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Stagecoach East Scotland

Stagecoach East Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Stagecoach an Ear na h-Alba) is a bus operator providing services in eastern Scotland, with its regional base in Dunfermline, Fife. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.

Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach Express City Connect-liveried Volvo B13RT Plaxton Elite approaching Halbeath Park and Ride
ParentStagecoach Group
Founded2008
HeadquartersDunfermline, Scotland, UK
Service areaFife
Tayside
Perthshire
Angus
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Stirling
Service typeBus and coach
Depots8
Fleet468 (April 2019)[1]
Annual ridership32.5 million
Managing DirectorDouglas Robertson
WebsiteOfficial website

History edit

Stagecoach began long distance express coach services in 1981 from its base in Perth, expanding into local bus operations when it bought McLennan of Spittalfield in 1985. Deregulation of bus services under the Transport Act 1985 in October 1986 gave Stagecoach the opportunity to expand operations in Perth, thus fierce competition with the dominant operator Strathtay Scottish began, which eventually saw Stagecoach's then-Perth Panther subsidiary emerge as the largest provider of bus services in the Perth area.[2] On the breakup and privatisation of the state-owned Scottish Bus Group, Stagecoach was successful in acquiring two of the subsidiaries, namely Northern Scottish in March 1991 and Fife Scottish in July 1991,[3][4] the latter of which would form the basis of Stagecoach East Scotland's operations following a protracted legal battle between Stagecoach and a management buyout team.[5][6]

In August 2003, the United Kingdom's first entirely commercial demand responsive bus service was launched by Stagecoach East Scotland in Fife. Trading as Yellow Taxibus and using the AA Buses Ltd legal name (transferred from Stagecoach West Scotland where it was purchased with the AA Buses operation in Ayrshire), the operation combined the benefits of a fixed bus route with the flexibility of pre-booked taxi pick-ups. Yellow Taxibus operated a fleet of eight-seater Mercedes-Benz Vito vehicles on a high-frequency service between Dunfermline and Edinburgh seven days a week;[7] however after a two-year trial, the loss-making service was withdrawn in November 2005.[8]

On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased the Barnsley-based Traction Group, the largest remaining private bus company in the United Kingdom, for £26 million. The Traction Group owned Strathtay Scottish, which Stagecoach had pushed out of Perth some 16 years earlier.[9] The Strathtay operations bridged the gap between Stagecoach's Fife, Perth and Bluebird operations, giving the group a vast swathe of the country extending from Edinburgh through to Perth, northwards to Aberdeen and round to Inverness, with only Travel Dundee and First Aberdeen being the major non-Stagecoach operators within that area. Unusually, despite the Strathtay fleet receiving the corporate livery, fleet vehicles were branded with Strathtay with Part of the Stagecoach Group straplines.

In October 2007, Stagecoach in Perth commenced operations of the first of two Stagecoach Goldline services, operated as a trial for the wider Stagecoach Group in conjunction with a service run by Stagecoach Warwickshire. Stagecoach in Perth's Goldline service 7 was operated using eight new Alexander Dennis Enviro300 single-deck buses, fitted out to a higher interior standard and painted in a special gold and blue livery.[10] Since these trials, the brand, renamed to Stagecoach Gold, has expanded to Stagecoach subsidiaries across the United Kingdom, while the Perth Goldline service would later be upgraded to operate Alexander Dennis Enviro350H hybrid electric buses.[citation needed]

In March 2008, it was announced that Stagecoach Fife had purchased Rennies of Dunfermline for an undisclosed sum, following the retirement of Rennies' owner. The Rennies fleet consisted of 60 vehicles, including 18 double-deckers which were all leased from Stagecoach in Fife.[11] Rennies were formerly based at Dunfermline (Wellwood Mill), before moving to Cowdenbeath in 2016.

In Spring 2014, Stagecoach entered the South Queensferry area, replacing a withdrawn service to Edinburgh which had been run for many years by First Scotland East.[12] However, the South Queensferry operation incurred huge losses and was withdrawn in June 2017,[13] with Lothian Buses subsequently taking it over.

In May 2023, Stagecoach East Scotland began operating autonomous Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV as part of the CAVForth scheme on route "AB1" across the Forth Road Bridge.[14] A second route is planned to expand the use of the autonomous service to Dunfermline city centre.[15]

Services edit

Stagecoach East Scotland operates under six different brands:

  • Stagecoach in Perth, a trading name of Stagecoach (Scotland) Ltd, is used for services in and around Perth.
  • Stagecoach in Fife is used for services throughout Fife and beyond to Dundee and Edinburgh, and is a trading name of Fife Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. It has operated a number of experimental services including Yellow Taxibus and a hovercraft service from Kirkcaldy to Portobello in July 2007.[16][third-party source needed]
  • Stagecoach Strathtay is the brand used for services within the city of Dundee and throughout Angus, with some services reaching Perth and into Aberdeenshire.
  • Rennie's, now based at former Fife Scottish Cowdenbeath bus depot operates tours and school buses with the company.
  • The company also provides vehicles for Megabus and Scottish Citylink long distance express work within Scotland, and beyond to Manchester and London.

Express and Experience City Connect edit

In October 2007, Stagecoach's Fife operations received a £4.5 million investment in upgrading the regional express network, with services branded as "Express City Connect" and "Experience City Connect".[17][18] Express services from West Fife to Edinburgh received nine new Scania OmniLink tri-axle single-deckers featuring leather seating and free Wi-Fi, while the rest of the network received 20 Plaxton Profile bodied Volvo B7R coaches, also equipped with leather seating and free Wi-Fi.

In 2011, further new Plaxton Elite coaches were delivered to Stagecoach to help deal with the increase in passengers on the X59 service,[19][20] with further examples being delivered between 2012 and 2017.[21] This has resulted in the City Connect brand receiving the accolade of Top Express Operation at the UK Coach Awards in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.[22]

Park & Ride sites edit

Since 1999, Stagecoach East Scotland has operated and provide numerous park & ride sites across their operating area.

Fleet and depots edit

 
Stagecoach East Scotland's depot in St Andrews

As of April 2019, Stagecoach East Scotland operates 468 buses and coaches from eight depots:[1][needs update]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "About Stagecoach East Scotland". Stagecoach East Scotland. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Scottish war heightens". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 27 January 1989. p. 17. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Stagecoach selected". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 7 March 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Stagecoach to get Bluebird Northern". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 95. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 9 March 1991. p. 1.
  5. ^ "End of road for Fife bus bid". Perthshire Advertiser. Perth. 16 July 1991. p. 4. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Stagecoach wins Fife Scottish". Coachmart. No. 648. Kingston upon Hull. 18 July 1991. p. 6.
  7. ^ "Stagecoach proposes yellow taxibus solution to boost social inclusion and cut congestion". Stagecoach Group. from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  8. ^ . The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  9. ^ . The Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  10. ^ . Bus & Coach Professional. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Recent BUS/COACH developments, no 3". A Transport of Delight. 24 March 2008. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  12. ^ . Passenger Transport. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  13. ^ Swanson, Ian (28 March 2017). . Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  14. ^ "UK's first driverless bus begins passenger service in Edinburgh". BBC News. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  15. ^ "CAVForth2 extends via Alexander Dennis". Transport Engineer. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Stagecoach confirms cross-Forth hovercraft trial launch - Stagecoach Group". from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Stagecoach marks 10 years of the Express City Connect brand in East Scotland". Stagecoach Group. from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  18. ^ "Stagecoach celebrates 10 years of Express City Connect". Buses. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Stagecoach celebrate £2.7million investment in new luxury coaches for express fleet". Here to There Publishing Blog. from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Stagecoach celebrate £2.5million investment in luxury coaches for express bus". Fife Council. from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  21. ^ "Vehicle Upgrades for Stagecoach Express City Connect Network". Fife Chamber of Commerce. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Stagecoach wins top coach industry awards". Stagecoach Group. from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2017.

External links edit

  • Official website  

stagecoach, east, scotland, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Stagecoach East Scotland news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Stagecoach East Scotland Scottish Gaelic Stagecoach an Ear na h Alba is a bus operator providing services in eastern Scotland with its regional base in Dunfermline Fife The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group Stagecoach East ScotlandStagecoach Express City Connect liveried Volvo B13RT Plaxton Elite approaching Halbeath Park and RideParentStagecoach GroupFounded2008HeadquartersDunfermline Scotland UKService areaFifeTaysidePerthshireAngusAberdeenEdinburghGlasgowStirlingService typeBus and coachDepots8Fleet468 April 2019 1 Annual ridership32 5 millionManaging DirectorDouglas RobertsonWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 History 2 Services 2 1 Express and Experience City Connect 2 2 Park amp Ride sites 3 Fleet and depots 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editStagecoach began long distance express coach services in 1981 from its base in Perth expanding into local bus operations when it bought McLennan of Spittalfield in 1985 Deregulation of bus services under the Transport Act 1985 in October 1986 gave Stagecoach the opportunity to expand operations in Perth thus fierce competition with the dominant operator Strathtay Scottish began which eventually saw Stagecoach s then Perth Panther subsidiary emerge as the largest provider of bus services in the Perth area 2 On the breakup and privatisation of the state owned Scottish Bus Group Stagecoach was successful in acquiring two of the subsidiaries namely Northern Scottish in March 1991 and Fife Scottish in July 1991 3 4 the latter of which would form the basis of Stagecoach East Scotland s operations following a protracted legal battle between Stagecoach and a management buyout team 5 6 In August 2003 the United Kingdom s first entirely commercial demand responsive bus service was launched by Stagecoach East Scotland in Fife Trading as Yellow Taxibus and using the AA Buses Ltd legal name transferred from Stagecoach West Scotland where it was purchased with the AA Buses operation in Ayrshire the operation combined the benefits of a fixed bus route with the flexibility of pre booked taxi pick ups Yellow Taxibus operated a fleet of eight seater Mercedes Benz Vito vehicles on a high frequency service between Dunfermline and Edinburgh seven days a week 7 however after a two year trial the loss making service was withdrawn in November 2005 8 On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased the Barnsley based Traction Group the largest remaining private bus company in the United Kingdom for 26 million The Traction Group owned Strathtay Scottish which Stagecoach had pushed out of Perth some 16 years earlier 9 The Strathtay operations bridged the gap between Stagecoach s Fife Perth and Bluebird operations giving the group a vast swathe of the country extending from Edinburgh through to Perth northwards to Aberdeen and round to Inverness with only Travel Dundee and First Aberdeen being the major non Stagecoach operators within that area Unusually despite the Strathtay fleet receiving the corporate livery fleet vehicles were branded with Strathtay with Part of the Stagecoach Group straplines In October 2007 Stagecoach in Perth commenced operations of the first of two Stagecoach Goldline services operated as a trial for the wider Stagecoach Group in conjunction with a service run by Stagecoach Warwickshire Stagecoach in Perth s Goldline service 7 was operated using eight new Alexander Dennis Enviro300 single deck buses fitted out to a higher interior standard and painted in a special gold and blue livery 10 Since these trials the brand renamed to Stagecoach Gold has expanded to Stagecoach subsidiaries across the United Kingdom while the Perth Goldline service would later be upgraded to operate Alexander Dennis Enviro350H hybrid electric buses citation needed In March 2008 it was announced that Stagecoach Fife had purchased Rennies of Dunfermline for an undisclosed sum following the retirement of Rennies owner The Rennies fleet consisted of 60 vehicles including 18 double deckers which were all leased from Stagecoach in Fife 11 Rennies were formerly based at Dunfermline Wellwood Mill before moving to Cowdenbeath in 2016 In Spring 2014 Stagecoach entered the South Queensferry area replacing a withdrawn service to Edinburgh which had been run for many years by First Scotland East 12 However the South Queensferry operation incurred huge losses and was withdrawn in June 2017 13 with Lothian Buses subsequently taking it over In May 2023 Stagecoach East Scotland began operating autonomous Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV as part of the CAVForth scheme on route AB1 across the Forth Road Bridge 14 A second route is planned to expand the use of the autonomous service to Dunfermline city centre 15 Services editThis section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information March 2024 Stagecoach East Scotland operates under six different brands Stagecoach in Perth a trading name of Stagecoach Scotland Ltd is used for services in and around Perth Stagecoach in Fife is used for services throughout Fife and beyond to Dundee and Edinburgh and is a trading name of Fife Scottish Omnibuses Ltd It has operated a number of experimental services including Yellow Taxibus and a hovercraft service from Kirkcaldy to Portobello in July 2007 16 third party source needed Stagecoach Strathtay is the brand used for services within the city of Dundee and throughout Angus with some services reaching Perth and into Aberdeenshire Rennie s now based at former Fife Scottish Cowdenbeath bus depot operates tours and school buses with the company The company also provides vehicles for Megabus and Scottish Citylink long distance express work within Scotland and beyond to Manchester and London Express and Experience City Connect edit In October 2007 Stagecoach s Fife operations received a 4 5 million investment in upgrading the regional express network with services branded as Express City Connect and Experience City Connect 17 18 Express services from West Fife to Edinburgh received nine new Scania OmniLink tri axle single deckers featuring leather seating and free Wi Fi while the rest of the network received 20 Plaxton Profile bodied Volvo B7R coaches also equipped with leather seating and free Wi Fi In 2011 further new Plaxton Elite coaches were delivered to Stagecoach to help deal with the increase in passengers on the X59 service 19 20 with further examples being delivered between 2012 and 2017 21 This has resulted in the City Connect brand receiving the accolade of Top Express Operation at the UK Coach Awards in 2015 2016 and 2017 respectively 22 Park amp Ride sites edit Since 1999 Stagecoach East Scotland has operated and provide numerous park amp ride sites across their operating area Ferrytoll Park amp Ride located in Fife north of the Forth Road Bridge in partnership with Fife Council opened in November 1999 Halbeath Park amp Ride located on the outskirts of Dunfermline in Fife in partnership with Fife Council opened in November 2012 Broxden Park amp Ride located on the western edge of Perth which also connect with Scottish Citylink and Megabus services in partnership with Perth amp Kinross Council Kinross Park amp Ride located to the East of Junction 6 on the M90 motorway Fleet and depots edit nbsp Stagecoach East Scotland s depot in St AndrewsAs of April 2019 Stagecoach East Scotland operates 468 buses and coaches from eight depots 1 needs update Arbroath Peasiehill Road Blairgowrie Haugh Road Cowdenbeath Broad Street Rennies Dunfermline St Leonards Street Glenrothes Flemington Road Leven Methilhaven Road Aberhill Perth Ruthvenfield Road St Andrews City Road See also editPublic transport in Perth and KinrossReferences edit a b About Stagecoach East Scotland Stagecoach East Scotland Retrieved 3 March 2024 Scottish war heightens Commercial Motor Temple Press 27 January 1989 p 17 Retrieved 3 March 2024 Stagecoach selected Commercial Motor Temple Press 7 March 1991 p 22 Retrieved 3 March 2024 Stagecoach to get Bluebird Northern Bus amp Coach Buyer No 95 Spalding Glen Holland Limited 9 March 1991 p 1 End of road for Fife bus bid Perthshire Advertiser Perth 16 July 1991 p 4 Retrieved 3 March 2024 via Newspapers com Stagecoach wins Fife Scottish Coachmart No 648 Kingston upon Hull 18 July 1991 p 6 Stagecoach proposes yellow taxibus solution to boost social inclusion and cut congestion Stagecoach Group Archived from the original on 1 May 2022 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Stagecoach taxi bus axed after losing cash The Scotsman Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Traction Group bought for 26m The Yorkshire Post Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 New look Enviro for Stagecoach Goldline route Bus amp Coach Professional 31 October 2007 Archived from the original on 5 November 2007 Retrieved 3 March 2024 Recent BUS COACH developments no 3 A Transport of Delight 24 March 2008 Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 First concedes defeat at Stagecoach incursion Passenger Transport 5 March 2014 Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Swanson Ian 28 March 2017 Stagecoach to pull South Queensferry s bus link to Capital Edinburgh Evening News Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 UK s first driverless bus begins passenger service in Edinburgh BBC News 15 May 2023 Retrieved 2 July 2023 CAVForth2 extends via Alexander Dennis Transport Engineer 13 February 2023 Retrieved 3 March 2024 Stagecoach confirms cross Forth hovercraft trial launch Stagecoach Group Archived from the original on 1 May 2022 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Stagecoach marks 10 years of the Express City Connect brand in East Scotland Stagecoach Group Archived from the original on 29 November 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Stagecoach celebrates 10 years of Express City Connect Buses Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Stagecoach celebrate 2 7million investment in new luxury coaches for express fleet Here to There Publishing Blog Archived from the original on 1 December 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Stagecoach celebrate 2 5million investment in luxury coaches for express bus Fife Council Archived from the original on 29 November 2017 Retrieved 29 November 2017 Vehicle Upgrades for Stagecoach Express City Connect Network Fife Chamber of Commerce 27 September 2017 Retrieved 3 May 2022 Stagecoach wins top coach industry awards Stagecoach Group Archived from the original on 1 May 2022 Retrieved 29 November 2017 External links editOfficial website nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stagecoach East Scotland amp oldid 1211645553, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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