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Stagecoach Group plc is a leading international transport group operating bus, train, tram, express coach and ferry operations. The group was founded in the 1980s by the current chairman, Brian Souter, and his sister, Ann Gloag. The group is based in Perth, Scotland and has operations in the United Kingdom, North America and New Zealand.
With 16% of the bus market and 11% of the rail market (plus a further 14% through its share in Virgin Trains), the company is the second biggest transport firm in the UK behind rival and fellow Scottish company First Group. Stagecoach operates over 7200 vehicles and covers 90 major towns and cities across Britain, carrying around 2 million passengers daily. Stagecoach UK Bus employs 18000 people.
Despite selling off its operations in Kenya, Malawi, Portugal, Sweden and Hong Kong, Stagecoach maintains its position as the dominant bus operator in New Zealand, where it also operates passenger ferries, and retains ownership of Coach USA. Although occupying less than 1% of the US market, Coach USA operates over 2800 coaches and employs 4400 people.
History
Stagecoach was born of deregulation in the British express coach market in the early 1980s, though its roots can be traced back to 1976 when Ann Gloag and her husband set up a small motor caravan and minibus hire business called Gloagtrotter. Ann's accountant brother Brian Souter joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. The Transport Act 1980, which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by the Traffic Commissioner, brought new opportunities for the Perth-based company and services were launched from Dundee to London. Successfully competing against the then state-owned National Express and Scottish Citylink, the company grew significantly between 1981 and 1985, when Stagecoach entered local bus operation with the acquisition of McLennan Of Spittalfield, near Perth. This rapid success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. Several firms were purchased from the National Bus Company, Scottish Bus Group, London Buses and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing management and employee owned bus companies, often ex-NBC and SBG firms where the owners were keen to make a huge profit on their sale. Stagecoach left the long distance express coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to National Express.
However, controversy was never far from Stagecoach. The company often found itself on the wrong side of the Competition Commission and faced sharp media criticism over its predatory approach to smaller operators. Bitter “bus wars” broke out in towns and cities throughout Britain as Stagecoach took on the local competition, often forcing the competitor to abandon traditional markets and sometimes causing the collapse of smaller operators. This was through aggressive pricing and timing, often running more buses on a route than necessary and just a few minutes ahead of the competition. In its hometown of Perth, Stagecoach successfully forced the dominant operator Strathtay Scottish to abandon local services in the town. Similarly, Stagecoach subsidiary Bluebird Buses replaced Highland Scottish buses on most city services in and around Inverness. The biggest shock of all was to be Stagecoach’s actions in the town of Darlington.
Darlington Borough Council put Darlington Transport up for sale in 1994. Despite submitting a bid through its Busways subsidiary, Stagecoach lost out to Yorkshire Traction. In response, Stagecoach Busways registered identical routes to Darlington Transport, and subsequently commenced operations running free buses across Darlington Transport’s network. Yorkshire Traction withdrew its bid for Darlington Transport and no other interested parties stepped forward. Within a week of Stagecoach arriving in the town, Darlington Transport went into receivership and ceased trading. This would lead to reform in the regulatory framework for bus operation in the UK.
Stagecoach Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange, though company Chairman Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag are major shareholders. Despite being co-founder of Stagecoach, Ms Gloag no longer has an executive role in the company.
Souter and Gloag’s involvement in bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis (the former Transbus International) is not related to the Stagecoach Group in any way.
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.
Bluebird Buses Ltd - Stagecoach Bluebird, Stagecoach in Inverness, Stagecoach in Perth
Fife Scottish Omnibuses Ltd - Stagecoach in Fife
AA Buses Ltd - Yellow Taxibus
Western Buses Ltd - Stagecoach Western, Stagecoach A1 Service, Magicbus, M8 Motorvator
Busways Travel Services Ltd - Stagecoach in Newcastle, Stagecoach in South Shields, Stagecoach in Sunderland
Cleveland Transit Ltd - Stagecoach on Teesside, Stagecoach in Hartlepool, Stagecoach in Darlington
Cumberland Motor Services Ltd - Stagecoach in Cumbria, Stagecoach in Lancaster
Ribble Motor Services Ltd - Stagecoach in Lancashire
Greater Manchester Buses (South) Ltd - Stagecoach in Manchester, Magicbus
Chesterfield Transport Ltd - Stagecoach in Chesterfield
East Midland Motor Services Ltd - Stagecoach in Bassetlaw, Stagecoach in Mansfield, Stagecoach in South Yorkshire
Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport Ltd - Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes
Cleveland Transit Ltd - Stagecoach in Hull
Midland Red (South) Ltd - Stagecoach in Banbury, Stagecoach in Warwickshire
Thames Transit Ltd - Stagecoach in Oxford, Oxford Tube
Cambus Ltd - Stagecoach in Cambridge
United Counties Omnibus Company Ltd - Stagecoach in Northants, Stagecoach in Bedford
Viscount Bus & Coach Company Ltd - Stagecoach in Peterborough
Cheltenham District Traction Company Ltd - Stagecoach in Cheltenham
Swindon & District Bus Company Ltd - Stagecoach in Swindon
Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Ltd - Stagecoach in Gloucester, Stagecoach in the Cotswolds, Stagecoach in the Wye and Dean
Red & White Services Ltd; The Valleys Bus Co Ltd; Aberdare Bus Co Ltd; Rhondda Buses Ltd; Parfitts Motor Services Ltd; Eastern Valley Bus Co Ltd - Stagecoach in South Wales/Stagecoach de Cymru
East London Bus & Coach Company Ltd - Stagecoach in London, East London Coaches
South East London & Kent Bus Company Ltd - Stagecoach in London
East Kent Road Car Company Ltd - Stagecoach in East Kent
Hastings & District Transport Ltd - Stagecoach in East Sussex, Stagecoach in Hastings
Stagecoach (South) Ltd - Stagecoach in Hampshire, Stagecoach in Hants & Surrey
Southdown Motor Services Ltd - Stagecoach in the South Downs
- STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST (Exeter)
Devon General Ltd; Torbay Bayline Ltd - Stagecoach in Devon
Island Line Ltd (Isle of Wight)
South West Trains Ltd (London)
South Yorkshire Supertram Ltd (Sheffield) – Stagecoach Supertram
In addition, the group has a 49% stake in Virgin Trains, which operate fast intercity train services in the United Kingdom.
Overseas Operating Companies
Wellington City Transport Ltd; Runciman Motors Ltd - Stagecoach Wellington
Transportation Auckland Corporation Ltd - Stagecoach Auckland
Cityline Hutt Valley Ltd – Cityline Hutt Valley
- FULLERS GROUP LTD (Auckland)
Ferry company
- COACH USA (including Coach Canada)
Megabus & Magicbus
Megabus is a low cost, "no-frills" intercity bus service launched in the UK by Stagecoach in 2003. See Megabus for more information.
Magicbus is the brand Stagecoach applies to local "no-frills" operations, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators. See Magicbus for more information.
External links
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