84-524: Stagecoach Gold is a luxury bus sub-brand used by various Stagecoach bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach Gold (originally Goldline) was launched in 2007 and was designed to attract more middle-class passengers to choose bus travel as a method of transport as well as to reward passengers on some busy and popular routes. Stagecoach West currently runs the most Stagecoach Gold routes, nine, as of August 2022. Stagecoach Midlands owns
168-457: A management buyout before being purchased by Stagecoach for £825 million during August 1996. The acquisition garnered some public controversy and political criticism for the low value returned to the taxpayer. In April 2000, Stagecoach sold Porterbrook to the British banking group Abbey National in exchange for £1.44 billion. In 1997, Stagecoach was awarded the franchise to operate
252-677: A management buyout . As the Scottish Bus Group broke up, the number of private operators working Citylink contracts increased. Park's, West Coast Motors and Rapsons were now major contributors, while the former SBG companies now owned by Stagecoach ( Fife Scottish , Western Scottish , Bluebird Buses ) began operating their own Stagecoach Express network. In 1993 Scottish Citylink was sold to National Express . At that time, cross border services to England were replaced by National Express services, leaving Citylink with Scottish domestic services, and co-ordinated timetabling and ticketing
336-426: A recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. During the early 1980s, it took advantage of the deregulation of the British express coach market , launching services from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan coaches, competing against the then state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Citylink . Stagecoach purchased several recently-privatised national bus groups from London Regional Transport ,
420-479: A 63/37 joint venture between ComfortDelGro and Stagecoach . Scottish Citylink operates an extensive network of long-distance express services within Scotland, operating 19 routes linking the cities of Glasgow , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Dundee , Stirling and Inverness , as well as linking some rural Highland communities to the main urban areas of Scotland. Services also operate to Northern Ireland , with
504-614: A Citylink livery but with the distinctive Ulsterman lettering, Ulsterbus provided coaches for services between Derry or Belfast to Birmingham and London via towns in Dumfries and Galloway. This route was also operated by Dodds of Troon and Western Scottish . Citylink itself was privatised in August 1990, operating under the Clansman Travel & Leisure holding company after being purchased by its management and employees in
588-545: A competition enquiry instructed Stagecoach to sell some of its Scottish coach services. 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. During July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating
672-486: A connection via the ferry link between Cairnryan and Belfast , and there are seasonal workings to Blackpool . In all, over 200 destinations are served by Scottish Citylink within Scotland, using about 90 coaches provided by operators local to the 'destination' area, carrying over three million passengers annually. Despite the extent of Citylink's operations in Scotland, there are notable geographical regions, including large urban areas, that have poor or no connections with
756-591: A deal was agreed between the boards of the two companies: however, it was subject to both shareholder approval and regulatory scrutiny. To satisfy the Competition & Markets Authority , Stagecoach had planned to sell Megabus, its 35% shareholding in Scottish Citylink and the Falcon Coaches part of Stagecoach South West to ComfortDelGro . Having originally recommended shareholders accept
840-671: 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
924-429: A joint venture on 12 September 2005. In return for 35% of the company, Stagecoach transferred rights to operate select Megabus and Motorvator routes in Scotland to Scottish Citylink and sub-contracted as an operator, while ComfortDelGro maintained a majority 65% stake. Following Stagecoach's takeover by a DWS -managed investment fund, it agreed to sell its Megabus retail platform and customer service business as well as
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#17328016741391008-538: A later tram-train service to Rotherham . Future plans included schemes to Dore , Fulwood and Maltby ; following consultations, a reduced scheme with an extension to Broomhill was being considered as of 2017. The concession expired in March 2024, with the operation of Supertram returning to the public sector. Stagecoach ran the South West Trains franchise from February 1996 to August 2017. It retained
1092-464: A number of so-called " no-frills " services across the United Kingdom and the United States. Applying the business model of the low-cost carrier air lines, these services aim to offer cheaper alternatives to the established operators in the bus, coach and rail markets, by reducing costs, and offering extremely low fares for the earliest bookings, rising nearer the journey time: Magic Bus was
1176-497: A result, some non-gold routes now have higher specification vehicles than many of the Gold routes as prior to 2015, Stagecoach Gold vehicles did not come equipped with USB charging facilities. 2016 also saw Stagecoach take delivery of the first Stagecoach Gold branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and Enviro200 MMC vehicles. The liveries on the new vehicles remain the same as the previous models; however, Stagecoach have slightly modified
1260-541: A rival takeover offer from a DWS managed investment fund bought Stagecoach. 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
1344-583: A scheduled British Rail InterCity sleeper service. Virgin Rail Group operated the CrossCountry franchise as Virgin CrossCountry from January 1997 until November 2007 when it passed to Arriva . Virgin Trains East Coast , in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, operated the InterCity East Coast franchise from March 2015 to June 2018. The group has held a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group since October 1998. Virgin Rail Group operated
1428-635: A simple but striking blue-and-white livery with bold Scottish fleetnames in the SBG corporate logo style. Subsidiary companies operated Citylink vehicles on express services originating from their operating area, and where long-distance services spanned one or two operating areas, the routes were shared between the companies. The level of involvement of the subsidiary firms in providing Citylink work varied with size and geography. Central Scottish , Strathtay Scottish , Kelvin Scottish and Clydeside Scottish were
1512-555: Is a low cost, " no-frills " intercity coach service launched in the United Kingdom by Stagecoach in 2003, on 10 April 2006 in the United States, and in 2009 within Canada. Its main rival in the UK is National Express , who have had to lower their prices to compete with Megabus. In the US, Megabus/Eastern Shuttle's main rival is BoltBus , which is 50% owned by Stagecoach rival FirstGroup . In the UK,
1596-467: Is at Buchanan bus station in Glasgow, where many of its services start and terminate. Citylink itself does not operate or own buses in its own right, although one owned and operated by Stagecoach West Scotland carries CityLink accreditation to satisfy licensing conditions. The two-tone blue and yellow colour scheme is still used, though its application and style have changed over the years. From 2004,
1680-537: Is the use of London Victoria Coach Station . 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,
1764-611: The Department for Transport to help establish the routes. Stagecoach East Scotland invested £300,000 to demonstrate the idea to politicians. Goldline routes have a luxury specification. Buses have hand-stitched leather seats, metallic paint, special flooring and free WiFi . Drivers wear a special uniform and there is a Goldline customer charter. In February 2009 the service was expanded to Aldershot and in September 2009 to Cheltenham and Gloucester on route 94. At this stage
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#17328016741391848-769: The InterCity West Coast franchise as Virgin Trains West Coast from March 1997 until December 2019. 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: In 1994, Stagecoach created a bus-operating subsidiary in Hong Kong which operated residential bus services. It ceased operation in April 1996. During 1999, Stagecoach planned to become
1932-640: The Manchester Metrolink tram network. In January 2009, Stagecoach purchased Preston Bus , a former rival in the Lancashire area. In November 2009, the Competition Commission intervened, ordering Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area. In October 2010, Stagecoach expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent , Stagecoach's former London bus operations. During August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group halfway through its ten-year contract to operate
2016-831: 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 . Megabus
2100-487: The National Bus Company , Scottish Bus Group and various city councils, as well as pursuing those that had opted for management buyouts and employee-owned corporations . During August 1996, Stagecoach acquired roughly one-third of all passenger rolling stock in the UK via the acquisition of the recently-privatised leasing company Porterbrook ; it sold the company on four years later. In 1997, Stagecoach
2184-683: The "Gold" brand for services between Glasgow and Aberdeen or Inverness . The Citylink Gold brand is similar to the Stagecoach Gold brand used by Stagecoach bus subsidiaries, and offers a more luxurious service with leather seats, free wi-fi and extra services aboard. The service is also intended to provide quicker journeys than the regular bus routes which may service significant numbers of smaller towns and settlements along their routes, though may stop at those towns or settlements deemed to be important to serve. With Citylink Gold, passengers are offered free tea, coffee, cold drinks and snacks on
2268-465: The "Scottish" prefix) and has expanded to provide services from Galway to Shannon. Ownership of Scottish Citylink was transferred from Metroline plc to Bradell plc, another subsidiary of ComfortDelGro, on 31 December 2004. Following Stagecoach's launch of Megabus and acquisition of the Motorvator brand in 2003 and 2004 respectively, Stagecoach and CostaDelGro agreed for Scottish Citylink to become
2352-494: 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. In October 1996, during Stagecoach's International buying spree, it made its most important international acquisition at
2436-729: The Competition Commission's draft findings grew in Scotland and the joint venture received support from across the political spectrum in the Scottish Parliament In early 2008, certain routes, which were at the time already contacted out to Park's , were divested to comply with the ruling. Today many of the services are operated by Stagecoach subsidiaries Stagecoach East Scotland , Stagecoach Highlands and Stagecoach West Scotland . Some services are operated by Edinburgh Coach Lines, Shiel Buses and West Coast Motors . In May 2023, West Coast Motors became
2520-541: The Falcon South-West brand running between Plymouth and Bristol Airport to Scottish Citylink. In return, its shareholding increased to 37.5%, with ComfortDelGro decreasing theirs to 62.5%. As part of an original plan to merge with rival intercity coach operator National Express, Stagecoach had agreed to sell its shareholding to ComfortDelGro to satisfy Competition & Markets Authority demands, however this deal fell through. The company's current head office
2604-683: The Lea Interchange Bus Company Limited license. 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. Stagecoach Group plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange . Founder Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag were
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2688-447: The Megabus and Motorvator brands in Scotland. Despite being a minority shareholder, Stagecoach appeared to have assumed operational control. Stagecoach staff replaced much of the former Citylink management, while Stagecoach's Scottish subsidiaries began operating many of the routes formerly operated by subcontractors displaced from Citylink work. Citylink service numbers, timetables and routes were also sacrificed in favour of Megabus where
2772-605: The Megabus network covers most of the island of Great Britain, although some routes offer only one journey per day. Originally operated using high capacity, but older coach-seated vehicles, most services are now operated with new modern single or double deck coaches. In the United States, services radiate from Chicago and New York City, but the networks are not connected. In both the UK and the US, to cut costs, most services use on-street bus stops, rather than pay for access to coach stations (except in cases where pre-existing routes were converted to Megabus lines). A notable exception to this
2856-542: 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. 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
2940-638: The National Express offer, in March 2022 the board of directors withdrew the recommendation in favour of a takeover offer from a DWS managed investment fund. Following this, Stagecoach instead sold Megabus and Falcon Coaches to Scottish Citylink and increased its shareholding in the joint venture to 37.5% in return. 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; operations from Lea Interchange are managed under
3024-603: The Republic of Ireland, operating between Dublin , Galway City , Clifden , Cork and Shannon . Scottish Citylink Coaches was formed in 1985 during the reorganisation of the Scottish Bus Group to co-ordinate and manage the long-distance express services operated by the other SBG subsidiaries, particularly the Western Scottish and Eastern Scottish services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London and
3108-537: The Stagecoach in Oxfordshire S4 service which was upgraded to Stagecoach Gold in September 2015. As of 2016, all brand new Stagecoach buses, including non-gold vehicles, come equipped with high back leather seats, USB charging facilities and many with free onboard Wi-Fi. Subsequently, this means that many of Stagecoach's new non-gold vehicles are now at the same specification as the Gold branded vehicles. As
3192-533: The acquisition of McLennan of Spittalfield, near Perth. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. Several firms were purchased from London Regional Transport , the National Bus Company , Scottish Bus Group and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing ex NBC and SBG bus companies that had been purchased via management buyouts and employee-owned corporations when privatised. In 1988, Stagecoach withdrew from
3276-528: The brand name changed from Goldline to Stagecoach Gold , as well as the introduction of a new livery with brighter swoops added, as opposed to the previous gold and blue only livery. The reason behind the name change was that Translink had the rights to the Goldline name, using it on their Ulsterbus coach services, and Stagecoach had to pay Translink a royalty. In 2010, the Stagecoach Gold brand
3360-431: The business was sold to Infratil and rebranded as NZ Bus . 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: In December 2018, Stagecoach announced it had agreed to sell all of its North American operations to Variant Equity Advisors with
3444-499: The coach. As of May 2019, Five return services per day in each direction on routes from Glasgow to Aberdeen and four return services from Glasgow to Inverness, additionally, three Edinburgh to Inverness return services and also four Edinburgh to Aberdeen return services, all now designated as Citylink Gold. Fares have remained the same with Super Singles available on the routes as they were whilst under standard Citylink branding. The Citylink Gold services are as follows: The Gold service
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3528-548: 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
3612-465: The commission, some Citylink routes were sold to Parks Motor Group in early 2008. Scottish Citylink Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink ) and formerly England (where it operated as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in March 1985. It is operated as
3696-471: 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. Between 1981 and 1985, the company grew significantly, successfully competing against the then state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Citylink . Stagecoach entered local bus operation with
3780-469: The company announced that it would legally challenge the disqualification. 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: During September 2021, it was reported that rival company National Express entered into talks to acquire Stagecoach Group. In December 2021,
3864-472: The deal concluded in April 2019. 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
3948-407: 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
4032-522: The first operator on the Citylink network to operate mirrorless coaches. The company introduced six brand new DAF-powered Irizar i6s tri-axle coaches on routes to Fort William, Skye, and Campbeltown. In February 2024, Scottish Citylink launched its own app with built in coach tracker, both on Android Play store and also on the Apple app store, free to download. As of April 2024, Scottish Citylink operates
4116-463: The following brands that extend across operating divisions. The Stagecoach Group number their buses using a system that applies for the life of the bus or until it is sold, as follows: 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. During August 2019, it ceased operating when
4200-420: The following routes. A variety of companies operate services on behalf of Scottish Citylink. The main operators are; Some smaller private operators also operate duplicate and additional journeys, as well as standby rolls at major interchanges. These include Ratho Coaches, Simpsons of Rosehearty, Fishers Tours, Hairy Haggis Coaches of Bathgate, McLean's of Airdrie and D&E Coaches. In 2010, Citylink launched
4284-437: The franchise for three years from February 2004 and for a further 10 years from February 2007. The franchise passed to First MTR South Western Railway on 20 August 2017 In 1992, shortly before the privatisation of British Rail , Stagecoach Rail briefly operated a modest InterCity operation between Aberdeen and London. Two British Railways Mark 2 passenger carriages were re-branded in Stagecoach colours and attached to
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#17328016741394368-505: The franchise was taken over by Abellio East Midlands Railway . In July 2007, Stagecoach took over the operation of Manchester Metrolink on a 10-year fixed-term management contract, beating competition from Keolis , Serco and Transdev , to make it the biggest tram operator in the UK. This system was the first modern tram system in the United Kingdom, opening just before the Sheffield system in 1992. Nearly 18 million people ride on
4452-561: 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
4536-502: The interior upholstery with new style leather seats that incorporate a cream-coloured headrest as well as new wood effect flooring. As of July 2024, there are 37 Stagecoach Gold routes (including night services). Stagecoach Group 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 ,
4620-463: 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
4704-417: The largest number of Stagecoach Gold branded vehicles with 63 in its fleet as of August, 2023. The Goldline brand was introduced to try to win more middle-class motorists to bus services. The brand was initially trialled in both Perth , using Alexander Dennis Enviro300 single-deck buses , and Warwick , using Optare Solo midibuses , from November 2007, both on routes which received Kickstart funding from
4788-413: The largest shareholders with a combined 26% shareholding at April 2019. 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 operations are as follows: Apart from the ordinary bus operations and no-frills services, the UK bus division has
4872-399: The long-distance express coach market, selling its operations to National Express. During the privatisation of British Rail , Porterbrook was formed as one of three rolling stock companies owning around a third of passenger railway locomotives, multiple units and coaching stock running on Network Rail 's system which is leased to various train operators. Porterbrook was privatised via
4956-648: 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. 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
5040-434: The network. In December 2013, Stagecoach bought King's Lynn based Norfolk Green . During March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast , in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise. 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. During December 2018, it
5124-503: The network. These tend to be areas served by subsidiaries of Stagecoach , which operate their own comprehensive network, to destinations such as Ayrshire ( Kilmarnock , Ayr and Irvine ), Fife ( Kirkcaldy , Dunfermline and St Andrews ), Aberdeenshire and Moray . A notable exception is the Scottish Borders , which is covered by West Coast Motors , though they have no regular express service. Citylink also operates in
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#17328016741395208-417: The operating companies faced heavy competition from Megabus and Motorvator , both subsidiaries of Stagecoach . In September 2005 ComfortDelGro and Stagecoach agreed to a joint venture to provide express coach services in Scotland, ending the competition between the two operators. Under the terms of the agreement, Stagecoach gained a 35% shareholding in Scottish Citylink and in return granted certain rights to
5292-546: The privatisation of Citybus on 17 July 1999. In June 2003, the operation was sold to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises , the parent company of the major rival operator New World First Bus . 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
5376-413: The purchase of Scotland's Prestwick Airport in exchange for £41 million. 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. In late 2000, Stagecoach UK's bus operations were rationalised into twelve subsidiary companies managed from
5460-754: 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. On 21 November 2005, Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil . On 14 December 2005, Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group ( Yorkshire Traction ) for £26 million, and also assume Traction's £11 million debt. Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire (Yorkshire Traction, Barnsley & District, Yorkshire Terrier ), Lincolnshire ( RoadCar ) and Angus ( Strathtay Scottish ). Traction
5544-543: The recently privatised Sheffield Supertram system, from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive , who owned the system. Stagecoach bought the remaining 27 years of a 30-year franchise in exchange for £1.15 million, which was substantially below the anticipated £80 million that the councils had hoped to raise to help pay off the accumulated debts to build the system. The franchise, which expired in March 2024,
5628-558: The sale of Scottish Citylink. Scottish Citylink was subsequently sold to Metroline , the London-based subsidiary of ComfortDelGro , for £10.3 million in August 1998. In 2002, the company began trading in the Republic of Ireland, acquiring Cummer Commercials, which operated on the Dublin to Galway route (and also traded as CityLink Express). The route has since been rebranded to the yellow-blue Citylink livery (although without
5712-614: The smaller contributors as no major city or destination lay within their main operating regions. Indeed, Clydeside marketed its own express services within its area as Clydeside Quicksliver with its own distinct brand. As the Scottish Bus Group prepared for privatisation, Citylink franchises were no longer exclusive to the SBG subsidiaries. Private companies such as Rapsons Coaches of Inverness, Henry Crawford Coaches of Neilston, West Coast Motors of Campbeltown , Skye-Ways and Park's of Hamilton were awarded Citylink contracts and provided vehicles of their own for this work. Also seen using
5796-475: The south. By combining the SBG express network, Citylink became the largest operator of long-distance express services within Scotland, and from Scotland to England and Wales. With the main hubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh, many services to the Highlands and Islands were in some cases vital to rural areas as the only public transport link available. One vehicle was owned to satisfy licensing conditions, but this
5880-558: The system a year. Stagecoach sold the Metrolink business to RATP Group in August 2011. Stagecoach operated the Sheffield Supertram under a concession from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive between 1997 and 2024. Its average daily ridership is 33,700, equalling more than 12 million per year, well above expectations. At the time of the concession's expiry, there were three light rail transit lines and
5964-564: 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. 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. Though no firm conclusion
6048-948: The time, buying Swebus AB , the bus-company arm of the Swedish State Railways (SJ), for 1.2 billion kronor ($ 164 million), which also included operations in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The operations in Norway included only city and regional traffic in three minor cities around lake Mjøsa , but several unsuccessful bids on operators in the Oslo area led to Stagecoach selling out to Norgesbuss during April 1997. The Danish operations never proved profitable, and were sold to Combus in autumn of 1997. The operations in Finland were more successful, and were in April 1998 renamed Stagecoach Finland. In spring of 1997, Swebus Express
6132-520: The two brands overlapped. In March 2006 the Competition Commission launched an investigation and ruled that the joint venture substantially reduced competition and that evidence suggested it led to higher fares on some routes. Stagecoach immediately criticised the ruling, stating that a period of further consultation would cause uncertainty among passengers and leave vital services in limbo, while jeopardising Scotland's intercity coach network and its ability to compete with both train and car Criticism of
6216-498: 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. 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. One month later,
6300-491: Was awarded the franchise to operate the recently privatised Sheffield Supertram system. In 1998, it purchased Prestwick Airport . 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, Stagecoach was awarded the East Midlands franchise . In July 2007, it commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network. During January 2009, Stagecoach purchased Preston Bus ,
6384-459: 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. To satisfy
6468-479: Was extended to services run by Scottish Citylink , where Stagecoach have a 35% shareholding, where the Glasgow to Aberdeen and Glasgow to Inverness services were designated as Citylink Gold. In 2015, all brand new Stagecoach Gold vehicles came equipped with USB charging facilities underneath every seat which enabled passengers to charge their mobile devices whilst on board. USB charging first became available on
6552-577: Was introduced between the two operators. During this period, Citylink took a stake in West Coast Motors, purchased Skye-Ways Coaches and also Highland Country Buses, which was an offshoot of Highland Scottish . With the privatisation of British Rail , in 1997 National Express won the ScotRail franchise. The Mergers & Monopolies Commission ruled this would give National Express a monopoly on long-distance services in Scotland and ordered
6636-477: Was operated as part of the Western Scottish fleet. Citylink itself did not operate any vehicles, but a uniform two-tone blue and yellow livery was introduced for coaches operating Citylink services, with the subsidiary's corporate fleetname displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle. Previously, only cross-border services had adopted some form of corporate look in the late 1970s, with vehicles wearing
6720-510: Was operated under the Stagecoach Supertram brand, the company having responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the tram system. When Stagecoach took over the system, it was struggling, both financially and in terms of attracting passengers; patronage subsequently rose from 7.8 million recorded passenger journeys in 1996/97, to 15.0 million during 2011/12. In 1998, Stagecoach diversified into another transport sector via
6804-471: Was started as an intercity coach service between several cities in southern parts of Sweden, sporting the Stagecoach livery of the time. Stagecoach in 1998 announced that it had bid for several rail franchises in Sweden. On 27 October 1999, Stagecoach revealed that it was going to sell Swebus to Concordia Bus for £100 million, to refocus its bus operation on the United States and Asia. Stagecoach operate
6888-504: 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 Department for Transport after it submitted non-compliant bids. During September 2021, it was reported that rival company National Express entered into talks to acquire Stagecoach. In May 2022,
6972-722: 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,
7056-463: Was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK. 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. In September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. During October 2006,
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