freetoview33
Established Member
With the news Stagecoach is officially moving into Bristol, I thought it would be good to have a new thread.
With the news Stagecoach is officially moving into Bristol, I thought it would be good to have a new thread.
What news? There's some suggestion they're opening a depot in South Gloucestershire, however they've been operating in Bristol for many years now.
Guess there is the establishment of a base locally (rather than running in from elsewhere) plus the first BCC tendered service.
Just hope that this doesn't then feature the flights of fancy of other threads :roll:
Well as the Bristol section on other threads tends to dominate, then I thought a new thread could be a good idea.
So it looks like Stagecoach have formed a very close working relationship with South Gloucestershire Bus and Coach (SGBC).
SGBC are now working as a megabus contractor, and the news is Stagecoach and going to base buses out of the SGBC depot. Is this just a working relationship or a signal SGBC might sell out to Stagecoach some day soon?
The Bristol area routes for Stagecoach at the moment are
Falcon: Bristol - Plymouth
60: Gloucester - Thornbury
62/X62: Bristol - Gloucester
77: Bristol - Thornbury (From September)
84/85: Yate - Wotton (Circulars)
86: Yate - Kingswood (SG)
620: Bath - Yate - Tetbury
627: Cribbs Causeway - Thornbury (Sundays)
628: Cribbs Causeway - Severn Beach (Sundays)
Other targets for Stagecoach in Bristol?
I think the 622 and 625 will be likely ones, considering they already operate the Sunday services.
Any thoughts?
Restrictions on bus operator First Bristol, put in place more than 25 years ago, could be removed.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) applied them in 1989, after fears two merged firms, taken over by FirstGroup in 1996, could have too strong a bargaining position with the council.
First Bristol said it welcomed the intention to remove the restrictions.
The CMA said stakeholders had until 30 June to comment.
The restrictions were implemented following the 1989 merger of two local bus companies, Badgerline and Midland Red West.
Excess profit
The Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) at the time ruled the merger would remove competition for bus services contracted by the former Avon County Council.
Restrictions imposed by the CMA had included a cap on the amount they could receive from the local authority for running a tendered service, and a requirement to return any excess profit from such services.
The CMA review, which started in January, found FirstGroup's "share of tendered bus services in the region has reduced significantly since the MMC report".
A CMA spokesperson said: "The CMA engaged with local stakeholders and no party that we spoke to argued that the undertakings were having a beneficial effect and should be retained."
A First Bristol spokesman said: "First Bristol welcomes the publication of a provisional decision by the Competition and Markets Authority to release the company from undertakings relating to a merger dating back more than 25 years ago.
"Neither the original undertakings themselves nor the consequences of this decision impact the way we continue to invest in bus services in Bristol and the wider West of England region."
I'm confused over this thread? are stagecoach just getting a brand new depot? or just getting more space in SGBC? It would be strange if that depot picks up any contracts off Wessex since SGBC sold off its bus interests to Wessex nearly 10 years ago.
Its should be warned again. IF the below happens then First could start to swap in.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-40232286
To clarify
- Stagecoach won a number of tendered services in South Gloucestershire, operating them from Stroud and Gloucester depots
- They have now won a further 3 vehicle service from Bristol City Council
- These, in total, now justify having a local base rather than running in from Gloucester/Stroud
- They have the close relationship with SGBC and the enlarged Megabus network
- They are renting space within the SGBC depot
- Remember that for a period, Rotala continued to use the SGBC depot before they opened their Avonmouth depot
Someone on the Bristol indepedents thread, some time back, suggested the idea of Rotala maybe selling Wessex to Stagecoach. Long way to go if that is even going to happen, but would be tempting for Stagecoach, if, and I stress IF they get more work, or if they want more work.
You can bet that First are looking at these developments VERY closely.
Someone on the Bristol indepedents thread, some time back, suggested the idea of Rotala maybe selling Wessex to Stagecoach. Long way to go if that is even going to happen, but would be tempting for Stagecoach, if, and I stress IF they get more work, or if they want more work.
You can bet that First are looking at these developments VERY closely.
Why if what Rhys says it true Stagecoach won the 77 (Bristol to Thornbury) for a stupidly low amount. That surely signals they are not just wanting tendered routes.
Also we don't know what happened with SGBC,
While we don't know what happened with SGBC/NX, the wider picture indicates that it was NX who terminated the relationship - though it could simply have been down to the contract coming to an end.
I think we are digging into this a little too much. Stagecoach will probably operate 77, the Yate services and a couple of 62s from Sgbc, plus maybe 18. First won't be overly worried - they've given up 18 to let someone else take it on knowing full well Stagecoach could get it. They have bigger fish to fry with Metrobus and the ongoing staff shortages to sort out. Any work that can't be easily operated from depots will likely go, which luckily won't leave much more to go.
The have no real choice with the 77, however operating any of the 62s from Bristol means extra dead mileage, how does that make sense? If they wanted to outbase any of it Stroud would be more usefull (assuming that there isnt an outstaion in Dursley anymore).
The have no real choice with the 77, however operating any of the 62s from Bristol means extra dead mileage, how does that make sense? If they wanted to outbase any of it Stroud would be more usefull (assuming that there isnt an outstaion in Dursley anymore).