Stagecoach Manchester
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Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654
Greater Manchester Buses South Limited
is a major bus operator in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
. It is the largest UK bus subsidiary of
Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom. History Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early ...
outside of
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...
, as well as the largest within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester by passenger numbers, carrying up to 96.2 million passengers in 2019/20. It is made up of two brands: ''Stagecoach'' and ''Magic Bus''.


History

In December 1993,
GM Buses GM Buses was the main bus company serving the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester in North West England. The company was formed in 1986 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. In December 1993, it was split into GM ...
was split into two companies: ''GM Buses North'' and ''GM Buses South''. It was planned that the two companies would compete against one another but, in practice, they stuck to the sides of Manchester as indicated by their names. In April 1994, GM Buses South was sold in a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
. It faced an uphill struggle as over 40 competitors were operating GM Buses routes following
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, although most of those competed with GM Buses North. However, Bee Line and MTL Manchester did go south;
Finglands Coachways Finglands Coachways was a bus and coach operator in Rusholme, Manchester. History Finglands Coachways was founded in 1907, initially as a coach operator. Bus services competing with GM Buses and other operators would be set up following dereg ...
, Mayne and Walls were established competitors on lucrative south Manchester routes. GMBS suffered from operating an elderly fleet. As a stand-alone (nil subsidy) arms-length company, GM Buses had not been able to buy new buses; thus
Daimler Fleetline The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from circa 1975) is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983. It was the second of three bus models to have a marque name as well as an alphanumeric i ...
s and
Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asi ...
s - the newest by then 15 years old - had to soldier on. Competitors were expanding and GMBS could not make the investment needed.
Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
set up Stagecoach Manchester as a
Ribble Motor Services Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West England based in Preston. History Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching ...
subsidiary, to compete on GMBS's main route 192 with brand new
Volvo B6 The Volvo B6 was a engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE. History In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart, and with the ...
buses that were far more appealing than GMBS's rundown fleet. In response to increasing competition by Merseyside Transport, GMBS set up Birkenhead & District in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, running Daimler Fleetlines in Birkenhead Corporation livery. Throughout 1994, GMBS bought a large number of second hand buses, mainly Atlanteans and
Leyland National The Leyland National is an integrally-constructed United Kingdom, British high-floor, step-floor single-decker bus manufactured in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industri ...
s. Stagecoach responded with more new buses in the shape of new
Alexander PS The Alexander PS-type was a step-floor single-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders in Falkirk, Scotland and was produced from 1988 to the late 1990s predominantly on the Dennis Lance, Mercedes-Benz O405, Scania N113, Volvo ...
bodied Volvo B10M-55s. GMBS used its Charterplan coach fleet to compete with Stagecoach Ribble's route X43 to
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
. By the end of 1994, everything turned peaceful; Stagecoach agreed to no further competition on route 192 and hired 20 Volvo B6s to GMBS. In February 1996, Stagecoach purchased the business and rebranded it ''Stagecoach Manchester''. The original Stagecoach Manchester was sold to
Finglands Coachways Finglands Coachways was a bus and coach operator in Rusholme, Manchester. History Finglands Coachways was founded in 1907, initially as a coach operator. Bus services competing with GM Buses and other operators would be set up following dereg ...
. On 21 January 2008, Stagecoach Manchester purchased the bus operations of A Mayne & Son, with 38 buses all transferred to Hyde Road garage. On 10 August 2008, Stagecoach Manchester purchased the bus operations of
Bullocks Coaches Bullocks Coaches is a bus and coach operator in Cheadle, Greater Manchester. History The company was founded in 1928 by Ralph Bullock, initially as a haulage firm, with milk deliveries being the early focus. On weekends, the trucks turned int ...
. Bullocks retained their coach hire business and route 147 ''Oxford Road Link'' operated as a subsidised university and hospital link. Bullocks' services included route 157, between
Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...
and Manchester, which has since been renumbered X57 and made limited stop between
East Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counti ...
and Manchester. In March 2011, Stagecoach started running the Stockport
Metroshuttle free bus is a zero-fare bus system that operates in Greater Manchester. The system was first introduced in Manchester city centre in 2002, with three routes linking the city's major thoroughfares and stations with its main commercial, financia ...
service. On 2 December 2012, Stagecoach Manchester purchased 's
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
operation.Stagecoach buys FirstGroup's Wigan bus arm for £12 million
''BBC News'' 31 October 2012
The transaction saw 300 employees, 120 vehicles (although 20 were owned by
Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities. ...
) and the Wigan depot purchased by the former Mayne legal entity. The business was rebranded ''Stagecoach in Wigan'' although it is managed by Stagecoach Manchester. On 3 March 2013, Stagecoach purchased
Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...
with 40 buses, 80 staff and its depot lease at Greengate.Anticipated acquisition by Greater Manchester Buses (South) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stagecoach plc, of Bluebird Bus & Coach
Office of Fair Trading 27 February 2013
On 26 April 2014, Stagecoach took over the business of
JPT Bus Company JPT Bus Company (formerly JP Travel), was a bus company based at Middleton, Greater Manchester, England. Operations ceased on 25 April 2014, with the business taken over by Stagecoach Manchester. History The company was founded in 1974 by ...
with 41 buses. The first autonomous bus trial in the United Kingdom commenced in mid-2019, with an
Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC (sold as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200) is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014, as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMC ...
single-decker bus modified with autonomous software from Fusion Processing able to operate in driverless mode within Stagecoach Manchester's
Sharston Sharston is an area of Wythenshawe, south Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 16,754. History Built on former farming land (as was most of Wythenshawe when the estate was first being built in the 1920s), the area was i ...
bus depot, performing tasks such as driving to the washing station, refuelling point and then parking up at a dedicated parking space in the depot.


Franchising

In 2019, it was announced that the
Greater Manchester Combined Authority The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members; 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...
(GMCA) would be looking into improving the public transport network in Greater Manchester with bus franchising as the preferred option by both itself and
Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities. ...
(TfGM). This announcement concerned bus operators including Stagecoach who alongside OneBus started to publish their own facts and research into Manchester's bus network with a detailed partnership proposal to work with the GMCA and TfGM to improve the bus network at no cost to local taxpayers as the investment would come from the private sector. In September 2019, Stagecoach decided to increase their advertising of their Partnership proposal with bus advertising and a dedicated website.


Depots

*
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
(Riverside, Clarence Street) *
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
(Hyde Road, Ardwick) *
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
(Sharston) * Middleton ( Greengate) -
Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...
operations taken over 3 March 2013 *
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
(Daw Bank) *
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
(Bryn Lockett Road) - 's Wigan operations taken over 2 December 2012


Services

Stagecoach Manchester operates the largest number of services of any bus operator in Greater Manchester. It is primarily dominant in southern areas of the county but in recent years has gradually expanded its operations north of
Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...
operating some cross-city services.


Stagecoach in Manchester

''Stagecoach in Manchester'' mainly run services in the southern areas of
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, serving
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
,
Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...
,
Tameside The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through the borough, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Aud ...
and south and central
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. They also run some local services in
Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...
. Stagecoach does run some services outside these areas: *50
East Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counti ...
- Manchester -
Salford Quays Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom foll ...
, which became Manchester's first cross-city service for nearly two decades *76
Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
- Manchester *156 Middleton- Crumpsall-
Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name derives from t ...
-
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
From March 2013, Stagecoach moved further into north Manchester by purchasing
Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...
. Since 23 July 2017, the 22 route (
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
– Stockport) that Stagecoach Manchester shared with has been separated into two routes. The 2 route operates between Bolton and the
Trafford Centre The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space. Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford C ...
and is operated by First Greater Manchester. The 25 route operates between Stockport and the Trafford Centre, and is operated by Stagecoach Manchester and
Manchester Community Transport Manchester Community Transport was a bus operator in Greater Manchester, based in Oldham. History Manchester Community Transport was established as Wythenshawe Mobile in 1980, under the Urban Aid Funding scheme. In 2005 it was rebranded Manchest ...
.


Stagecoach in Wigan

Since December 2012, Stagecoach has operated services in the
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
area under the brandname ''Stagecoach in Wigan'', following the purchase of 's Wigan operation. Services from Wigan depot mainly run in the Wigan and
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
areas, whilst also serving Manchester and Salford on routes 33 and 34/X34 (the former being shared with First Greater Manchester), while route 7 (formally 540) runs to
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
, which is also served by Stagecoach Lancashire route 125. Route 113 is operated from both Stagecoach Manchester's Wigan depot and Stagecoach Lancashire's
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
depot.


Magic Bus

The '' Magic Bus'' brand was introduced by Stagecoach Manchester to the Wilmslow Road bus corridor to compete against other cheaper bus brands. It offered lower fares than on regular Stagecoach liveried services by using older bus type fleets. The Manchester Magic Bus fleet currently consists of older Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s transferred from the ''Stagecoach in Manchester'' fleet, operating on Wilmslow Road routes 142, 143 and 147. In 2006 the Magic Bus brand was introduced in Manchester on route 192 to counter a bus war started by UK North. Following UK North being de-licensed, the Magic Bus ceased operating on route 192 with all services provided by Stagecoach liveried buses.


Nightbus

Stagecoach Manchester offer several
night bus service Night service, sometimes also known as owl service, refers to the public transport services operated during the night hours. These services are operated, mainly using buses but in certain cases using trams (or streetcars), not including inte ...
s in Manchester and Wigan every Friday and Saturday night. The services run every 30 minutes or every hour from 00:00 until 03:00 and the routes are mainly the same as the normal routes with some exceptions. Stagecoach also operates night bus services in Wigan. The network is largely based on the main Wigan services with some running an amended route to its normal routes. Wigan's Nightbus network runs on Friday nights/Saturday mornings and Saturday nights/Sunday mornings. The services also operate on New Year's Eve with additional journeys during the evening between 19:00 and 23:00, along with journeys on 's route 352 to Orrell and 362 to Standish and on Wigan Buses/
Maytree Travel Maytree Travel was a bus operator based in Bolton in Greater Manchester. History The company was formed in 2008 by owner Gary Hawthorne, who took over the Bolton operations of Tyrer Bus, who first started operating in Bolton in 2007. The compan ...
route 612 to
Wrightington Wrightington is a civil parish in West Lancashire, England, with an area of 3,915½ acres. The surface is hilly, rising to over 400 ft. at Harrock on the border of Parbold, and then falling to the north, northeast and southeast. On the so ...
Hospital. 53 and 88 are examples even though at daytime they are buses.


Fleet

Stagecoach Manchester currently operate a fleet of 812 buses and 37 coaches (run on school services), which includes one of the largest fleet of
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor bus, low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the United Kingdom, British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident 2, ...
double-decker buses A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...
for any bus operator in the UK. These also include a range of Hybrid variants: *32 Zero emission, electric double decker buses *138 Euro 4 and 5 Hybrid buses *1 Euro 6 Hybrid bus *172 Euro 6 buses(as of April 2019). Most Stagecoach Manchester vehicles are branded in the now 20-year-old ''Beach Ball'' design corporate livery, originally launched in 2000. The livery consists of vehicles painted white, with a blue skirt, and red and orange swoops. The new
Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
livery was launched in January 2020, and features three different liveries, based on the type of service operated: local, long-distance and specialist. These new designs are to be applied beginning in the latter half of 2020.


See also

*
Timeline of public passenger transport operations in Manchester The history of public transport authorities in Manchester details the various organisations that have been responsible for the public transport network in and around Manchester, England, since 1824. Timeline *On 1 January 1824, the first horse b ...


Publications

*''Celebrating 100 Years of Princess Road'' Manchester: Stagecoach April 2010


References


External links


Company website
{{Transport in Greater Manchester Bus operators in Greater Manchester Stagecoach Group bus operators in England Transport companies established in 1996 Transport in Manchester 1996 establishments in England