Megabus Discussion

[Dfatcontroller]

Stagecoach sold it's Megabus and Falcon operations, which were not part of the joint venture, for an increased share of the joint venture ownership.

That is exactly my understanding of it. Proving my point that Stagecoach have no involvement in Megabus ownership.

 

[markymark2000]

That is exactly my understanding of it. Proving my point that Stagecoach have no involvement in Megabus ownership.

The announcement has a lot of people confused. Here is one article I found though.

Stagecoach sells Megabus to Scottish Citylink

The transport group's share of its Citylink joint venture will also increase as part of the deal

www.insider.co.uk

Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro have now reached agreement for Stagecoach to sell the following businesses to Scottish Citylink:

• the Megabus retail platform and customer-service business, which sells and markets inter-city coach services in England and Wales.
• Falcon South-West, which retails tickets for the coach route between Plymouth and Bristol Airport.

In return, Stagecoach's share of the Citylink joint venture will increase from 35% to 37.5%.

This to me says Stagecoach sold Megabus and Falcon to Scottish Citylink then got a bigger stake in Citylink which would mean that Stagecoach would still basically own 37.5% of Megabus and Falcon, they would just own it via Citylink.

 

[Dfatcontroller]

The announcement has a lot of people confused. Here is one article I found though.

Stagecoach sells Megabus to Scottish Citylink

The transport group's share of its Citylink joint venture will also increase as part of the deal

www.insider.co.uk

This to me says Stagecoach sold Megabus and Falcon to Scottish Citylink then got a bigger stake in Citylink which would mean that Stagecoach would still basically own 37.5% of Megabus and Falcon, they would just own it via Citylink.

This is where I think the confusion lies.

My understanding is:
CDG (ComfortDelgro) own Citylink (62.5%) and Megabus (100%).
Stagecoach own Citylink (37.5%) and Megabus (0%).

 

[Volvodart]

This is where I think the confusion lies.

My understanding is:
CDG (ComfortDelgro) own Citylink (62.5%) and Megabus (100%).
Stagecoach own Citylink (37.5%) and Megabus (0%).

Megabus "brand" is included is Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited and was the reason for Stagecoach holding to Increase by 2.5%

 

[Dfatcontroller]

Megabus "brand" is included is Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited and was the reason for Stagecoach holding to Increase by 2.5%

I stand corrected.

 

[asb]

As for what Stagecoach run on the M11, is any of that English drivers? The only Stagecoach Megabus base I can think of along the M11 would be Rugby and how much do they do on the M11?

English depots have not been involved in the M11 for quite a while (pre-Covid)

 

[Mwanesh]

M20 will remain operated by Cumbernauld but will use Newcastle Walkergate drivers still for Newcastle - London. This is the only work that Walkergate will keep according to drivers.

M11, the Manchester Airport trip is operated by Parks. I believe some trips are already operated by McLeans (a 3rd party operator) so in that respect, some trips will see no change.
As for what Stagecoach run on the M11, is any of that English drivers? The only Stagecoach Megabus base I can think of along the M11 would be Rugby and how much do they do on the M11?



Walkergate Newcastle depot has confirmed they are having a 50% cut in drivers required. I've not seen any official announcement but staff at Rugby and Cwmbran are saying they have had the same announcement as Wooley Edge/Tibshelf saying no more work.

View attachment 162921

M11 runs are all operated from Glasgow.It is double manned. Preston and Rugby drivers were removed from the network years ago. I can see Turners of Bristol joining the Megabus network.

 

[markymark2000]

I can see Turners of Bristol joining the Megabus network.

Is that speculating or confirmed?

I ask because Turners are already doing Flixbus work.

 

[swinny1990]

What megabus routes are currently operated by stagecoach ?

 

[Man of Kent]

I can see Turners of Bristol joining the Megabus network.

Aren't they a Flixbus contractor partner?

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

What megabus routes are currently operated by stagecoach ?

The M81 and M82 at least. Does anyone know if these will remain with Stagecoach?

 

[Martin1988]

Turners are a Flix contractor but seem to have done little in the way of expanding their offering and notably don't seem to have purchased any newer vehicles for Flix services.

They have previously been involved in Megabus mainly doing breakdown cover but for a time they did weekend extras on the Bristol to London route. Around the start of last year when the Megabus journey planner used to state which operators worked which journeys it was implied Turners were going to take on some workings but this never happened and reference to them disappeared very quickly from the journey planner with Stagecoach ultimately operating them in house or Watts/Eurocoaches doing them instead.

 

[Mwanesh]

Is that speculating or confirmed?

I ask because Turners are already doing Flixbus work.

My own opinion just a guess.

 

[JD2168]

An end of an era for Stagecoach to be hardly running Megabus services. Will the drivers employed by Stagecoach be moved to bus driving from Coaches or will they go onto any National Express work they have?

 

[Mwanesh]

An end of an era for Stagecoach to be hardly running Megabus services. Will the drivers employed by Stagecoach be moved to bus driving from Coaches or will they go onto any National Express work they have?

Chesterfield is the only depot left on the National Express network.

 

[route101]

English depots have not been involved in the M11 for quite a while (pre-Covid)

Was a Scottish driver on the M11 throughout other day. I guess its double manned.

 

[Ewan M]

Was a Scottish driver on the M11 throughout other day. I guess its double manned.

Daytime M11s are double manned between London and Southwaite Services with a single driving taking over from there up to Glasgow. Overnight runs are double manned end to end.

Atm the drivers that double man stay overnight at the hotels at Southwaite.

 

[317 forever]

The announcement has a lot of people confused. Here is one article I found though.

Stagecoach sells Megabus to Scottish Citylink

The transport group's share of its Citylink joint venture will also increase as part of the deal

www.insider.co.uk

This to me says Stagecoach sold Megabus and Falcon to Scottish Citylink then got a bigger stake in Citylink which would mean that Stagecoach would still basically own 37.5% of Megabus and Falcon, they would just own it via Citylink.

While this may be an over-simplification, it seems that there was a merger between Citylink - 35% Stagecoach owned - and Falcon & Megabus - 100% owned. This led to this combined entity being 37.5% Stagecoach owned, the other 62.5% being Comfort DelGro.

 

[Temple Meads]

I imagine the Walkergate drivers will have to double man to comply with driving hours for a London trip, or at least some kind of feeder operation.

 

[Parebunks]

Got an email from Megabus today to inform me that all was not in fact well, and they are doing short notice changes/cancellations from September. I've only looked at the services through Oxford so far, but it's not looking good - the current three a day on the M81 and M82 is reduced to one a day, with an extra at weekends. The main daily service is operated by Parks, and is an horrifying 15-and-a-half hour Frankenstein, running from Glasgow to Portsmouth via (deep breath) Edinburgh, Dunbar, Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesborough, Leeds, Huddersfield, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Birmingham, Coventry, Oxford, Winchester, Southampton Airport and Southampton. The weekend extra is a more sensible inhouse, from Meadowhall to Bristol.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Not a single comfort break as well. The 10:50 917 from Southampton to Glasgow which is much more of an express (from Oxford Parkway it's Bicester Park & Ride, Manchester Airport and Shudehill before continuing to Glasgow).

Bus firm reveals new Glasgow route as part of 'timetable shake-up'

A BUS firm has revealed a new Glasgow route as part of a timetable 'shake-up'.

www.glasgowtimes.co.uk

Here's some information about the new timetables due to go live from September 2nd which I've just read on Glasgow times.

The new M84 from Portsmouth to Glasgow leaves at 09:40 and arrives at 01:05. The return leaves at 06:10 and arrives at 21:35.

15 hours 25 minutes without a comfort stop is insane!

A bus firm has revealed a new Glasgow route as part of a timetable 'shake-up'.

Megabus has added a series of new routes and network changes to 'better match its services with customer demand'.

The coach company says it has revamped its network with a 'focus on running services where there is the 'highest demand' - with a specific focus on weekend services when customer travel is at its peak.


One of the new services includes a new daily M84 route from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Portsmouth & Southampton via Newcastle, Leeds, and Manchester.

Here are some of the highlights of the new timetable which launches on September 2:

New daily M84 service from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Portsmouth & Southampton via Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester
New routes from Dumfries & Carlisle to London and Berwick to London
Now up to two direct trips per day from Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth to London
Additional journey serving Preston to/from London daily
Improved timings for Norwich to Birmingham and Bristol
Improved timings for Liverpool to London
Faster journey times on a standardised route from Manchester to London

Meanwhile, the network changes mean that on peak days (Friday to Sunday), there are now:

Seven round trips from Newcastle - London
Eight round trips from Manchester - London
20 round trips from Birmingham - Manchester
Up to every hour from Bristol - London from 4am to 6pm
Up to six journeys per day between Glasgow and Birmingham
Up to 16 journeys per day from Scotland to England in each direction
Managing Director of Megabus, Simone Walsh, said: “These timetable changes are good news for the vast majority of our customers and mean we have more services to more locations at peak times.

“It’s vital that we keep up with customer demand and focus on delivering most of our services when and where demand is highest.


"We’re delighted to be adding new routes to the network and look forward to welcoming even more customers onto our great value services in the coming months.”

Megabus launched in the UK in 2003, offers great value fares across the country.

The operator now links m
ore than 100 locations across the country.

 

[markymark2000]

I don't see why they couldn't have made all of these changes in October? Least then that would have given Stagecoach drivers more notice and October was already the planned date for the timetable change (the website wouldn't let you book beyond October)

Some not noted changes above which are rather interesting. One of the Dumfries to London services is actually via Newcastle and the M1 corridor! Very bizzare starting point for an M1 corridor service.Swansea is gone from the network, as is Gatwick Airport. New M52 Plymouth to London gone already, despite it basically only just starting.


I do wonder if we will see Parks of Hamilton opening another depot somewhere to cover more Megabus stuff? Parks used to have a depot in Rochdale to cover National Express work and Parks do still have a Plymouth depot for National Express. Further, Parks have a seeming growing relationship with Scottish Citylink. Megabus has never taken off in Devon/Cornwall (just using the Falcon service to link people up to Bristol for wider network connections), however with Edwards Coaches ever growing with National Express, could Parks switch their Plymouth depot to be a Megabus depot rather than NatEx?

 

[Parebunks]

Not a single comfort break as well. The 10:50 917 from Southampton to Glasgow which is much more of an express (from Oxford Parkway it's Bicester Park & Ride, Manchester Airport and Shudehill before continuing to Glasgow).

Bus firm reveals new Glasgow route as part of 'timetable shake-up'

A BUS firm has revealed a new Glasgow route as part of a timetable 'shake-up'.

www.glasgowtimes.co.uk

Here's some information about the new timetables due to go live from September 2nd which I've just read on Glasgow times.

The new M84 from Portsmouth to Glasgow leaves at 09:40 and arrives at 01:05. The return leaves at 06:10 and arrives at 21:35.

15 hours 25 minutes without a comfort stop is insane!

Don't think anyone will be doing the whole thing end to end! The reliability will be horrendous though, especially as it's not even overnight. Must be the longest domestic coach route time-wise in the UK? Good spot with the article, helped with...

Had a look through the new timetable on the booking engine and got it into a spreadsheet, linked here (excludes M4 services). The press release is broadly true, but overall it looks as though there's as many cutbacks as improvements - Oxford and Reading in particular lose out, and there's pretty drastic trims to Monday-Thursday services. And some of the new routes are rather bizarre - I assumed Dumfries and Berwick would be on the way to somewhere bigger, but they are both start points. Maybe something to do with new contractors? Dumfries in particular is peculiar - two a day to London leaving at basically the same time, but with one going via the East Coast and one via the West. Fundamentally though my main criticism of this is how short the notice is - I only had one trip booked which was easy enough to alter, but had this been earlier in the year I could have been really screwed over with the M81 cancellation.

Can't say the spreadsheet will be 100% accurate, please comment on it if anything's off.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Don't think anyone will be doing the whole thing end to end! The reliability will be horrendous though, especially as it's not even overnight. Must be the longest domestic coach route time-wise in the UK? Good spot with the article, helped with...

Had a look through the new timetable on the booking engine and got it into a spreadsheet, linked here (excludes M4 services). The press release is broadly true, but overall it looks as though there's as many cutbacks as improvements - Oxford and Reading in particular lose out, and there's pretty drastic trims to Monday-Thursday services. And some of the new routes are rather bizarre - I assumed Dumfries and Berwick would be on the way to somewhere bigger, but they are both start points. Maybe something to do with new contractors? Dumfries in particular is peculiar - two a day to London leaving at basically the same time, but with one going via the East Coast and one via the West. Fundamentally though my main criticism of this is how short the notice is - I only had one trip booked which was easy enough to alter, but had this been earlier in the year I could have been really screwed over with the M81 cancellation.

Can't say the spreadsheet will be 100% accurate, please comment on it if anything's off.

Not just that. The Plaxton InterDeck coaches no longer serve Oxford. I'm guessing the 'general' seat I've booked is on a Volvo 9700*; presumably the Megabus ones are around 3 years old.

*If you click 'add to basket', you can tell from the layout what size coach usually runs this service.

It's a shame because the InterDecks, despite few seats downstairs, were good for luggage and capacity.

 

[richw]

New M52 Plymouth to London gone already, despite it basically only just starting.

It was only ever going to be a summer only service

 

[Blindtraveler]

Dumfries coming onto the network is an interesting addition, I'm afraid the spreadsheet doesn't work at all with my screen reader, so could anyone be kind enough to tell me what services these are going to be?

 

[Parebunks]

I don't see why they couldn't have made all of these changes in October? Least then that would have given Stagecoach drivers more notice and October was already the planned date for the timetable change (the website wouldn't let you book beyond October)

Some not noted changes above which are rather interesting. One of the Dumfries to London services is actually via Newcastle and the M1 corridor! Very bizzare starting point for an M1 corridor service.Swansea is gone from the network, as is Gatwick Airport. New M52 Plymouth to London gone already, despite it basically only just starting.


I do wonder if we will see Parks of Hamilton opening another depot somewhere to cover more Megabus stuff? Parks used to have a depot in Rochdale to cover National Express work and Parks do still have a Plymouth depot for National Express. Further, Parks have a seeming growing relationship with Scottish Citylink. Megabus has never taken off in Devon/Cornwall (just using the Falcon service to link people up to Bristol for wider network connections), however with Edwards Coaches ever growing with National Express, could Parks switch their Plymouth depot to be a Megabus depot rather than NatEx?

Didn't see this post for some reason, my previous one seems to be basically repeating many of your points! Would be surprised to see Parks expand just for megabus stuff - the frequency and short notice given of major changes suggest to me that much of the operation is in quite a precarious position, and a new depot would seem like a major capital investment for something that might not actually remain that useful for long.

Are any of the other contractors from September known yet? The Bristol-Meadowhall service looks to be still running with double deck coaches, but not immediately obvious which end that's from.

Dumfries coming onto the network is an interesting addition, I'm afraid the spreadsheet doesn't work at all with my screen reader, so could anyone be kind enough to tell me what services these are going to be?

One at 6:10 calling Gretna, Carlisle, Preston, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Birmingham, Coventry and London, and one at 6:30 calling Gretna, Carlisle, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Leeds, Meadowhall, Leicester and London. Then returns on both of those, both leaving London at 17:00 to return to Dumfries at and just after 2 in the morning.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Wonder who are the contractor is for those? Could conceivably be Stagecoach running it themselves from their depot there, but I know they're trying to get out of direct operations. So interesting to speculate who might have that. The timings aren't particularly great for the reasons that I would use the service, but I might try it some time, particularly if one nor other of them serves Finchley road in either direction as I hate Victoria coach station

 

[ADB125]

Don't think anyone will be doing the whole thing end to end! The reliability will be horrendous though, especially as it's not even overnight. Must be the longest domestic coach route time-wise in the UK? Good spot with the article, helped with...

Had a look through the new timetable on the booking engine and got it into a spreadsheet, linked here (excludes M4 services). The press release is broadly true, but overall it looks as though there's as many cutbacks as improvements - Oxford and Reading in particular lose out, and there's pretty drastic trims to Monday-Thursday services. And some of the new routes are rather bizarre - I assumed Dumfries and Berwick would be on the way to somewhere bigger, but they are both start points. Maybe something to do with new contractors? Dumfries in particular is peculiar - two a day to London leaving at basically the same time, but with one going via the East Coast and one via the West. Fundamentally though my main criticism of this is how short the notice is - I only had one trip booked which was easy enough to alter, but had this been earlier in the year I could have been really screwed over with the M81 cancellation.

Can't say the spreadsheet will be 100% accurate, please comment on it if anything's off.

Looking at your spreadsheet, Monday to Thursday there seems to be very few services even on main routes like London to Manchester. Is the demand really that much less during the week? Most National Express services run daily, relatively few are Friday to Sunday only.

The services to Dumfries seem very odd especially given there are significant cuts elsewhere. I feel that adding Carlisle as a stop on a few of the existing Glasgow services would have been a better option if they want to serve that area.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Problem with Carlisle as National Express no to their cost is that it's a good half an hour drag into the city centre and out again with no obvious p and r type location on the outskirts to serve
They probably are also capitalising on the fact that currently National Express do not serve Southwest Scotland, this was a covid casualty that has never returned as far as I know