. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Viscount title". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 22 June 1989. p. 19. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ "CHL Group acquires Milton Keynes City Bus". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 184. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 4 December 1992. p. 5.
- ^ "Stagecoach offer for CHL". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 337. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 15 December 1995. p. 3.
- ^ "Undertakings in lieu of reference: Stagecoach Holdings plc - and Cambus". Office of Fair Trading. 5 June 1996. Archived from the original on 10 September 2010.
- ^ United Kingdom (PDF) (Report). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 1997. p. 19.
- ^ MacKellar, Ian (2 April 2008). "Bus firm's takeover means cheaper fares". The Hunts Post. Archant. Retrieved 2 September 2023 – via Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network.
- ^ "Stagecoach restructures". TransportXtra. London. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "New management structure for Stagecoach in Midlands and East of England" (Press release). Stagecoach Group. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Downes, Steve (18 December 2013). "Update: MP reacts to the sale of Norfolk Green bus firm". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Stagecoach buys Norfolk Green". Bus & Coach Professional. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Stagecoach calls it a day in Norfolk and plans withdrawal". routeone. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "LATEST: Lynx looking to pick up Stagecoach routes after King's Lynn depot closure plan shock". Lynn News. King's Lynn: Illiffe Media. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Routes & Times". www.thebusway.info. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Land of the guided bus". Buses. No. 782. Stamford: Key Publishing. 16 April 2020. pp. 48–49. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Elliot, Chris (1 February 2010). "Operators hit out at costly hold-ups to guided busway". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Tri-axles and electrics in Stagecoach order". Buses. No. 772. Stamford: Key Publishing. 20 June 2019. p. 8. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Fresh off the Line – Volvo B8RLE". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Cambridge park & ride". cambridgeparkandride.info. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Menzies, Bob (2000). "Park and Ride – no white elephant". Cambridge Cycling Campaign. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Halford, Paul (12 May 2023). "New electric buses for Cambridge builds on 'strong partnership' for Stagecoach and Volvo". routeone. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Cambridge P&R changes begin to take effect". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Stagecoach East launches stop-start Park & Ride fleet". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Stagecoach East's X5 coach service to go double-deck fleet". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Brackley, Paul (28 August 2020). "All the Stagecoach East bus route changes in Cambridgeshire designed to help returning students and workers". Cambridge Independent. Illiffe Media. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Peat, Chris (29 March 2022). "TING to be extended". Bus & Coach Buyer. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Stagecoach East marks one year of Ting on-demand service". routeone. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
External links
- Media related to Stagecoach East at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Information about services on The Busway