Stagecoach Group
| Stagecoach Group
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | GB00B6YTLS95 |
| founding | 1980 |
| Seat | Perth , Scotland |
| management | Brian Souter |
| Number of employees | 36,000 (2013) |
| sales | 2.805 billion GPB (2013) |
| Branch | Traffic Company |
| Website | www.stagecoach.com |
The Stagecoach Group is the second largest transport company in Great Britain after the FirstGroup , with a market share of 16% in the bus and 25% in the rail sector. Stagecoach operates there and in Ireland , mainland Europe, the United States and Canada , transporting 2.5 million passengers a day.
history
After the deregulation of the British transport market, the company was founded by current CEO Brian Souter, his sister Ann Gloag and her ex-husband Robin Gloag . Stagecoach emerged from the caravan rental company operated by the Gloag couple since 1976 . In the wake of the Transport Act of 1980, they were able to introduce bus services from Dundee to London . The services were performed using rented buses. Souter acted as the driver, Ann Gloag served sandwiches and snacks to travelers during the journey. The company's ascent began in 1981 when Stagecoach took over Perth-based McLennan of Spittalfield . Subsequently, shares in the National Bus Company and the Scottish Transport Group as well as municipal operations were acquired. In 1988 the Stagecoach Group initially withdrew from the intercity bus business by reselling it to the National Express Group .
In 1996 the company acquired Porterbrook , one of the three large leasing companies for rail vehicles, but sold the company to the Abbey National Bank in 2000 . In the same year, Stagecoach took over train operations on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo station to Weymouth in Dorset through the specially founded company South West Trains .
Between 1998 and 2001 the company owned Glasgow Prestwick Airport . In 2003 Stagecoach got back into the intercity bus business with the establishment of "Megabus" in order to compete with the market leader National Express with the former Stagecoach subsidiaries.
In 2006 Stagecoach sold the East London Bus Group , previously known as Stagecoach London , thereby parting with the transport business with London city buses, but in 2007 took over the management of the Manchester Metrolink .
When the franchises of the National Express subsidiaries Midland Mainline and Central Trains expired in 2007 and the concessions from the Ministry of Transport were merged, Stagecoach acquired them and has been operating East Midlands Trains since then . The trains serve London's St. Pancras station .
activities
Rail transport
- East Midlands Trains : 100%
- Virgin Trains : 49%, 51% is owned by the Virgin Group
Light rail vehicles
Bus transport (selection)
Low-cost carrier offers
Megabus and Megatrain operate according to a yield management model and a no-frills concept. Fares for initial quotas (the first seats) are advertised as “from a £ 1” , with an additional booking fee. The cheapest offers are available for early bookers or on less busy connections, tickets are offered in advance on the website or over the phone, and extra services must be paid for.
Departures or arrivals at terminus or transfer points tend to take place on the outskirts of the city; the journey may have to be continued using other means of transport. For example, some bus routes do not serve Sheffield Interchange , although this stop would be central, but Meadowhall Interchange in northern Sheffield . This is where the bus station, a Midland Main Line train station , a Sheffield Supertram stop , an entrance to the M1 motorway and the Meadowhall shopping mall are located. This is to avoid driving into cities, which would lead to longer total travel times.
Megabus
Midland Red (South) Limited (Stagecoach Group) has been operating low-cost intercity bus routes in Great Britain under the Megabus brand since 2003 , some in connection with Megatrain offers from Stagecoach. In March 2007 bus connections were canceled, and in the following year similar Megatrain train relations were introduced on East Midlands Trains routes (see below).
In May 2011, offers between Norwich and London, Edinburgh and Leeds and between London and Swansea and Pembroke Dock were introduced, with a crossing via Irish Ferries to Rosslare Harbor in Ireland. There were improvements to existing connections.
The following transfer points are currently used in Great Britain:
- London ( Victoria Coach Station )
- Perth (Broxden Park & Ride)
- Glasgow (Bus Station)
- Aberdeen ( Union Square )
Since 2007 represents Megabus for all living in Scotland veterans of the British armed forces and their families free travel packages to London, Edinburgh and Glasgow at the celebration of Remembrance Day , the Memorial Day available.
Megabus in North America
In March 2006, the Stagecoach subsidiary Coach USA launched the Megabus brand on the North American market. The intercity bus routes are operated with a network of transfer hubs from Coach USA / Coach Canada and DATTCO , a contractual partner, in the east and west of the United States and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec .
Megabus in Europe
From April 2012 there were connections from Birmingham and London to Paris and from Leicester and London to Brussels and Amsterdam via the Paris – Brussels – Amsterdam route. Since the end of 2012, 60 destinations in England, Scotland, Wales as well as Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands have been served. In 2013, Cologne was also the first destination in Germany. Megabus connects Cologne and London with stops in Brussels and Ghent. In 2014 the network was expanded to Toulouse in France and Barcelona in Spain. The first domestic German connection was launched in December 2014: from Munich via Stuttgart and Frankfurt to Cologne, where there is a connection to the existing network. In October 2015, Megabus served 18 destinations in Germany. Megabus.com Germany in Feldkirchen is managed by Billy Ferguson.
On July 1, 2016, all lines on the European continent as well as the cross-border lines to London were taken over by the competitor Flixbus . The Megabus connections in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium will in future be available via the Flixbus booking platforms. The long-distance bus company is thus expanding its offer from mainland Europe to London to six daily trips.
Megatrain
Since mid-November 2005, inexpensive intercity train travel has been offered under the Megatrain brand on routes operated by East Midlands Trains and South West Trains , both of which belong to the Stagecoach Group . The offers are available for trips from Monday to Saturday, but not for Sundays and public holidays.
The concept began with the first Stagecoach subsidiary, South West Trains , with connections from London Waterloo , the company's operating center, to Portsmouth and Southampton . The trains continue to run under South-West-Trains- Ägide, but with areas dedicated to Megatrain users. Prices range from £ 1 to £ 19. From April 2006 the offer was expanded to include connections to Bristol , Bath , Exeter , Yeovil , Bournemouth , Weymouth and Salisbury . Poole became an optional destination on the route to Weymouth. From the end of October 2007 connections to Havant , Honiton and Axminster will also be offered. Nonetheless, around a year and a half later it was found that only 1 in 900 Virgin or South West Trains travelers bought a Megatrain ticket.
In January 2008, the Megatrain service was expanded to include train connections of the East Midlands subsidiary between London St Pancras International and Sheffield and Chesterfield , as well as to Leicester , Loughborough , Nottingham and Derby . In 2009 Norwich – Nottingham and Leicester – Sheffield were added.
The following relations are currently being used:
- Portsmouth Harbor - Portsmouth & Southsea - London Waterloo (since 2005)
- Southampton Central - London Waterloo (since 2005)
- Bournemouth / Poole / Weymouth - London Waterloo (since 2006)
- Salisbury - London Waterloo (since 2006)
- Yeovil Junction - London Waterloo (since 2006)
- Exeter St Davids - Exeter Central - London Waterloo (since 2006)
- Bath Spa - London Waterloo (since 2006)
- Bristol Temple - Meads - London Waterloo (since 2006)
- Axminster - London Waterloo (since 2007)
- Honiton - London Waterloo (since 2007)
- Havant – London Waterloo (since 2007)
- Sheffield - Chesterfield - Derby - Loughborough - Leicester - London St Pancras International (since 2008)
- Nottingham - Loughborough - Leicester - London St Pancras International (since 2008; replacement for Megabus route M13)
- East Midlands Parkway - London St Pancras International (since 2009; Megabusplus route, with bus feeders)
- Sheffield - Chesterfield - Nottingham - Peterborough - Norwich (since 2009)
- Birmingham New Street - Coventry - London (since 2009; selected trips, as part of Virgin Trains )
In addition, as part of the services of Virgin Trains (49% owned by Stagecoach), the Megatrain connections Penzance- Bristol, Bournemouth and Southampton- Birmingham , Manchester - Glasgow / Edinburgh and Morpeth- Edinburgh were offered. Tickets were also available for stopovers on the routes. The Virgin Group operated the connections on the Cross-Country Route from January 1997 to November 2007, when the concession became the property of Arriva (see also CrossCountry for the subsidiary). The offer was thus discontinued.
The following relations are rarely or no longer served:
- Manchester Piccadilly - Glasgow Central / - Edinburgh Waverley (April 2006 - November 2007; since 2008 again a morning and evening trip)
- Penzance - Bristol Temple Meads (April 2006 - November 2007; as part of the CrossCountry franchise)
- Bournemouth - / Southampton Central - Birmingham New Street (April 2006 - November 2007)
- Morpeth - Edinburgh Waverley (April 2006 – November 2007)
- Manchester Piccadilly - Glasgow Central (January 2008-2009; One trip each way as part of Virgin Trains )
The Trainline
A similar scheme is used on the Virgin Trains West Coast routes between Euston Station in London and Manchester Piccadilly Station . The Trainline has been an online and telephone ticket sales service in the UK since 1999 and was originally part of the Virgin Group .
Megabusplus
The introduction of the Megabusplus offer began in March 2009, making combined train-bus travel possible. A Megatrain train service departs from East Midlands Parkway Station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire . This Central England station is served by buses from cities in Yorkshire , Northern England, on the Megabus shuttle service. From there trains to London St Pancras are used. The southern terminus of the Midland Main Line operated by East Midlands Trains has been located there since November 2007 .
The following combined connections are offered:
- London St Pancras International - East Midlands Parkway - Scunthorpe - Doncaster - Hull ( Megabusplus - Route MP3 Hull – London)
- London St Pancras International - East Midlands Parkway - Castleford - York - Harrogate
- London St Pancras International - East Midlands Parkway - Bradford - Halifax - Huddersfield - Keighley - Skipton - Nelson - Colne - Burnley
Megabus buses have also been running to and from Southampton Airport Parkway station near Eastleigh in Hampshire since 2012 . From there, Megatrain offers can be used on the South West Trains route to Bournemouth .
Trivia
- The Stagecoach Group was charged with discrimination in 2007 when two gay teenagers were expelled from a bus driver when one put his arm around the other's shoulders.
- Stagecoach took over in 2008 the city bus operation of Eastbourne , although the workforce for a takeover by Go-Ahead - which also includes the bus companies of Brighton and Hove as well as a joint venture with Keolis , the railway company Southern , Southeastern and London Midland had pronounced, especially - are because of better working conditions.
Web links
- Website of the Stagecoach Group (English)
- Web presence of Megabus and Megatrain (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stagecoach annual report, accessed December 24, 2014, pdf, (English)
- ↑ Financial Analysis on www.stagecoach.com, Retrieved on December 24, 2014
- ^ The man who hates not getting his moneys worth - Telegraph.co.uk
- ^ Stagecoach poised to sell Porterbrook - Independent.co.uk
- ↑ Stagecoach named preferred bidder to run Greater Manchester's Metrolink ( Memento of 22 July 2012 at the Internet Archive ) - Transport for Greater Manchester
- ↑ Megabus – UK FAQs - Megabus.com
- ^ Megabus – UK Stops - Megabus.com
- ↑ Stagecoach and Poppyscotland are jointly offering a free travel service for veterans on Remembrance Day ( memento of the original from September 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on megabus.com Retrieved September 25, 2015
- ↑ Stagecoach Expand's budget coach network to Continental Europe - Stagecoach Group
- ↑ Megabus comes with international routes to Germany at www.t-online.de. Accessed on December 24, 2014
- ↑ Flixbus takes over the Megabus division at www.n-tv.de. Accessed on June 29, 2016
- ↑ Bargain rail fares from £ 1 as Stagecoach launches megatrain.com - Stagecoach Group
- ↑ Plane beats train on cost and speed as discount fares prove elusive - Times-online
- ^ Timetables for London to East Midlands - Megabus.com
- ↑ From New Year passengers can visit more destinations for just £ 1 - East Midlands Trains
- ↑ Rivals do not fear £ 1 London service ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - This is Hull
- ↑ Megabus-UK FAQs - Megabus.com
- ↑ Parkway Station Opening - Railnews.co.uk
- ↑ Cheap Travel between Dorset and the Midlands ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Dorset Transport
- ↑ Bus firm is close to being sold - Eastbourneherald.co.uk
