Stagecoach Group (Group-wide matters)

[Robertj21a]

but we all know how megabus works... only the first 1 or maybe 2 seats will be £1 {actually £1.50 with booking fee} I'm sure that most seats will cost more than a fiver... as is usual with megabus

Still dramatically cheaper than the other London tours. Ideal for students etc who love the Megabus concept.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Just booked two tickets on a tour for less than a fiver, including booking fee!

 

[extendedpaul]

but we all know how megabus works... only the first 1 or maybe 2 seats will be £1 {actually £1.50 with booking fee} I'm sure that most seats will cost more than a fiver... as is usual with megabus

First seat costs £1, second £3.21, I just booked two for £4.21 plus the 50p booking fee to give it a go on a day when we are in London anyway.

I've had a play with the booking system on several dates and for three people two pay £1 each, total £5.21, for four the total is £8.42, five tickets cost £13.75 but six tickets total £14.75, all plus one 50p booking fee.
The system seems to be set up with several £1 tickets but spread out thus preventing two people travelling together for £2.

 

[overthewater]

I thought this was common knowledge, Ie that's how it works, the quicker you buy the cheaper it is...

Megabus ads promising £1 seats are banned
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43562112

Megabus ads promising fares from £1 have been banned after the company admitted as few as one seat per coach was available at that price.

A website and Facebook post for a new Aberystwyth to Birmingham Megabus route featured the text "From £1".

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said consumers would expect to be able to find the "from" price if they booked in advance.

A Megabus spokeswoman said future marketing would not focus on prices.

The ASA also took the Stagecoach-owned operator to task for another ad that listed routes from Leeds to new Yorkshire destinations, claiming: "As always our fares are from £1*."

And it highlighted a Facebook post that included text stating: "Day trips from £1* London to Bath."

Image copyrightASA
Two complainants, who searched for tickets and believed that fares were not available at the stated price, challenged whether the claim was misleading.

The ASA found that only 4% of fares for the Aberystwyth to Birmingham route were available at £1, and 3% for the London to Bath route.

The watchdog ruled that the ads must not appear again in their current form: "We told Megabus to ensure in future that when using 'from £1' price claims a significant proportion of the advertised fares were available at £1, so that consumers would have a reasonable chance of obtaining the products at the advertised 'from' price."

Megabus said the number of fares available at £1 for any given route varied due to many factors, such as the number of intermediary stops and the number of tickets booked for the partial and full routes.

The coach operator said £1 fares were generally available if the booking was made more than four weeks in advance, but this depended on the route.

A Megabus spokeswoman said it had always provided clear and transparent pricing and its future marketing would focus on the value offered by its fares, as well as extras such as onboard wi-fi and phone charging points.

 

[extendedpaul]

I thought this was common knowledge, Ie that's how it works, the quicker you buy the cheaper it is...

Megabus ads promising £1 seats are banned
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43562112

I don't see why Megabus has been singled out for using this sort of marketing. There may only be one seat priced at £1 per service but at least it does exist and isn't really that hard to secure. Anyone who expects to get half a dozen seats for £6 on a long distance coach service is a bit naive in my opinion ! What about all the flights, holidays and live shows offered at prices that are designed to lure people in and then either piled high with unavoidable extra costs or stated to be sold out?

Without Megabus as competition I suspect National Express would charge significantly higher fares so long may they continue to offer a budget coach service.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I don't see why Megabus has been singled out for using this sort of marketing. There may only be one seat priced at £1 per service but at least it does exist and isn't really that hard to secure. Anyone who expects to get half a dozen seats for £6 on a long distance coach service is a bit naive in my opinion ! What about all the flights, holidays and live shows offered at prices that are designed to lure people in and then either piled high with unavoidable extra costs or stated to be sold out?

Without Megabus as competition I suspect National Express would charge significantly higher fares so long may they continue to offer a budget coach service.

They haven’t been singled out. Ryanair has been similarly reported to the ASA http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/01/04/asa-grounds-misleading-ryanair-and-lastminutecom-ads

It happens in a range of industries and Megabus has fallen foul this time.

 

[extendedpaul]

They haven’t been singled out. Ryanair has been similarly reported to the ASA http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/01/04/asa-grounds-misleading-ryanair-and-lastminutecom-ads

It happens in a range of industries and Megabus has fallen foul this time.

Interesting. I don't remember seeing a similar story in the news about Ryanair but then I don't fly anywhere so perhaps wouldn't have noticed it.

The Megabus story just seems a bit of a storm in a teacup to me. Far worse misleading advertising around than what Sid says !!

 

[4cryingoutloud]

The ASA also took the Stagecoach-owned operator to task for another ad that listed routes from Leeds to new Yorkshire destinations, claiming: "As always our fares are from £1*."

And it highlighted a Facebook post that included text stating: "Day trips from £1* London to Bath."

I expect a day trip to start and finish in the same place, so if I can't buy a return ticket for £1 then the criticism seems accurate: it'd actually be "from £2" assuming you can find two cheap singles there and back on the same day.

 

[carlberry]

Interesting. I don't remember seeing a similar story in the news about Ryanair but then I don't fly anywhere so perhaps wouldn't have noticed it.

The Megabus story just seems a bit of a storm in a teacup to me. Far worse misleading advertising around than what Sid says !!

There was a time (not that long ago) when there appeared to be run in between Ryanair and the ASA every month! Far be it from me to suggest the fuss about the ad each time meant the message was seen by more people then ever saw the original ad!

 

[radamfi]

If megabus have to remove £1 from the advertising then the end result will probably be *no* tickets for £1. The £1 fares exist primarily for marketing reasons.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Stagecoach North Scotland have won 3 of the 4 Aberdeen City Council tenders that start at the end of next month.

217 is a new service.
94 goes back to it's 2014 - 2017 route and for the first time will be operated by Stagecoach (Previous Central Coaches ltd)
15A is currently operated by First, This change seems a bit daft as First run the service just now and they will continue to run the day variant "15" which is not a tendered service.

Kingswells Monday to Saturday Service.
Service 217: Union Square and Upperkirkgate to Kingswells, via Holburn Junction, ARI and Lang Stracht

Registration number: PM0000005/609
Licence Number: PM0000005
Variation number: 0
Status: New
Service number: 14, 14, 217
Service type: Normal Stopping
Start point: City Centre (Upperkirkgate or Union Square)
Finish point: Kingswells (Village)
Via:
Date received: 28 Mar 2018
Effective date: 30 Apr 2018
End date:
Supported by subsidies? No
Local authorities covered by route: Aberdeen City Council
TAOs covered by route: Scotland

Airyhall Evening Service.
Service 15A: Union Square to Airyhall, via Holburn Junction, Seafield and Craigiebuckler

Registration number: PM0000005/610
Licence Number: PM0000005
Variation number: 0
Status New:
Service number: 15A, 15A
Service type: Normal Stopping
Start point: City Centre (Union Square)
Finish point: Craigiebuckler (Airyhall)
Via:
Date received: 28 Mar 2018
Effective date: 30 Apr 2018
End date:
Supported by subsidies? No
Local authorities covered by route: Aberdeen City Council
TAOs covered by route: Scotland

Aberdeen Crematorium Shuttle Bus.
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to Aberdeen Crematorium, via Woodend

Registration number: PM0000005/611
Licence Number: PM0000005
Variation number: 0
Status: New
Service number: 94, 94
Service type: Normal Stopping
Start point: Aberdeen (Royal Infirmary)
Finish point: Hazledhead (Crematorium)
Via:
Date received: 28 Mar 2018
Effective date: 30 Apr 2018
End date:
Supported by subsidies? No
Local authorities covered by route: Aberdeen City Council
TAOs covered by route: Scotland

 

[overthewater]

So you never expected that?

 

[Jordan Adam]

So you never expected that?

Not at all, everyone is shocked about the 15A and 217. 94 less so.

 

[Bantamzen]

If megabus have to remove £1 from the advertising then the end result will probably be *no* tickets for £1. The £1 fares exist primarily for marketing reasons.

I'd say that would be a given, and a good example of why its not always a good idea to go running to organisations like the ASA simply because someone somewhere didn't get what they wanted. Anyone with half a brain would have realise that the £1 seats would be extremely limited (hence the "From" in front), no long distance coach company could possibly run & be viable for £55 per journey!

 

[bb21]

If megabus have to remove £1 from the advertising then the end result will probably be *no* tickets for £1. The £1 fares exist primarily for marketing reasons.

Exactly. Now they may have to start advertising "fares start from £5" or such like, and you will almost certainly lose all the £1 and £3 fares. I can't see availability of the lower price tiers being massively increased.

At least, a "victory" can be claimed, by everyone losing.

 

[extendedpaul]

Exactly. Now they may have to start advertising "fares start from £5" or such like, and you will almost certainly lose all the £1 and £3 fares. I can't see availability of the lower price tiers being massively increased.

At least, a "victory" can be claimed, by everyone losing.

That point was made on Twitter yesterday and the reply was that £1 seats would not be disappearing but marketing would be changed. Then someone challenged the marketing on the London sightseeing tours and the reply to that was that at least 10% of seats on each service would cost £1. On the services I checked if six seats were booked three were priced at £1 so that appears to be true.

Probably not but hopefully they will increase the number of £1 seats to 10% on other services by spreading them out as they seem to be doing on the sightsee-ers. Offering the £1 seat(s) at random has been tried in the past but has always reverted to first seat sold.

 

[overthewater]

All that means is there be more higher end fares instead of 3-6 quid fares

 

[Wirewiper]

I have just booked a £1 Megasightseeing.com tour for Wednesday 25th April. Assuming I go (if I can't I have only lost £1.50) I will report back.

 

[Mwanesh]

There is always one who complains and spoils it.It said from £1 not all tickets.For students Megabus has made travelling easier

 

[Tetchytyke]

Megabus tickets aren't from £1, though, as you can't avoid the 50p booking fee. No matter how many £1 tickets you buy, the average will always be more than £1.

The adverts should show a more typical fare. I don't see why this is controversial.

Now to go after Stagecoach for their "from £xx" adverts on the trains, where you can only ever get the cheapest tier at 11pm on a Tuesday in February.

 

[route101]

I don't see why Megabus has been singled out for using this sort of marketing. There may only be one seat priced at £1 per service but at least it does exist and isn't really that hard to secure. Anyone who expects to get half a dozen seats for £6 on a long distance coach service is a bit naive in my opinion ! What about all the flights, holidays and live shows offered at prices that are designed to lure people in and then either piled high with unavoidable extra costs or stated to be sold out?

Without Megabus as competition I suspect National Express would charge significantly higher fares so long may they continue to offer a budget coach service.

Nat ex Glasgow to Bristol overnight £62 .You wont see that on the London routes from Glasgow

 

[Wirewiper]

Stagecoach South and Reading Buses have come to an agreement, whereby from Monday 16th April Reading Buses will take over the Reading-Hartley Wintney section of route 7 which currently operates between Reading and Aldershot. Reading Buses will continue to Fleet Station, via the direct route (A323, The Oatsheaf and Fleet Road). Stagecoach route 7 will continue to provide a service to Elvetham Heath and Calthorpe Park, and will extend within Hartley Wintney to serve the Phoenix Green area.

Reading Buses route 7 will continue to accept all Stagecoach season tickets until they expire, and both operators will issue tickets that allow through journeys to be made.

Route 8 between Reading and Farnborough will be withdrawn after Friday 13th April due to low passenger numbers. Stagecoach routes 406 and 408 will provide alternative services between Eversley, Yateley and Farnborough for school and college students.

No staff are transferring, but Reading Buses will acquire a pair of Stagecoach South Dennis Trident/Alexander ALX400 double deckers for their reserve fleet.

 

[Volvodart]

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/...stagecoach-confirms-closure-of-lochaber-depot

Stagecoach confirms closure of Lochaber depot
03 Apr 2018

- Final day of service in Fort William will be Saturday 30th June
- Company continues to work closely with trade union to minimise impact on staff

Stagecoach today (3rd April 2018) confirmed that services from its Fort William depot will operate for the final time on Saturday 30th June.

The operator, which runs 8 vehicles and employs 16 staff in Fort William, has made the decision following a consultation with employees and trade union representatives. Stagecoach has written to all staff based in Fort William to confirm the facility will cease operations on Saturday 30th June and will continue to work closely with individual staff members and the trade union to find alternative employment where possible.

The company said that, as part of the consultation process, it has considered a range of ways to try and sustain the business in Fort William, including discussing with Highland Council the option to run part of the current tendered network between Corpach, Caol and Fort William on a commercial basis. The company has expressed disappointment that its offer, which would have provided opportunity for a financial saving to the council’s spend on public transport, helping to sustain the local bus network in Lochaber and across the Highlands, was not pursued. Given the budgetary pressures on the Council, the decision to retain a supported service when a commercial service was being offered is both surprising and disappointing.

Mark Whitelocks, Managing Director for Stagecoach North Scotland said: "We understand that this process has been unsettling for our people, and it has been a very difficult decision to make. That is why our approach has been to involve our employees at every stage. We have unfortunately been unable to identify an alternative solution for the business in Fort William during the consultation period. We will continue to support our staff as we work towards the depot closure on 30th June and will be doing everything we can to assist them in relocating to other parts of our business or into other work wherever possible.
Stagecoach North Scotland currently employs around 840 staff and operates a fleet of more than 350 buses. Scottish Citylink services will be unaffected by the closure.

 

[ChathillMan]

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/...stagecoach-confirms-closure-of-lochaber-depot

If that is true, I wonder why the council rejected the offer of Stagecoach to run the local service commercially. Would they rather keep a small amount of power than see jobs go?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

If that is true, I wonder why the council rejected the offer of Stagecoach to run the local service commercially. Would they rather keep a small amount of power than see jobs go?

PART of the local service. So the rest would have to be tendered (at what price) and, if this were possible in the past, why didn’t Stagecoach tender on that basis.

Also, look at the flip side. Shiel get awarded X amount of work. It’s then taken off them as the unlucky former operator needs it to underpin their other local ops. How would you feel if you were Shiel’s proprietor?

 

[overthewater]

More changes are on the way for the Highlands, this time at the northern end.... https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/...s-invited-to-help-shape-caithness-bus-network

Big point, Their make the claim "Stagecoach is eager to gather as much information as possible" but then say "Both the event and transport have limited availability." Hence a crazy idea put on a bigger bus if need be....
That hotel can hold 120 seats if needed.... Also why not put the forthcoming proposals on the website? IF you really eager to get information than make a proper effort...

Locals invited to help shape Caithness bus network
04 Apr 2018

Stagecoach North Scotland is inviting residents across the Caithness area to provide feedback on the bus network before plans are finalised for timetable revisions from Monday 2nd July 2018.

The event will be held in Thurso on Monday 16th April at 6.30pm at The Pentland Hotel. Stagecoach want to hear from current and potential bus users in the area in order to help shape the local bus network to best meet the needs of the local community. This event will allow Stagecoach to ensure that key travel habits are taken into consideration, where possible, when revisions take place. Those attending the event should come prepared to discuss how they would like to see the bus network in Caithness operate in regards to the routing and timing of services.

The local bus operator is eager to gather as much information as possible from locals on the network in order to gain an accurate understanding of where customers need to connect to. In the current climate of reducing government funding, the operator is keen to identify ways to make the network of services more commercially viable and sustainable.

The meeting will be chaired by Stagecoach North Scotland Commercial Director, Daniel Laird, and other representatives from the company will also be in attendance. A free shuttle bus has been arranged from Wick to Thurso for those that wish to attend, final departure times will be set once final numbers have been confirmed. Return travel to Wick will also be provided.

Daniel Laird, Commercial Director, Stagecoach North Scotland said: "We welcome feedback from our customers and find these events extremely productive in gaining a valuable insight as to what our customers want from us and how we can meet their travel expectations. We are always looking for ways to make bus travel an easy and attractive choice for the public and hope that events such as this one will highlight some key opportunities to improve the network. Our forthcoming proposals will seek to use our resources in the best way possible by considering the level of demand for each journey. Therefore, we hope that points raised by the residents of the Caithness area will benefit everyone in the local community once the revisions are implemented and encourage more people to travel by bus."

Both the event and transport have limited availability so if you plan to attend please confirm your attendance by emailing [email protected] or call 01224 597574 before 4pm on Thursday 12th April.

Priority will be given to those who have confirmed attendance, spaces for those who do not confirm attendance cannot be guarenteed.

For those unable to attend the above event, all feedback is still welcomed to [email protected]. All feedback should be submitted before Tuesday 17th April.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Would they rather keep a small amount of power than see jobs go?

Stagecoach were offering part of the network, but with no explanation as to the cost of the rest. Not to mention the lack of a competitive tender for services already being run by another company (who would then lose revenue and therefore jobs), which Stagecoach presumably either lost or chose not to compete in before.

A very snide political statement from a very snide company, IMO.

 

[Steamysandy]

Stagecoach have been having a torrid time in Orkney. A school bus was withdrawn after mushrooms were noticed growing INSIDE the vehicle by pupils travelling on it while I was told that breakdowns were commonplace.
A meeting similar to that being proposed for Caithness has already taken place but I've heard nothing more at present

 

[Jordan Adam]

Orkney has been having reliability issues for quite a while now. A pair of Tridents (18069 & 18146) have moved up from Aberdeen for the summer period to provide additional capacity and aid reliability.

The 35 (Aberdeen - Banff - Elgin) currently has an awful reliability record. The B9Rs being used have had 6 years of being ragged on the 10 and it's really showing. They just drop like dead flies on a daily basis!

 

[Volvodart]

More changes are on the way for the Highlands, this time at the northern end.... https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/...s-invited-to-help-shape-caithness-bus-network

Big point, Their make the claim "Stagecoach is eager to gather as much information as possible" but then say "Both the event and transport have limited availability." Hence a crazy idea put on a bigger bus if need be....
That hotel can hold 120 seats if needed.... Also why not put the forthcoming proposals on the website? IF you really eager to get information than make a proper effort...

It does seem rushed, as they are only informing Highland Council what they are proposing this week, although it is no surprise to locals as there have been rumours going around about Stagecoach wanting to make changes. Of course, the timing might have depended on whether or not Stagecoach have got the long term contracts they gained short term when Andrews Coaches went bust, and the need to change the services for the summer holidays.