Pyewipecarshed
Member
According to Bustimes Stagecoach Manchester 19335 (MX08 UCE) has been painted into the new livery at Oldham.
-
Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
New Stagecoach bus livery
- Thread starter dodecahedron67
- Start date
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Russel
Established Member
According to Bustimes Stagecoach Manchester 19335 (MX08 UCE) has been painted into the new livery at Oldham.
It will be interesting to see how the livery sits on the older style E400.
Surprised they bothered painting a 16 year old bus though.
Leyland Bus
Member
As has already been mentioned on here, it's beneficial to paint older buses if you're trialling a livery although the colour scheme might be more permanent than people think, they've redone all their social media bits and pieces to match...
Pic attached of a diversion notice in the slate blue (almost black) colour with the tri colour stripe and logo.
Pic attached of a diversion notice in the slate blue (almost black) colour with the tri colour stripe and logo.
Attachments
Adverts invariably make most smart liveries look cheap and destroy the intended look.
Stagecoach gold managed to avoid that as I don’t think they applied ads to any of the gold branded buses. They used the space for route branding which makes much more sense from a passenger point of view than an advert for some terrible radio show or or a movie nobody is going to watch.
Let’s hope the new one includes route branding to advertise their own services rather than those of a third rate radio station.
Stagecoach gold managed to avoid that as I don’t think they applied ads to any of the gold branded buses. They used the space for route branding which makes much more sense from a passenger point of view than an advert for some terrible radio show or or a movie nobody is going to watch.
Let’s hope the new one includes route branding to advertise their own services rather than those of a third rate radio station.
py_megapixel
Established Member
Now they're predominantly using a dark brand colour, maybe they could make their app and website respect the "dark theme" preference on my device...
You say "nobody is going to watch" but clearly the advertising does do something, otherwise nobody would pay for it.
I do wonder if the ability apply adverts without disrupting the design too much might have been part of the thought process behind just choosing a solid colour with a few branding features. There's lots of blank space for bodyside adverts, and after an all-over vinyl wrap is removed it only requires one colour to touch up or repaint.
You say "nobody is going to watch" but clearly the advertising does do something, otherwise nobody would pay for it.
It appears that Stagecoach have trademarked a new slogan for themselves: “We’ve Got You”: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004075738
There also appears to be a new branding submitted by them too, named ‘Chargd’, presumably for their electric fleet: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004078487
There also appears to be a new branding submitted by them too, named ‘Chargd’, presumably for their electric fleet: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00004078487
Attachments
47550
Member
Yep it was over the pits in Stockport today. Not the best picture…According to Bustimes Stagecoach Manchester 19335 (MX08 UCE) has been painted into the new livery at Oldham.
Attachments
Leyland Bus
Member
Oh dear!!!
that’ll be gone in 2 years
Leyland Bus
Member
Less than that hopefully
Less than that hopefully
Why do companies keep insisting in on paying for branding like this that is just a waste of money. Nobody gives a hoot about whether there’s an ‘e’ in charged or chargd but that cost Stagecoach a considerable amount in consultancy
Stagecoach’s gold brandingi i could see the purpose of. It attracted people who wouldn’t have normally used a bus to what looked like a quality product.
This new branding with stupid spellings and gimmicky phrasing doesn’t add anything or persuade people that buses are a better option than their car. Just daft.
I’d hate to have been in the room where it was presented to them with all the hyperbola and marketing blather, imagine an episode of the apprentice but with real money at stake.
Months of consultation, focus groups etc to come up with “We’ve got you”, love it.
WHY?
It still beats the tatty white that most of their buses are wearing right now I guess so job well done!
What I cannot understand is that the 2020 rebrand is seen by the group as a mistake, yet they continue with either an in-house designer or a poor external branding company that doesn’t understand the architecture of a bus. I would guess that taking on the last two CEO‘s that don't have a background in the transport industry does not help.
Two examples of a Stagecoach electric bus livery show what should be adopted nationally:
Stagecoach Yorkshire:
www.flickr.com
Stagecoach Oxford:
Two examples of a Stagecoach electric bus livery show what should be adopted nationally:
Stagecoach Yorkshire:
Stagecoach Yorkshire: 73001 - YH24 LZS
Location: Rotherham Road, Parkgate Route: 22x to Rotherham Operator: Stagecoach Yorkshire Depot: Rawmarsh Fleet Number: 73001 Reg: YH24LZS Chassis: Integral Bodywork: Yutong E12 Livery: Electro (local) New to: Stagecoach Yorkshire - 3/2024
www.flickr.com
Stagecoach Oxford:
dodecahedron67
Member
I do think the livery put on the Rawmarsh Yutongs is excellent and could easily - with a bit of adaptation - be a national livery
It's as if someone at the company has the specific job of ensuring each new livery is worse than the last.
I don't even think this even is a new livery. I think this is someone at the company finally admitting that they no longer really care about using their branding to project their values. If you look at each iteration, it's harder and harder to tell what they're trying to say about who they are and what they do.
This super dark blue scheme seems to be an admission that it doesn't really matter what the bus looks like. And I guess in many ways it no longer does, with the onward match of re-regulation. The vanguard of which in those areas that are still theoretically privately run, is multi-operator ticketing, where you just get on the first bus that arrives.
And if the only choice at the stop is Stagecoach, it no longer really matters what it looks like, just that it runs. In much the same way that it matters not one jot if you as a paying customer don't actually know who is operating a particular London or Manchester bus (or not, as the case may be). It's not your concern anymore, what their brand values are, what their corporate identity is.
This blue scheme probably speaks to the one last usefulness of a bus to a corporate entity like Stagecoach outside of contractual matters - a mobile advertising platform.
I don't even think this even is a new livery. I think this is someone at the company finally admitting that they no longer really care about using their branding to project their values. If you look at each iteration, it's harder and harder to tell what they're trying to say about who they are and what they do.
This super dark blue scheme seems to be an admission that it doesn't really matter what the bus looks like. And I guess in many ways it no longer does, with the onward match of re-regulation. The vanguard of which in those areas that are still theoretically privately run, is multi-operator ticketing, where you just get on the first bus that arrives.
And if the only choice at the stop is Stagecoach, it no longer really matters what it looks like, just that it runs. In much the same way that it matters not one jot if you as a paying customer don't actually know who is operating a particular London or Manchester bus (or not, as the case may be). It's not your concern anymore, what their brand values are, what their corporate identity is.
This blue scheme probably speaks to the one last usefulness of a bus to a corporate entity like Stagecoach outside of contractual matters - a mobile advertising platform.
co-tr-paul
Member
Maybe add a white stripe above the bottom deck windows ?
Oh ; hang on ..... .
Oh ; hang on ..... .
Let's be honest. Corporate liveries have never, ever been something the passenger cares about. Corporate liveries don't offer the passengers anything special. If you were to ask 100 bus users what they want, most would say things like they want their bus to be on time, to be clean and presentable. Not one would come up with the bus being painted the same as one trundling around a hundred miles away. Who in Devon cares that their bus is part of a group that also runs in Scotland?
Good branding helps make the bus look presentable, helps sell the company and its services. But whether the branding is centralised or localised, is mostly irrelevant. But for some reason, senior managers regularly listen to marketing people telling them they absolutely need to project a uniform image.
Someone holidaying from Scotland, or vice versa?
Stagecoach clearly had core corporate values that were all about convincing such a person that they could be absolutely sure that the quality of service received in their home town, would be replicated if they opted to choose Stagecoach while on holiday.
I think the success of Stripes for exactly that purpose in the 90s as fleets were replaced and standardized, went a long way to convincing smaller companies to sell up, either willingly or under duress.
There's nothing about that bland blue scheme that projects any kind of strength or confidence in the brand. It feels a lot like a middle finger to all those who seem to think the way you ensure a bus service is the same quality whether you get on it in Scotland or Devon, is to let local authorities decide everything and relegate Stagecoach to some sad little serco, with a name and identity you don't need to know and could easily forget in seconds.
Some very interesting comments above regarding the usefulness of livery and branding. I’d agree that it probably really doesn’t matter these days, with the widespread proliferation of differing liveries within fleets, and the architecture of modern buses themselves making it more and more difficult to apply an interesting livery in a consistent manner. Ultimately, the only people who probably really care about the ‘corporate message’ are the management! Stagecoach in particular are well behind the times in not offering tap on & off, and it’s things like this - along with, of course, reliability and punctuality of the service - which actually impact the punters, and where attention needs to be focused. Passengers really couldn’t care less which bus turns up or what colour it’s painted.
All of that being said, this latest attempt is shockingly poor. It’s drab, totally unimaginative, and instantly brings to mind a vehicle which has just had an overall ad removed or has been transferred in from somewhere else in a different livery. Far more concerning is the complete lack of thought given to how sunlight and heat will be absorbed. With most UK operators still pretending that Britain doesn’t get hot and/or aircon doesn’t exist, our buses are not pleasant places to be on hot days. “Designing” (I use the word in the loosest possible sense) a livery consisting of allover dark blue with a fleetname stuck on the side shows just as much of a poor awareness of the customer environment as it does a lack of imagination or creativity.
All of that being said, this latest attempt is shockingly poor. It’s drab, totally unimaginative, and instantly brings to mind a vehicle which has just had an overall ad removed or has been transferred in from somewhere else in a different livery. Far more concerning is the complete lack of thought given to how sunlight and heat will be absorbed. With most UK operators still pretending that Britain doesn’t get hot and/or aircon doesn’t exist, our buses are not pleasant places to be on hot days. “Designing” (I use the word in the loosest possible sense) a livery consisting of allover dark blue with a fleetname stuck on the side shows just as much of a poor awareness of the customer environment as it does a lack of imagination or creativity.
Right now Stagecoach Manchester has a bus going round with "North Western Road Car Co." fleetname, another with "Greater Manchester Transport" and a third with "GMS Buses".
The only one that even mentions Stagecoach on the bus (besides the legals) is the GMS one as the logo says "GMS Buses - A Stagecoach Subsidiary". Few bat an eyelid. People are used to buses with ads wrapped on them after all. As long as the route number is visible, and the destination, then it's fine.
Very much agree with that!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
North Western Road Car Co Ltd is a company name that is/was used by Arriva. I suspect the bus has been transferred in from them but the lettering not updated - which is breaking the law, unless there's a different provision under the GM franchising laws or there's a clear "on hire" sign displayed with the actual operator shown.
Or do you mean the actual branding, not the legal lettering? There was a Southend Transport branded bus knocking around Milton Keynes for a while, though they've now debranded it.
Yes the branding, not the legal fleetname. There are several North Western branded buses out at the minute - Hulleys of Baslow, D&G and Stagecoach in Chesterfield also have one.
There are, at any one time, a range of various “heritage liveries” in use across the country, mostly by the major operators as their various subsidiaries give a nod to their heritage. I don’t think that’s an issue, it’s pleasing to see big corporations willing to acknowledge their own heritage as well as the social history of an area.
I also think localised liveries are a good thing, especially on busy routes or tourist routes to aid wayfaring but also as publicity.
Individual route branding rarely works, but just corporate branding shows lack of attention to the local area. The middle is probably best, stagecoach lakes connection livery is a great example. Or even if they used local livery in Cambus colours for cambridge.
I do think it's a waste of time and money, as others have said. They are nearly finished rolling out the local livery. And many cities are looking at franchising.
Individual route branding rarely works, but just corporate branding shows lack of attention to the local area. The middle is probably best, stagecoach lakes connection livery is a great example. Or even if they used local livery in Cambus colours for cambridge.
I do think it's a waste of time and money, as others have said. They are nearly finished rolling out the local livery. And many cities are looking at franchising.
Leyland Bus
Member
I've just stumbled across this, a far superior livery compared to the dross they're trying to roll out. Whilst I appreciate it's some jointly funded setup, tender or whatever, even with different colours, it's such a nicer livery/layout, still easy to maintain and actually looks like some thought went into it...
Photo ©️ Southdown 404DCD on Flickr
Photo in link shows a Stagecoach bus in a "Devon Bus" sponsored colour scheme of two tone green round the bottom (raised up at the rear) with a white body and small pale blue swoop at the front top end.
Photo ©️ Southdown 404DCD on Flickr
Photo in link shows a Stagecoach bus in a "Devon Bus" sponsored colour scheme of two tone green round the bottom (raised up at the rear) with a white body and small pale blue swoop at the front top end.
What that vehicle does demonstrate though is how challening it is with modern bus design to have an ‘interesting’ livery which actually flows. On that particular example we have the blue to the front upper deck which is obscured by the enormous front upstairs window, plus further restricted by the lack of body coloured pillars between the side windows, and then the green striping downstairs which has to abruptly stop when it reaches the front end owing to the fussy styling of the front dash panel.
The previous Stagecoach Beachball livery was similarly indistinct when applied to current ADL products for the same reasons, there is simply too much glass & black trim for a complex livery to work. It is notable that the ‘current’ livery chooses to paint over the large black are above the windows on the current shape E200 single decker, including this area as part of the livery rather than setting it aside as a styling detail of the vehicle.
Below is an image of the classic 1990s Stagecoach workhorse, an Alexander bodied Olympian, showing how much more effective the livery was on that style of vehicle:
www.flickr.com
Image, from Flickr, shows Stagecoach in South Shields Volvo Olympian/Alexander 16738 N738LTN, pictured on October 2nd 2007
The previous Stagecoach Beachball livery was similarly indistinct when applied to current ADL products for the same reasons, there is simply too much glass & black trim for a complex livery to work. It is notable that the ‘current’ livery chooses to paint over the large black are above the windows on the current shape E200 single decker, including this area as part of the livery rather than setting it aside as a styling detail of the vehicle.
Below is an image of the classic 1990s Stagecoach workhorse, an Alexander bodied Olympian, showing how much more effective the livery was on that style of vehicle:
Stagecoach: 16738 N738LTN Volvo Olympian/Alexander
Stagecoach in South Shield's Volvo Olympian 16738/Alexander N738LTN is pictured in Fowler Street, South Shields, on October 2nd 2007, on an E2 to Sunderland.
www.flickr.com
Image, from Flickr, shows Stagecoach in South Shields Volvo Olympian/Alexander 16738 N738LTN, pictured on October 2nd 2007
Hyebone
Member
Attached are two examples of the local livery application of Enviro200 MMCs. (My photos) Stagecoach Yorkshire's 26021 that has had the black panel above the windows painted with the livery and Stagecoach East Midland's 26263 showing the less common application, leaving the panel black.
The East Midlands example I much prefer, as like you said it is better designed to the styling of the vehicle.
