This page was last edited on 6 January 2021, at 21:31. 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. [58], In October 2018, Megabus added express service between Washington D.C. and Charlottesville, Virginia. By the summer of 1999, the company was rumoured to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. The operator already operates services between Brussels and Cologne. All Megabus coaches in the United States are equipped with Wi-Fi and electrical outlets. In spring of 1997, Swebus Express was started as an intercity coach service between several cities in southern parts of Sweden, sporting the Stagecoach livery of the time. 90000 – 99999: pool cars, staff transport vehicles, etc. Stagecoach operate a number of so-called "no-frills" services across the United Kingdom and the United States. In the capital, Lisbon, Rodoviária de Lisboa was the chief operator outside the city itself, where Carris provided city bus and tram services. 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. In October 1998 a consortium of investors led by Karanja Kabage as chairman acquired Kenya Bus Services Limited from Stagecoach Holdings which owned 95% of the business. Service runs on four routes (LA-San Jose-SF, LA-Oakland-SF, SF-Sacramento and LA-Riverside-Las Vegas). Also, New York drivers have been cited 29 times by police: 14 times for speeding, five times for not maintaining driver logs, two times for failing to obey a traffic control device, two times for defects (windshield cracked and other), and 1 time for falsifying a log book. Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire (Yorkshire Traction, Barnsley & District, Yorkshire Terrier), Lincolnshire (RoadCar) and Angus (Strathtay Scottish). The Canadian Megabus fleet consists of 15 2009 TD925 buses and are operated by Trentway-Wagar. [47], Starting July 21, 2010, Megabus began operating service to/from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Stagecoach-owned megabus has started to take delivery of its new Plaxton Panorama-bodied Volvo B11R’s. Megabus.com, a subsidiary of Coach USA (owned by Stagecoach Group), operates low-fare express services in the United States. [71], To satisfy the commission, some Citylink routes were sold to Parks Motor Group in early 2008. A notable exception to this is the use of London Victoria Coach Station. It is to launch an extension to the route on 16 December, which will link Brussels with Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich. [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. The safety of curbside bus services came under scrutiny after the World Wide Tours bus crash caused 14 fatalities. Traction was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK. [76] In 2005 alleged aggressive behaviour by Stagecoach drivers, seeking to compete with Scotbus, resulted in an arson fire at a Stagecoach East Scotland garage. On April 4, 2013, service was discontinued for the Oklahoma state and Missouri state stops via Dallas. On its west coast routes, Megabus operates almost exclusively from either commuter rail stations or transfer stations for local transit buses. Its main rival in the UK is National Express, who have had to lower their prices to compete with Megabus. It was the largest bus company in New Zealand when sold. Stagecoach sold the Metrolink business to RATP Group in August 2011. [60], In California and Nevada, Megabus operates almost exclusively from either commuter rail stations or transfer stations for local transit buses. In 2014 and 2015, Megabus added … [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. [43] The route was later rebranded to a Megabus route. On March 29, 2011, Megabus announced service to/from Pittsburgh, operating service out of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center underpass. The Guide wheels on the side of the buses, combined with a specially built track mean that hands free driving is possible. The company was launched in 2006. One of the many excellent speakers at this year’s American Dream conference was Dale Moser, CEO of Coach USA and Megabus. Stagecoach owned megabus.com is to start coach services in new locations in Germany as the company continues its European expansion. On March 13, 2008, a stop was added in Madison, Wisconsin, on the twice daily Chicago-Minneapolis route. [8] Stagecoach took another turn in 1998, when it purchased Scotland's Prestwick Airport for £41 million. [44][45], Megabus also announced a route between Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor, starting March 14, 2012. Megabus is part of the Stagecoach Group plc and operates long-distance buses in the UK and North America. Stagecoach carried out bus operations in the northeastern and midwestern United States and in eastern Canada. According to federal records, since August 2007, Chicago drivers have been cited 54 times by police: 21 times for not maintaining driver logs, 20 times for speeding, three times for following too closely, 2 times for improper lane changes, and 2 for windshield violations. Passengers also have the option to connect to other Megabus routes in Memphis, from Dallas; and to New Orleans, from Houston. The North American business is currently owned by Stagecoach Group, the Scotland-based international public transport group which operates buses, coaches, trams and trains and has around 31,000 employees in the UK and North America. [63], In October 1996, during Stagecoach's International buying spree, it made its most important international acquisition at 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. [74][75], In 2000 Stagecoach Manchester was found to have been employing bus inspectors to usher passengers away from competitor's services. [29] Service to Baltimore was added after negotiations over the usage of the White Marsh Park & Ride were concluded. [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. 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. [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. Megabus passengers are prohibited from waiting in the station unless they are using other companies' services. Two British Railways Mark 2 passenger carriages were re-branded in Stagecoach colours and attached to a scheduled British Rail InterCity sleeper service. Megabus returned to the West Coast on December 12, 2012 initially serving San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Reno, Riverside and Los Angeles. 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. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. In 2000, OutRage! Both revised services offer four trips daily (up from two on the Toronto line), with a fifth Buffalo-Toronto express overnight trip also offered. The vehicles will be based from the operator’s Cwmbran, South Wales, site and they each feature 74 seats, free wifi, a toilet and USB charging points. A service that was initially offered between Indianapolis and Columbus was later withdrawn due to low ridership. Megabus received the necessary permissions to start on the following Monday.[25]. [14], Service between Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, Columbia, South Carolina, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Durham, North Carolina began February 18, 2014. The Canadian buses are pooled with the US fleet for NYC-Toronto or Philadelphia-Toronto runs, with drivers swapping at Buffalo to stay within their certified country. Following this initial acquisition Stagecoach also purchased Eastbourne Buses, The Yellow Bus Company in Auckland and a controlling interest in Fullers Auckland. In the United States, tickets are not available from the bus operator. 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. 349 1st St Elizabeth, NJ 07206 ", "Megabus.com Expands Washington D.C. Service To and From 10 Cities", "Megabus.com Expands Toronto Service to/from Washington D.C.", "Union Station to become intercity bus center", "MegaBus brings daily routes from Christiansburg to DC and Knoxville", "Megabus.com Expands Service to Morgantown", "Megabus is coming to Virginia Beach and a Norfolk stop is in the works", "Megabus to Begin Express Service from Charlottesville to D.C.", "$1 Express Bus Service From L.A. To Bay Area and Vegas is Back! Stagecoach in 1998 announced that it had bid for several rail franchises in Sweden. All reservations are done via internet. [6] Megabus re-entered the market in 2012 after reacquiring some of the assets of Coach America, which had been part of Coach USA prior to a major divestiture in 2003. [39] A Brattleboro stop was added in September 2016. In June 2008, Coach Canada began offering tickets from C$1 on its route between Toronto and Montreal, using the same yield management model. Preston Bus was sold in January 2011. The Group operates bus, coach, and tram services in regulated and deregulated markets. The centre of each operating region is shown in parentheses. Fares use a yield management model, formerly starting at £1. Stagecoach Group is a leading multi-modal UK public transport company, with operations in England, Scotland and Wales. It commenced operating in August 2003, initially in the United Kingdom, and later expanding into continental Europe. Megabus offers safe, convenient, affordable bus service. Megabus began operations in the U.S. on April 10, 2006, with routes between Chicago and Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St Louis, from a stop on the curb next to Chicago Union Station. [21][22], In 1999 Stagecoach purchased the school bus operations of Sunbus in the Cairns, Ipswich and Sunshine Coast regions of Queensland. 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 1982, with the collapse of his marriage to Ann, Robin Gloag sold his ownership stake in the business and ceased any involvement. Originally operated using high capacity but older coach seated buses, most services are now operated with new modern single or double deck coaches. [5][6] In April 2000 Stagecoach sold Porterbrook to Abbey National for £773 million. [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 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. Stagecoach coach 54017 Volvo B12BT Plaxton Panther SV07 ADU Megabus livery in Newcastle 25 April 2009 pic 2.JPG 2,511 × 2,071; 2.03 MB Stagecoach Glasgow coach 51096 (WLT 921, ex-T96 JHN), 2012 West Ham garage open day.jpg 249 × 202; 65 KB On June 6, a once-daily service was added to Binghamton for travel to and from Buffalo and Toronto. Only one or two seats are sold for $0 or $1 per schedule, so the less popular schedules tend to be less expensive. 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. Unlike the original Megatrain concept, this service is available seven days a week. [38]Service between New York and Amherst began on December 15, 2010; extended to Burlington and Montpelier in 2014. [17], Columbia, Missouri was added with one stop daily in each direction on the Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City route; it was discontinued in September 2015.[18]. It ceased operation in April 1996. There have been four other accidents involving Megabus vehicles. Stagecoach-owned megabus.com has introduced a new stop at Manchester airport. [53][54], In November 1991 Stagecoach Holdings Limited (as it was named then), bought United Transport's shareholding in Kenya Bus Services Limited. Under 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. [7], In 1997 Stagecoach won the franchise to operate the Sheffield Supertram system, from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, who own the system. But the main attraction is low cost inter city travel that is reserved on … [4], 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. Stagecoach-owned megabus.com has welcomed nine new Plaxton Elite i coaches to its fleet following an investment of almost £3m. Stagecoach Express – an express coach service that operates mainly between towns and cities where Stagecoach operate. Megabus (England & Wales) routes are mainly run by either Stagecoach (South Wales) or Stagecoach (Midlands) vehicles, with the exception of Norwich services (Freestones Coaches), London-Gloucester, London-Plymouth/Falmouth, Gatwick-Cardiff, Bristol-Barnstaple, Bristol-Nottingham, most of London-Bristol and certain London-Cardiff services (South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach). Service to the Phoenix area was discontinued in January 2008, followed by services in San Diego and San Ysidro in March 2008. [27], Service between New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee began December 17, 2013.[28]. Online Bus Ticket Booking 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. [53] In November 2011, Megabus began operating from the bus deck in Union Station. It was first used in red lettering on ex London Regional Transport AEC Routemasters, otherwise painted in Stagecoach stripes, in competition in Glasgow. Canadian buses will turn off their WiFi at the US border and American buses will turn off WiFi upon entering Canada. This is to avoid incurring roaming charges from the cellular carriers that provide the internet service. [40], Beginning August 1, 2012, the New York stop moved to 34th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues, across the street from the Javits Center and the 34th Street - Hudson Yards subway station. The main advantages of a guided busway, versus a normal road are higher speeds (meaning increased capacity) and increased safety as traffic of differing directions is physically separated. 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 the deal concluded in April 2019. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom. The company offers intercity bus transportation services. Coach USA is owned by Stagecoach, one of the two large private transit companies that emerged when Britain privatized much of its transit industry. From Dallas, passengers had options to travel to Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock, Memphis, Norman, Oklahoma City, Springfield and St Louis. The Danish operations never proved profitable, and were sold to Combus in autumn of 1997. In the UK, the Megabus network covers most of the island of Great Britain, although some routes offer only one journey per day. image caption Stagecoach-owned Megabus.com covers more than 100 North American cities Stagecoach has announced it is investing more than … [10] On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group (Yorkshire Traction) for £26m, and also assume Traction's £11m debt. Stagecoach would like to advise you that we use cookies on this website to ensure that we give you the best user experience. In December 2008, service to Binghamton, which had been operating only to Buffalo and Toronto, was dropped in favor of service to Syracuse, Rochester and Niagara Falls. Megabus is a long distance coach operator operated by the Stagecoach Group. Online bus ticket booking available. On 27 October 1999, Stagecoach revealed that it was going to sell Swebus to Concordia Bus for £100m, to refocus its bus operation on the United States and Asia.[65]. 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 the privatisation of Citybus on 17 July 1999. It commenced operating in August 2003, initially in the United Kingdom, and by December 2012 served 60 destinations in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Megabus.com is an online express bus operator, owned by Independent Bus Company, Inc. The name of Rodoviária de Lisboa survived as part of the Barraqueiro bus company, but another part, serving the area to the west of Lisbon, became Stagecoach Portugal in 1995. 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. [55], 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. [15] In January 2009, Stagecoach bought Preston Bus, a former rival in the Lancashire area. Megabus is a long distance coach operator operated by the Stagecoach. [34][35] In July 2010, Philadelphia and Boston were added as destinations. These were sold in 2002 to:[50], In 1994 Stagecoach created a bus-operating subsidiary in Hong Kong which operated residential bus services. 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. [15], Baton Rouge service was added September 9, 2013, with service to New Orleans and San Antonio.[16]. All services were moved from the Royal York Hotel to the Toronto Coach terminal. They sold the airport in January 2001 to concentrate on surface transport. A further portion still operates as Vimeca – Viação Mecânica de Carnaxide. 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. 20000 – 29999: heavyweight single-decker buses, 30000 – 39999: lightweight single-decker buses, 80000 – 89999: demonstrator and loaned vehicles. Additional services were added on April 2, 2007: a stop in Ann Arbor along the Chicago-Detroit route for travel to and from Chicago, new service between Minneapolis and Milwaukee, an extension of the Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland route into Pittsburgh (since withdrawn on the Midwest network, but later re-entered on the Northeast network), an extension of the Chicago-St. Louis route into Kansas City, reactivation of the Chicago-Indianapolis-Columbus route, new service between Cincinnati and Columbus, and new service between Chicago and Louisville via Indianapolis (since withdrawn). 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