Stagecoach left the long-distance express coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to National Express. [34][35] In July 2010, Philadelphia and Boston were added as destinations. On August 17, 2011, Megabus started service to Omaha, via Des Moines and Iowa City; twice-daily departures and arrivals from Omaha and an increase to four daily departures and arrivals from Des Moines and Iowa City. [16] In November 2009 the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area. [60], In California and Nevada, Megabus operates almost exclusively from either commuter rail stations or transfer stations for local transit buses. On March 13, 2008, a stop was added in Madison, Wisconsin, on the twice daily Chicago-Minneapolis route. [23], In December 2018, it was announced that private equity house, Variant would acquire Stagecoach Group's US division for $271 million. Citi – some urban networks have received Citi branding, such as Cambridge, Exeter & Peterborough; although much of this brand has now been withdrawn. CoachUSA is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group plc, which is headquartered in Perth, Scotland. [46], On March 13, 2012, Megabus removed under-performing services from Pittsburgh, including Pittsburgh-Erie-Buffalo-Toronto and Pittsburgh-Columbus-Cincinnati and Pittsburgh-Akron, leaving Pittsburgh-State College-NYC, Pittsburgh-Washington, Pittsburgh-Harrisburg-Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh-Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit-Ann Arbor as the remaining services. Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA (owned by Stagecoach Group), operates low-fare express services in the United States. [54] Service between Washington and Christiansburg, VirginiaKnoxville and Atlanta also started on December 15, 2010. [14], In July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network. As of November 2008, the company was running 14 daily New York City-Washington, DC trips.[30]. [2][3], Successfully competing against the then state-owned National Express Coaches 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. The Guide wheels on the side of the buses, combined with a specially built track mean that hands free driving is possible. [15] In January 2009, Stagecoach bought Preston Bus, a former rival in the Lancashire area. A new route also began service to and from Albany. Megabus.com is an online express bus operator, owned by Independent Bus Company, Inc. [80][81][82], 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. 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. The sale was completed in April 2019. On August 8, 2007, Megabus introduced service to the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego and Tempe, Arizona, using Coach America as a contractor. Some tickets, if purchased well in advance, are priced as low as $1, with occasional free promotions, in addition to an online booking fee of $2.50 per transaction. Stagecoach Group has expanded the network run by its market-leading budget coach operator megabus.com in the United States and Canada. In 2009, the Megabusplus concept was introduced, under which certain trips are begun on a train and are then completed on a bus. The following is a breakdown of the Stagecoach operating divisions. [67], 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. Stagecoach had owned Coach USA since 2017. This expansion came as Megabus exited from the West Coast market. [15], Baton Rouge service was added September 9, 2013, with service to New Orleans and San Antonio.[16]. Stagecoach-owned megabus has started to take delivery of its new Plaxton Panorama-bodied Volvo B11R’s. Transport group Stagecoach has pledged to "shake up" the European coach market by introducing its dirt-cheap Megabus brand to cross-channel … The safety of curbside bus services came under scrutiny after the World Wide Tours bus crash caused 14 fatalities. A service that was initially offered between Indianapolis and Columbus was later withdrawn due to low ridership. Services also began between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. [66], Megabus is a low cost, "no-frills" intercity bus service launched in the United Kingdom by Stagecoach in 2003, on 10 April 2006 in the United States, and in 2009 within Canada. Megabus is a low cost, daily express bus service first launched in the United Kingdom in 2003 and the United States in 2006 by Stagecoach Group. Legal company names are listed alongside the trading names for that company. Megabus.com, owned by Stagecoach Group (which owns Coach USA and Coach Canada), offers a fleet of single- and double-deck buses equipped with wi-fi, electric outlets and panoramic window views. In 2013, the British group first launched their cross-border routes from London to Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona. [61], A stop in Burbank was added on August 15, 2013,[62] and the route was extended down to Anaheim (serving Orange County) on December 6, 2014.[27]. Ann's brother, Brian Souter, an accountant, joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. [44], Virgin Rail Group operated the CrossCountry franchise as Virgin CrossCountry from January 1997[45] until November 2007 when it passed to Arriva. In June 2012, Megabus announced service from Chicago to Detroit via Grand Rapids and East Lansing beginning July 12. Eastern Bus[32] and Today's Bus[33] were acquired by Coach USA in late 2008 and early 2009 but were divested in 2009. [23][24] On November 18, 2012, it was announced that customers would also be able to be served in Dallas downtown area as well as the Grand Prairie location. The Megabus fleet has the megabus.com name on the front and sides in yellow against a blue base, and the Megabus logo on the left side of the coach (facing forward) and rear of the bus. 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. On May 30, 2008, Megabus began East Coast operations with service to and from Atlantic City (operated by Academy Bus), Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Toronto. Megabus operates primarily in the Midwest servicing more than 50 cities in the region, in particular, in Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, etc. Initially, most of the routes used buses designed for short local public transport journeys that had no toilet or luggage space, and each passenger was allowed only one bag. 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. Megabus is a long distance coach (Intercity bus service) operator operated by the Stagecoach Group.It commenced operating in August 2003, initially in the United Kingdom, and later expanding into continental Europe.Some services link with Megatrain services, also operated by Stagecoach. In May 2008, Megabus made the decision to shut down service to/from Los Angeles and discontinue all related services. [18] In August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group halfway through its ten-year contract to operate the network. New budget coach services are now operating out of Omaha, Memphis, St Louis and Boston, bringing to 64 the total number of locations covered in North America from the company’s six key hubs. Megabus.com is a subsidiary of Coach USA, one of the largest transportation companies in North America. In 1982, with the collapse of his marriage to Ann, Robin Gloag sold his ownership stake in the business and ceased any involvement. When Stagecoach took over the system, it was struggling, both financially and in terms of attracting passengers, but it is now an extremely popular and successful operation. 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 the first no-frills brand of Stagecoach. 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. The operations in Finland were more successful, and were in April 1998 renamed Stagecoach Finland. [38]Service between New York and Amherst began on December 15, 2010; extended to Burlington and Montpelier in 2014. [11], 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. [52], In June 2003 the operation was sold to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the parent company of the major rival operator New World First Bus. On November 16, 2011, Megabus began operations out of Atlanta from the Civic Center station in Downtown Atlanta.[11][12]. [55], In May 2011, Megabus added service to Frederick, Maryland. In 2000, OutRage! 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. Service operates to the Pennsylvania cities of Harrisburg, State College and Pittsburgh, as well as to Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, New York City, Toronto and Washington, D.C.[48][49], In 2013, Megabus added service to and from Newark, Delaware from Philadelphia en route to Washington, D.C.[50], Megabus began operating to/from Washington D.C. on December 15, 2010. There were 6 other violations of local laws. megabus is the market-leading value coach operator in England, Scotland and Wales, with the aim of making travel simple for customers. In June 2001 Stagecoach announced the sale of their Portuguese operations to ScottURB for £14 million. [14], Service between Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, Columbia, South Carolina, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Durham, North Carolina began February 18, 2014. [44][45], Megabus also announced a route between Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor, starting March 14, 2012. In the UK, the Megabus network covers most of the island of Great Britain, although some routes offer only one journey per day. A further portion still operates as Vimeca – Viação Mecânica de Carnaxide. On December 15, 2010, service was added to Hartford and Amherst. There have been four other accidents involving Megabus vehicles. The fleet transferred to Eastern Shuttle was eventually returned to mainline Coach USA duty following divestiture a few months later. 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 early 2010, Champaign/Memphis route was cut to one daily round-trip due to poor ridership, but the second round trip has since been restored. Fares use a yield management model, formerly starting at £1. Megabus service began with used Motor Coach Industries 102EL3 Renaissance coaches, often transferred from other Coach USA operations, with some services utilizing Chicago- and Wisconsin Coach Lines buses. 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