Stagecoach Group
Parent Inframobility | | |
Website | www |
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Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom.
Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as Gloagtrotter, a
Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside the UK capital. During 2007, the Virgin Rail Group, in which Stagecoach held a 49% stake, was awarded the East Midlands franchise. In July 2007, it commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network. During January 2009, Stagecoach purchased Preston Bus, a former rival in the Lancashire area, but was promptly compelled to sell it by the Competition Commission. In October 2010, it expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent, Stagecoach's former London bus operations. During March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast, in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise; the franchise was terminated early three years later as it was unable to fulfil the agreed payments.
During April 2019, private equity house Variant acquired Stagecoach's US division in exchange for $271 million. In April 2019, Stagecoach was disqualified from participating in three rail franchise competitions by the
History
Background and early years
The origins of Stagecoach Group can be traced back to 1976, at which point Ann Gloag and her husband Robin Gloag established a small recreational vehicle and minibus hire business called Gloagtrotter based in Perth, Scotland. Ann's brother, Brian Souter, an accountant, joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. In 1982, following the collapse of his marriage to Ann, Robin Gloag sold his ownership stake in the business and ceased any involvement. Around this time, the company would benefit greatly from the deregulation of the British express coach market in the early 1980s; specifically, the Transport Act 1980, which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by the Traffic Commissioner, brought new opportunities for the company and services were launched from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan coaches. For a while, the company offered a very personal service with Brian Souter doing the driving and Ann Gloag preparing sandwiches and other snacks for the passengers.[3][4]
Between 1981 and 1985, the company grew significantly, successfully competing against the then state-owned
1990s
During the
In 1997, Stagecoach was awarded the franchise to operate the recently
In 1998, Stagecoach diversified into another transport sector via the purchase of Scotland's Prestwick Airport in exchange for £41 million.[17] By the summer of 1999, the company was rumoured to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. In January 2001, Stagechoach opted to sell the airport for £33 million to concentrate on surface transport.[18][19]
2000s
In late 2000, Stagecoach UK's bus operations were rationalised into twelve subsidiary companies managed from the group's Perth headquarters. The group was also rebranded in December 2000, with a new 'beachball' logo designed by Edinburgh design house McKinstrie Wilde Millhouse and a new fleet livery designed by Ray Stenning's Best Impressions design company for the group's buses. The new livery for regional operations consisted of 'swoops' on a grey base that retained the previous livery's red, orange, blue and white colours, while Stagecoach London buses maintained base red with blue and orange 'swoops' to the rear of the bus. A blue-based standard interior for new buses was also introduced, with the first UK buses featuring the group's new identity entering service in January 2001.[20]
On 21 November 2005, Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to
Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside the UK capital, focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options.[23] In September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. During October 2006, a competition enquiry instructed Stagecoach to sell some of its Scottish coach services.[24] Stagecoach was also active in the passenger rail market, having a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group. During 2007, the group were successful in their bid for the new East Midlands franchise, which had been created by amalgamating the previous Midland Mainline franchise with the eastern part of the former Central Trains franchise.[25][26]
During July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network.[27][28] In January 2009, Stagecoach purchased Preston Bus, a former rival in the Lancashire area.[29] In November 2009, the Competition Commission intervened, ordering Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area.[30]
2010s
In October 2010, Stagecoach expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent, Stagecoach's former London bus operations.[31] During August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group halfway through its ten-year contract to operate the network.[32] In December 2013, Stagecoach bought King's Lynn based Norfolk Green.[33] During March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast, in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise.[34][35] The East Coast franchise was terminated on 23 June 2018 after it was revealed that Stagecoach had overbid and were thus unable to make the agreed franchise payments.[36][37]
During December 2018, it was announced that private equity house Variant would acquire Stagecoach Group's US division in exchange for $271 million; the sale was completed in April 2019.[38][39]
In April 2019, Stagecoach was disqualified from participating in three rail franchise competitions by the Department for Transport after it submitted non-compliant bids for the East Midlands, South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchises.[40][41] One month later, the company announced that it would legally challenge the disqualification.[42]
2020s
The group rebranded again in February 2020, with a new set of liveries introduced for the group's British bus operations. Three colour schemes were to be used to reduce customer confusion:
- Local services- white with azure blue
- Longer distance - amber yellow
- Specialist services - white with ocean green (this includes park and ride, university and tourist services)[43]
During September 2021, it was reported that rival company
In June 2022, Stagecoach purchased London bus operator Tower Transit's Lea Interchange garage, with Stagecoach London taking on 150 buses and 11 Transport for London bus route contracts;[50][51] operations from Lea Interchange are managed under the Lea Interchange Bus Company Limited license.[52] Later in August, Stagecoach acquired the London operations of the HCT Group after the company had fallen into administration, with Stagecoach acquiring a further 160 buses, 17 TfL route contracts and two bus garages from the acquisition.[53][54]
Operations
Key people
Stagecoach Group plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange. Founder Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag were the largest shareholders with a combined 26% shareholding at April 2019.[55]
UK operating companies
The following is a breakdown of the Stagecoach operating divisions. The centre of each operating region is shown in parentheses. Legal company names are listed alongside the trading names for that company.
Bus division
Bus division operations are as follows:[56]
Division | Headquarters | Local brands | Legal name and other notes |
---|---|---|---|
Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire | Carlisle
|
|
Ribble Motor Services Cumberland Motor Services |
Stagecoach East | Cambridge |
|
Cambus Huntingdon & District Stagecoach in the Fens (Huntingdon) now operates the longest Guided busway in the world with the fleet for the busway running on bio fuel. As of September 2010 Stagecoach in Northants transferred to a new Midland division. |
Stagecoach East Midlands | Lincoln
|
|
|
Stagecoach East Scotland | Dunfermline |
|
Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses .
Have previously operated the Forth Fast hovercraft service from Kirkcaldy to Portobello |
Stagecoach London | Canning Town | East London Bus & Coach Co. South East London & Kent Bus Co. Lea Interchange Bus Company CT Plus (London) Stagecoach purchased the East London and Selkent divisions of London Buses when they were privatised in 1994. They were sold to Macquarie Bank on 31 August 2006 for £263.6m. Macquarie continued to use the Stagecoach brand under licence before rebranding the services as East London and Selkent. Stagecoach reacquried its old London operations from Macquarie Bank in October 2010 for £59.5m and both were once again rebranded as Stagecoach.[57] | |
Stagecoach Manchester | Ardwick |
|
Greater Manchester Buses (South) |
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire | Liverpool |
|
Glenvale Transport First Chester & The Wirral |
Stagecoach Midlands | Northampton |
|
United Counties Omnibus Company (Northamptonshire)
|
Stagecoach North East | Sunderland |
|
Busways Travel Services Cleveland Transit |
Stagecoach Highlands | Inverness |
|
Highland Country Buses Orkney Coaches Rapsons Coaches |
Stagecoach Bluebird | Aberdeen |
|
Northern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. |
Stagecoach South | Chichester |
|
Alder Valley Fleet Buzz Hampshire Bus Company Southdown Motor Services |
Stagecoach South East | Canterbury |
|
East Kent Road Car Company |
Stagecoach South Wales | Cwmbran |
|
Aberdare Bus Company Ltd Crosskeys Coach Hire Ltd Islwyn Borough Transport Parfitts Motor Services Ltd Red & White Services Rhondda Buses Ltd The Valleys Bus Company Ltd |
Stagecoach South West | Exeter |
|
Devon General Bayline Ltd Cooks Coaches |
Stagecoach West | Gloucester |
|
Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Co Swindon & District Bus Co South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach Thames Transit Midland Red (South) (Banbury) |
Stagecoach West Scotland | Ayr |
|
Western Buses |
Stagecoach Yorkshire & Chesterfield | Barnsley |
|
Yorkshire Terrier Andrews (Sheffield) |
-
Stagecoach Devon Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMCin April 2022
-
Scania N230UD Alexander Dennis Enviro400in May 2022
Brands
Apart from the ordinary bus operations and no-frills services, the UK bus division has the following brands that extend across operating divisions.
- Stagecoach Express – an express coach service that operates mainly between towns and cities where Stagecoach operate. It tends not to compete with National Express like Megabus, and in some cases tickets are available through the National Express website.[58]
- Oxford Tube – an express coach service offering high frequency 24-hour services to London, operated by Stagecoach West.[59]
- Citi – some urban networks have received Citi branding, such as Cambridge, Exeter & Peterborough; although much of this brand has now been withdrawn.[60]
- Stagecoach Gold – a luxury bus service brand designed to attract middle class travellers to public transport, generally on the most important and high-profile routes within an area served by Stagecoach (e.g. Sheffield to Chesterfield). Gold buses typically feature a special blue and gold colour scheme, leather seats, and on-board Wi-Fi access. Both single-decker and double-decker gold buses are used.[61]
- Stagecoach SimpliBus operates in the East Midlands.[62]
Fleet numbers
The Stagecoach Group number their buses using a system that applies for the life of the bus or until it is sold, as follows:[63]
- 10000 – 19999: diesel-powered double-decker buses
- 20000 – 29999: diesel-powered single-decker buses
- 30000 – 39999: diesel-powered door-foward midibuses
- 40000 – 49999: diesel-powered minibuses and wheel-foward midibuses
- 50000 – 59999: coaches
- 60000 – 69999: New Routemasters, electric midibuses and other specialised vehicles
- 70000 – 79999: electric single-decker buses
- 80000 – 89999: electric and other alternative fuel double-decker buses
- 90000 – 99999: pool cars, staff transport vehicles, etc.
Former operations
East Midlands Trains
Stagecoach commenced operating the new East Midlands Trains franchise in November 2007 that took over all of Midland Mainline's and some of Central Trains services.[64] During August 2019, it ceased operating when the franchise was taken over by Abellio East Midlands Railway.[65]
Manchester Metrolink
In July 2007, Stagecoach took over the operation of
Sheffield Supertram
Stagecoach operated the
South West Trains
Stagecoach ran the South West Trains franchise from February 1996 to August 2017. It retained the franchise for three years from February 2004 and for a further 10 years from February 2007.[71] The franchise passed to First MTR South Western Railway on 20 August 2017[72]
- Island Line Trains – The rail system on the Isle of Wight, was also operated by Stagecoach from October 1996 to August 2017. In February 2007 it was merged into the South Western franchise.[73]
Stagecoach Rail
In 1992, shortly before the
Virgin CrossCountry
Virgin Rail Group operated the CrossCountry franchise as Virgin CrossCountry from January 1997[75] until November 2007 when it passed to Arriva.[76]
Virgin Trains East Coast
Virgin Trains East Coast, in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, operated the InterCity East Coast franchise from March 2015 to June 2018.[34][35]
Virgin Trains West Coast
The group has held a 49% stake in
Australia
In 1999, Stagecoach purchased the school bus operations of Sunbus in the Cairns, Ipswich and Sunshine Coast regions of Queensland. These were sold in 2002 to:[80]
- Cairns: Love's Bus Service
- Ipswich: Pulitano Group
- Sunshine Coast: Buslink Queensland
Hong Kong
In 1994, Stagecoach created a bus-operating subsidiary in Hong Kong which operated residential bus services. It ceased operation in April 1996.[81]
During 1999, Stagecoach planned to become the largest bus company in China through joint ventures, equity stakes and partnerships, and confirmed the £181 million acquisition of Hong Kong's Citybus. Stagecoach acquired control of Citybus Group, which provided franchised bus services on Hong Kong Island and to and from Hong Kong International Airport as well as non-franchised services throughout Hong Kong, in March 1999 and then completed the privatisation of Citybus on 17 July 1999.[82]
In June 2003, the operation was sold to
Kenya
In November 1991, Stagecoach Holdings (as it was named then), bought United Transport's shareholding in Kenya Bus Services. During its tenure, Stagecoach rapidly expanded the fleet, introducing the Express Services and the modern double decker buses back on Kenyan roads. During October 1998 a consortium of investors led by Karanja Kabage as chairman acquired Kenya Bus Services from Stagecoach Holdings which owned 95% of the business.[85]
New Zealand
Stagecoach New Zealand was a wholly owned part of the Stagecoach Group, which provided bus services in Auckland, Wellington and the Hutt Valley and nine ferry routes in Auckland. It was the largest bus company in New Zealand when sold. Stagecoach NZ started operations when the firm acquired Wellington City Transport, including the Hutt Valley suburban bus operations of the New Zealand Railways Road Services, branded CityLine, in the 1990s. Following this initial acquisition Stagecoach also purchased Eastbourne Buses, The Yellow Bus Company in Auckland and a controlling interest in Fullers Auckland. In November 2005, the business was sold to Infratil and rebranded as NZ Bus.[86]
North America
Stagecoach carried out bus operations in the northeastern and midwestern United States and in eastern Canada. Businesses were focused on commuter services, and included tour and charter, sightseeing, local, and school bus operations:
- Coach USA – operating primarily in the northeastern United States providing subsidised transit services (primarily in Greater New York), sightseeing, and charter services, and in the midwestern United States with primarily charter and sightseeing services. Yellow school bus services are also provided by Coach USA in the state of Wisconsin.[87]
- Megabus – discount express bus services radiating from Chicago and New York City. Like Megabus in the United Kingdom, most stops are made at street locations.[88]
- Coach Canada – serving primarily Ontario and Quebec, where it operates interurban and chartered bus services, contract bus services in Durham, yellow school bus service in Durham Region and Peterborough County in Ontario, and sightseeing services in Montreal.[89]
In December 2018, Stagecoach announced it had agreed to sell all of its North American operations to Variant Equity Advisors with the deal concluded in April 2019.[39][90][91][92]
Portugal
Stagecoach Portugal had its origins in the re-privatisation of Portuguese bus and coach operation, which had been nationalised after the 1974 Revolution. In 1990, the nationalised Rodoviária Nacional was split into ten components. In the capital, Lisbon, Rodoviária de Lisboa was the chief operator outside the city itself, where Carris provided city bus and tram services. The name of Rodoviária de Lisboa survived as part of the Barraqueiro bus company, but another part, serving the area to the west of Lisbon, became Stagecoach Portugal in 1995. A further portion still operates as Vimeca – Viação Mecânica de Carnaxide. During June 2001, Stagecoach announced the sale of their Portuguese operations to ScottURB for £14 million.[93]
Nordic countries
In October 1996, during Stagecoach's International buying spree, it made its most important international acquisition at the time, buying
No-frills brands
Stagecoach operate a number of so-called "
Magic Bus
Magic Bus was the first no-frills brand of Stagecoach. It was first used in red lettering on ex London Regional Transport AEC Routemasters, otherwise painted in Stagecoach stripes, in competition in Glasgow. Later, an allover blue with yellow lettering was adopted, on older service buses with simple fares and no travel passes, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators, most notably on the Manchester Piccadilly to East Didsbury Wilmslow Road bus corridor route in Manchester, but also in Newcastle upon Tyne and East Scotland (as Magic Mini). In 2008 Stagecoach Merseyside introduced a Magic Bus service competing with themselves and Arriva North West on the busy route 14 corridor, Magic Bus 14C runs every 7/8 minutes between City Centre and Broadway. By 2012, only the Manchester Magic Bus remained, these being upgraded from Volvo Olympians and Dennis Dragons to Alexander ALX400 and East Lancs bodied Dennis Trident 2s.[96]
Megabus
Megabus is a low cost, "
Megatrain
On 14 November 2005, the Megabus concept was extended to certain rail services, with the introduction of Megatrain between London and Southampton, and London and Portsmouth, using a dedicated carriage on selected South West Trains services. It was later extended to some Virgin Trains services (since withdrawn) and to selected East Midlands Trains services. In 2009, the Megabusplus concept was introduced, under which certain trips are begun on a train and are then completed on a bus. Unlike the original Megatrain concept, this service is available seven days a week.[98]
Scottish Citylink
In September 2005, Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro announced a joint venture in the provision of express coach services in Scotland, ending intense competition between ComfortDelGro's subsidiary Scottish Citylink and Stagecoach subsidiaries Megabus and Motorvator. Under the terms of the joint venture, the Stagecoach Group acquires a 35% stake in Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd, with Citylink assuming certain rights to the Megabus and Motorvator brands in Scotland.[99]
The Competition Commission ruled in October 2006 that the joint venture substantially reduced competition and that evidence suggested some routes were already experiencing higher fares as a result.[100] Though no firm conclusion was drawn, regulators are to consult the two companies about what they need to do to comply with competition regulations and they have indicated that this will likely lead to the forced divestment of some services to an independent operator. The ruling was criticised by Stagecoach as leaving vital services in limbo and jeopardising Scotland's intercity coach network, making it unable to compete effectively with rail and private car journeys.[101]
To satisfy the commission, some Citylink routes were sold to
Controversy
Competitive strategy
Following the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom, Stagecoach bought a number of the newly emerged small bus companies and ran free or low fare buses to put local rivals out of business.[103] In Darlington, Stagecoach subsidiary Busways offered bounties to recruit drivers away from the existing bus service and offered free buses to deter the rival preferred bidder from taking over the existing bus service. This was "predatory, deplorable and against the public interest" according to findings from the Monopolies & Mergers Commission.[104][105]
In 2000, Stagecoach Manchester was found to have been employing bus inspectors to usher passengers away from competitor's services.[106] During 2005, alleged aggressive behaviour by Stagecoach drivers, seeking to compete with Scotbus, resulted in an arson fire at a Stagecoach East Scotland garage.[107]
Between 2006 and 2007, Stagecoach Manchester and
Controversial chairman
The Stagecoach Group has also indirectly attracted criticism through controversial statements and actions made by its chairman and co-founder, Brian Souter, regarding certain public statements and his funding of a campaign to block the repeal of the Section 28 law. In 2000, OutRage! spokesman Peter Tatchell, called for a boycott of the bus and rail group.[113]
Guided Busway
Stagecoach operate buses along the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. The Guide wheels on the side of the buses, combined with a specially built track mean that hands free driving is possible. The main advantages of a guided busway, versus a normal road are higher speeds (meaning increased capacity) and increased safety as traffic of differing directions is physically separated.[114]
See also
References
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- ^ "Rivals do not fear £1 London service". Hull Daily Mail. 27 March 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "Scottish Citylink joint venture". Stagecoach Group. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
- ^ "Stagecoach/Scottish Citylink inquiry". Competition Commission. 2006. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- ^ "StagecoachScottish Citylink response to Competition Commission announcement". Stagecoach Group. 14 January 2000. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- ^ "Scottish Citylink Completes Sale of Services". Competition Commission. 5 February 2008.[permanent dead link]
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- ^ Cooper, Glenda (24 December 1995). "Stagecoach set record of shame ful record of shame – Home News – UK". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ "The supply of bus services in the north-east of England". Competition Commission. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ "Stagecoach found guilty of bus war dirty tricks". The Independent. 3 December 2000. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011.
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- ^ "Preston Bus to be Sold" (PDF). Competition Commission. 11 November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2013.
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- ^ Scott, Richard (8 August 2011). "hands-free bus". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
Further reading
- Wolmar, Christian (21 October – 3 November 1998). "The real Stagecoach story...". OCLC 49953699.
External links
- Company website
- Media related to Stagecoach Group at Wikimedia Commons
- Media related to Stagecoach UK Bus at Wikimedia Commons