ManaBus.com was an

intercity coach service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public t ...

operator in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The company was owned by

Brian Souter Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, Ann Gloag, he founded the Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Train ...

InMotion Group Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, Ann Gloag, he founded the Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Tra ...

. ManaBus and Nakedbus ceased operation on 15 July 2018, with the bus fleets being sold to Ritchies Transport Holdings, part owner of rival coach company

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

History

ManaBus.com commenced operating express coach services on the North Island of New Zealand on 21 November 2014.Souter launches low-cost NZ express service
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 31 October 2014 In May 2015 it took over

Nakedbus nakedbus.com was a provider of low-cost long-distance bus (coachline) transport services around New Zealand. It used concepts such as yield management and no-frills to provide low fares. The company is so-named because "we have stripped out the ...

. On 15 July 2018 ManaBus and Nakedbus ceased operation.

Corporate strategy

Advertised fares started at $1 (plus $1.99 booking fee), using a

yield management Yield management is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource (such as airline seats or hotel room reservations ...

model as employed by sister companies

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...

, OnniBus and

PolskiBus PolskiBus was a Polish express coach operator. Owned by Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport, it commenced operating in June 2011.

. ManaBus.com operated at a high load factor using yield management pricing and large

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, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...

es to keep capital cost per seat and fuel burn per seat at low levels, similar to how airlines operate. Founder

believed that bus journeys of up to six hours can compete with

air travel Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliders, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight.

Services

ManaBus.com operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across the North Island of New Zealand. Key routes include:Timetable
ManaBus.com *

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

(day services and a sleeper bus service) *Auckland - Whangarei to Paihia *Wellington - Palmerston North, Taupo, Rotorua, Hamilton to Auckland *Auckland - Napier *Auckland - Whitianga *Auckland -

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

*Auckland -

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

* Whangarei - Hamilton *Whangarei - Rotorua

Fleet

ManaBus.com operated a fleet of

Kiwi Bus Builders Kiwi Bus Builders is a New Zealand bus bodybuilder based in Tauranga. History Kiwi Bus Builders was established in 1993. It has built bus and coach bodies for many operators including Go Bus Transport, NZ Bus NZ Bus is New Zealand's large ...

bodied

Volvo B11R The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR pl ...

s. The buses were outfitted with leather reclining seats (or beds in the sleeper bus), air conditioning, toilet, seatbelts and free Wi-Fi.

References

External links

Company website
{{Bus transport in New Zealand, state=collapsed Bus companies of New Zealand Transport companies established in 2014 Transport companies disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 2014