New Stagecoach bus livery

[TheGrandWazoo]

I haven't seen it in the flesh and it is always better to do so. However, I can't say that I'm overly impressed by it. I wasn't by the local livery because I felt it was fiddly to apply and would be difficult to maintain - that was the feedback from the operations and so it proved. This will be easier to apply but I imagine it will be difficult to maintain/keep clean.

Much as I am reluctant to wave goodbye to some of the good First schemes, I do think the ultraviolet does actually work and better than this.

 

[GWVillager]

By contrast dark blue gives an image of quality, as the Gold livery did.

Ordinarily, yes, but the huge number of contrasting colours in the logo/livery accents undermine this. It gives the impression of, if not a school contractor, a pretty uninterested and low quality operator.

Personally, and I don’t know if this has been said before here, I think the Cambridge Busway teal did what Local was trying to do - be bright and modern - whilst retaining an air of quality and stylishness. Rolling it out nationwide would have been the better move, in my opinion.

 

[stevieinselby]

The combination of that and the childlike font on the new logo to me screamed Fisher Price. Not the right impression at all.

By contrast dark blue gives an image of quality, as the Gold livery did.

(And don't get me started on school bus yellow for premium express services...)

Agreed, the new livery looks better than any of the outgoing ones – Local was messy and made me think a child had scribbled all over the bus, and seemed to show no understanding of how to blend the design to the physical shape of the bus (especially around the nose) – Express looked cheap and tacky, and the specialist one wasn't as bad but had no coherent usage. I still liked the old Beachball and Gold liveries, but I do like the new one as well, especially with the slightly lighter shade of blue than was originally trialled.

Personally, and I don’t know if this has been said before here, I think the Cambridge Busway teal did what Local was trying to do - be bright and modern - whilst retaining an air of quality and stylishness. Rolling it out nationwide would have been the better move, in my opinion.

Ugh no thanks ... Busway has the same feel to me as the current Arriva livery – an over-saturated garish colour that would be fine as a highlight but not as an all-over body colour, especially when there is so little in the way of detailing to break it up.

 

[Pyewipecarshed]

Ugh no thanks ... Busway has the same feel to me as the current Arriva livery – an over-saturated garish colour that would be fine as a highlight but not as an all-over body colour, especially when there is so little in the way of detailing to break it up.

Agreed. I didn't like the Busway livery when I saw a photo of it, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and decided to wait until I saw it in the flesh... and it looked even worse, just bland and insipid.
Local livery looks like something off a dustcart and the new blue- in whatever shade- looks boring in the daytime and borderline unsafe at night; as I've commented before you can just see a series of lights floating along the road.
I've been photographing in Manchester a few times recently and the best looking buses by far are the handful still in "beachball" livery- still looking modern and classy five years or more after their last visit to the paint shop.

 

[MCR247]

My main issue with the local livery is that it looked like the designer had forgotten buses have windows, advertising boards etc. as what’s the point of having the main ‘feature’ of the livery behind T boards and stuff. This new one looks much smarter

 

[Andyh82]

I’m not sure about that big logo towards the back. Usually when there is a bigger logo it will be a bit abstract, such as just the outline, or a contrasting colour. Not usually just the same logo as on the fleet name but massive.

 

[fgwrich]

Ordinarily, yes, but the huge number of contrasting colours in the logo/livery accents undermine this. It gives the impression of, if not a school contractor, a pretty uninterested and low quality operator.

Personally, and I don’t know if this has been said before here, I think the Cambridge Busway teal did what Local was trying to do - be bright and modern - whilst retaining an air of quality and stylishness. Rolling it out nationwide would have been the better move, in my opinion.

I’m almost with you except for the Cambridgeshire teal. However, Winchester showed how it should be done recently with an MMC repainted into a green version of Local. Now that looks very smart, and why they’ve chosen to go for dreary drab Navy blue is even more perplexing.

Stagecoach South 26047 - SN16 OPA

Stagecoach South 26047 - SN16 OPA seen on the Broadway today sporting its new livery for Winchester Park and Ride just waiting on its decals to be applied.

www.flickr.com

 

[Leyland Bus]

I’m almost with you except for the Cambridgeshire teal. However, Winchester showed how it should be done recently with an MMC repainted into a green version of Local. Now that looks very smart, and why they’ve chosen to go for dreary drab Navy blue is even more perplexing.

Stagecoach South 26047 - SN16 OPA

Stagecoach South 26047 - SN16 OPA seen on the Broadway today sporting its new livery for Winchester Park and Ride just waiting on its decals to be applied.

www.flickr.com

Now that's nice!!

 

[Statto]

Apparently the shade of blue they are using is called Steel Blue despite them saying internally its Slate Blue. I see at least 3 buses in South Wales now have the new livery. Some places don't seem to be applying the large logo to the sides while others are.

That sounds like the description sports teams give out to the colours they're wearing.

 

[JD2168]

Here are some images of this livery

 

[Towers]

Here are some images of this livery

That really is the height of mediocrity.

 

[Hophead]

I wouldn't normally comment on a bus livery, as it's all just subjective, but that looks like nothing more than a dark version of dealer white with a company logo, which some operators deem sufficient.

 

[GoneSouth]

The combination of that and the childlike font on the new logo to me screamed Fisher Price. Not the right impression at all.

By contrast dark blue gives an image of quality, as the Gold livery did.

(And don't get me started on school bus yellow for premium express services...)

I don’t mind the “school bus yellow”, although I think it looks rather more like mango than school bus. I think it looks better than the white at least, although I realise that’s not a glowing endorsement

I’m almost with you except for the Cambridgeshire teal. However, Winchester showed how it should be done recently with an MMC repainted into a green version of Local. Now that looks very smart, and why they’ve chosen to go for dreary drab Navy blue is even more perplexing.

Stagecoach South 26047 - SN16 OPA

Stagecoach South 26047 - SN16 OPA seen on the Broadway today sporting its new livery for Winchester Park and Ride just waiting on its decals to be applied.

www.flickr.com

Very First Leeds! Looks superb

 

[cam22]

Is there a coach version or is it the same?

 

[Nammer]

The new Stagecoach plain blue livery reminds me of the bus livery i used to see Royal Navy vehicles wearing in and around Portsmouth in the 70s and 80s!

 

[Flange Squeal]

Ordinarily, yes, but the huge number of contrasting colours in the logo/livery accents undermine this. It gives the impression of, if not a school contractor, a pretty uninterested and low quality operator.

I think you’re spot on there. Tanat Valley Coaches have a similar concept of an all-over dark shade of blue with the only relief being the company logo, and when you compare them I find the colours and thickness of the Stagecoach logo looks like it’s just ‘stuck on’ (especially ones with the extra big round logo at the back!).

Although Tanat Valley’s is also just a logo, the simplicity of less bold lettering with just a hint of colour in the logo makes it all just seem a bit smarter, in my opinion.

Here are some links to examples:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/john-s-91/51924809970/

Tanat Valley Coaches, Oswestry 241 YJ60 GFA with a 576 service for Oswestry in Shrewsbury Bus Station.

New to Reays of Wigton.

www.flickr.com

 

[GoneSouth]

Another problem is, when you compare side by side the new all over blue with the very smart gold livery, it does give the impression Stagecoach just can’t be bothered with making their vehicles look smart anymore, very lazy indeed.

 

[Ghostbus]

This definitely feels like something you do when you're preparing for a period of managed decline.

The chaos of the last livery scheme indicates there's nobody really in charge, or is all that bothered.

The back end of Local is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in a bus livery.

 

[m79900]

This definitely feels like something you do when you're preparing for a period of managed decline.

The chaos of the last livery scheme indicates there's nobody really in charge, or is all that bothered.

The back end of Local is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in a bus livery.

I honestly quite liked local. It felt like an update to beachball, and I like that livery a lot. I don't understand the hate. The new livery is just dull. It looks like a bus run by a small indepenent. Has it actually been confirmed now?

What do you mean, a period of managed decline?

 

[joieman]

The back end of Local is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in a bus livery.

I totally agree. It should have been painted plain orange. As it is, on double decker buses, it looks like... oh, never mind...

 

[Bletchleyite]

I honestly quite liked local. It felt like an update to beachball, and I like that livery a lot. I don't understand the hate

It just looks like a Fisher Price toy. Beachball was almost timeless, though.

I get why they removed red (because it fades and costs money to repaint) but it really does to me look awful without it - washed out - and childlike with the new font. But Local isn't anywhere near as bad as the frankly lunatic idea of painting premium quality fast long distance services in school bus yellow - no doubt it was intended to portray gold, but it actually portrayed them being whatever junk they could find at the back of the depot that day.

The one livery of that generation I do like is the hybrid/Busway all over green.

 

[Russel]

I honestly quite liked local. It felt like an update to beachball, and I like that livery a lot. I don't understand the hate.

I'm with you on this, I like the design, the problem is it too complex to maintain and replicate, just look at how many small variations there are.

I think having a black window band and making the fronts all blue rather than having the small white patch would have improved it no end.

 

[PG]

Local livery looks like something off a dustcart and the new blue- in whatever shade- looks

I knew this new livery reminded me of something from yesteryear:

Photograph shows a Shelvoke & Drewry dustcart of Sheffield City Council circa 1960s, sourced from Sheffield City Council’s Archive via The Unofficial Shelvoke & Drewry Website 2024

 

[Tramfan]

It just looks like a Fisher Price toy. Beachball was almost timeless, though.

I get why they removed red (because it fades and costs money to repaint) but it really does to me look awful without it - washed out - and childlike with the new font. But Local isn't anywhere near as bad as the frankly lunatic idea of painting premium quality fast long distance services in school bus yellow - no doubt it was intended to portray gold, but it actually portrayed them being whatever junk they could find at the back of the depot that day.

The one livery of that generation I do like is the hybrid/Busway all over green.

Tbh, some of the local paint jobs in the north east seem to have faded much worse than the beachball red. A fair few are on their 2nd coat of local, whilst we still have quite a few still in beachball, which I also think still looks modern as a design.

I haven't seen the new livery in person yet, but from the pictures it really does look drab and dreary.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I haven't seen the new livery in person yet, but from the pictures it really does look drab and dreary.

I'd go with "classy and understated" myself.

 

[Ghostbus]

What do you mean, a period of managed decline?

Stagecoach always struck me as the most capitalist of the big groups. The only one that seemed to understand the benefits of a local approach combined with a slick corporate style.

So I doubt they have been very enthused by all this talk of regulation, becoming mere contractors dancing to other people's tune, not drivers of innovation always looking for an edge. They flipped London to make a quick buck, but AFAIK have never done the same to something they've nurtured, not in the UK bus space.

If I had to psychoanalyse the company based on this new look, I'd say it was depressed, unhappy with the world, based on the drab blue, and yearning for a return to its childhood years, based on the "fisher price" feel of the fleet name and toy like appearance of the logo devoid of any wider context.

But that's just me. Maybe it's just a bus.

But peel the name/logo off, and it very much is just a bus. Something you might never even notice. That's not the Stagecoach I used to know.

Christ knows what they're trimming new seats in. Or maybe they're just raw plastic? Having the appearance of the trays, bibs and cuttlery you see in toddler environments?

 

[mangad]

Stagecoach always struck me as the most capitalist of the big groups. The only one that seemed to understand the benefits of a local approach combined with a slick corporate style.

So I doubt they have been very enthused by all this talk of regulation, becoming mere contractors dancing to other people's tune, not drivers of innovation always looking for an edge. They flipped London to make a quick buck, but AFAIK have never done the same to something they've nurtured, not in the UK bus space.

The Stagecoach of today is not the same as the Stagecoach of the past. Since 2022 Stagecoach has been owned by a German investment fund. They're not in it to build up a massive bus empire. They're not in it for the love of buses. They'll be in it for the money. And a good stable return from a regulated bus environment may well suit the new owners.

If I had to psychoanalyse the company based on this new look, I'd say it was depressed, unhappy with the world, based on the drab blue, and yearning for a return to its childhood years, based on the "fisher price" feel of the fleet name and toy like appearance of the logo devoid of any wider context.

But that's just me. Maybe it's just a bus.

But peel the name/logo off, and it very much is just a bus. Something you might never even notice. That's not the Stagecoach I used to know.

Christ knows what they're trimming new seats in. Or maybe they're just raw plastic? Having the appearance of the trays, bibs and cuttlery you see in toddler environments?

My immediate thought was "cuts costs" compared to what's gone before. Which again, may well be considered a good thing by the current owners. Whack the paint on, get it out on the road, far less faff. There's an argument that it's poor quality branding. That it's boring. That it's not going to excite and encourage people to get on a bus if they don't already do. It's certainly no Lakes Connection.

That may well suggest a lack of entrepreneurial zeal and encouragement from the new owners.

Or maybe they just look at the plain red of London, the plain yellow of Greater Manchester, and go "well if it's good enough for them..."

 

[Ghostbus]

The Germans may have bought it but I doubt they fired all the marketing and business strategy people at HQ. And if they're now merely following orders to minimise costs and put a lid on their passion, be the servants not the masters...this could be a classic cry for help.

Maybe someone should go check on them. See if they're all right.

 

[mangad]

The Germans may have bought it but I doubt they fired all the marketing and business strategy people at HQ. And if they're now merely following orders to minimise costs and put a lid on their passion, be the servants not the masters...this could be a classic cry for help.

I am sure there are plenty of marketing people still left. And plenty of people at a local level with ideas. But ultimately if someone higher up does say to cut costs, then that's what they'll have to do.

Speculation of course. May not be a cost cutting edict and it may be that someone in marketing thinks the buses look very smart and snazzy. Let's not forget that multiple people must have liked the local livery for it to have been launched

 

[johnw]

After the disaster of the 2020 rebrand, Stagecoach should have spent some money and gone to a design agency like Best Impressions or the mhd partnership who both understand the architecture of buses. Like beachball the investment would probably last 20 years. Though it’s a shame to see some of the local First group liveries go, they have invested in a decent corporate livery.

The Stagecoach electric liveries in Yorkshire and Oxford would have been good templates on what could have been.