Stagecoach Group (Group-wide matters)

[laststop@96]

its just that stagecoach western could not wait to get rid of the last batch sent up from oxford very unreliable buses we will just have to wait and see but i think this is really what the panorama was made for only time will tell.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Plaxton Panoramas thats the rumour .It depends also on what local management want and support.Volvo can be unreliable at times

The Interdecks can be a pain over the colder months, Most of the issues come from the I-Shift gearbox though. But they are certainly more reliable and much better than the Astromega's and Skyliners were!

 

[laststop@96]

panorama,s it is then good choice keeping british people in jobs

 

[Lynford1976]

My understanding is that Oxford management are considering their options for the Tube, in the light of the improvements to the rail service and the reduction to COMS X90.

 

[Mwanesh]

its just that stagecoach western could not wait to get rid of the last batch sent up from oxford very unreliable buses we will just have to wait and see but i think this is really what the panorama was made for only time will tell.

The Van Hools are better only that the biodiesel Stagecoach uses is wrong for the engines.The Volvos when it comes to breakdowns are worse.Lets not forget when those Van Hools came up to Scotland they were nearly a million kilometres and hammered for 24 hours the whole year.

 

[laststop@96]

The Van Hools are better only that the biodiesel Stagecoach uses is wrong for the engines.The Volvos when it comes to breakdowns are worse.Lets not forget when those Van Hools came up to Scotland they were nearly a million kilometres and hammered for 24 hours the whole year.

three hundred thousand plus for a coach and put the wrong diesel in it dont think so western had to get two elite,s on loan from rugby as it did not want to run the vanhools any longer 09 plates are all up for sale.

 

[mbonwick]

I've read on another forum that there's been an extension to the order, with 20 buses for Cumbria and North Lancashire for Lancaster route 1 (18) and Carlisle route 685 (2). These are due in the 'coming weeks' and are currently being built.

2019 order being started early due to ADL workload.

I'd also caution this thread in general against making sweeping statements when they only have some of the facts...

 

[goldisgood]

2019 order being started early due to ADL workload.

I'd also caution this thread in general against making sweeping statements when they only have some of the facts...

Wow - that's a bit earlier than I would've expected for 2019's orders.

My understanding is that Oxford management are considering their options for the Tube, in the light of the improvements to the rail service and the reduction to COMS X90.

It would be good timing, but they are currently LEZ compliant so I wouldn't be completely sure that they'd be replaced.

 

[Surreyman]

Are the Stagecoach Oxford Van Hools owned or leased? - might have a bearing on their replacement.

 

[childwallblues]

Some of the ex Kettering 15739-51 have started to enter service from Rock Ferry being noted on services 1, 38 and 472. It will be interesting to see which buses leave M & SL as a result of these new arrivals.

 

[jonesy3001]

2019 order being started early due to ADL workload.

I'd also caution this thread in general against making sweeping statements when they only have some of the facts...

There's a recent post on the north west crack group on facebook about the new buses for morecambe and carlisle.

 

[Mwanesh]

three hundred thousand plus for a coach and put the wrong diesel in it dont think so western had to get two elite,s on loan from rugby as it did not want to run the vanhools any longer 09 plates are all up for sale.

You dont believe me speak to the fitters.Even the Elites are having the same problems.Our 67 plates are off the road most times.Those Van Hools are all nearly over 1.4 million miles.

 

[childwallblues]

Some of the ex Kettering 15739-51 have started to enter service from Rock Ferry being noted on services 1, 38 and 472. It will be interesting to see which buses leave M & SL as a result of these new arrivals.

15743 AND 15749 are in service at Rock Ferry whilst on loan MMC 10829 has returned to Gillmoss.

 

[Volvodart]

From today's interim results announcement:-

North America

Reviewing strategic options and in discussions regarding a possible sale of all or part of the business

https://m.stagecoachgroup.com/media/news-releases/2018/2018-12-05.aspx

 

[overthewater]

I would be more surprised if megabus goes, I can see everything else going if need be.

 

[Mwanesh]

I think its the charter and schools that are going .The last bit says focus on Megabus growth .

 

[winston270twm]

I think its the charter and schools that are going .The last bit says focus on Megabus growth .

I does actually say a possible sale of all the business, If US Megabus is potentially up for sale, my money would be on Flixbus based on previous deals i.e. European Megabus & Polski Bus (Souter Holdings)

Reviewing strategic options and in discussions regarding a possible sale of all or part of the business

 

[overthewater]

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/west-scotland/2018/december/ayrshire-network-changes

Stagecoach West Scotland recently announced proposed changes to its X16 service between Ayr and Hamilton to take place in January 2019.

Following representations from the local community in New Farm, and in particular the Kennedy Drive area Stagecoach West Scotland has agreed to delay a decision to re-route their X16 service to Glasgow Road.



As a result of this decision, the X16 service will continue to serve both New Farm and Kennedy Drive.



Fraser Smith, Commercial Director, Stagecoach West Scotland said: “We will continue to monitor passenger numbers within the New Farm area of Kilmarnock. Currently the passenger numbers are low and we hope to see an increased use of the X16 by local residents over the coming weeks and months. It is important that we provide services which reflect our customers travelling habits to ensure sustainable services across the entire network of services that we operate”.



All journeys for the X16 will operate via Whitletts Road and will no longer operate via Prestwick.


As per the information shared with our customers on 29th October 2018, from 06th January 2019, a number of changes will be made to the Ayrshire Network. A number of these changes will deliver improvements for customers through improved reliability and frequency, while others will offer a service proportionate to demand.

Service 1 Ayr Town Centre to Hillfoot Road

In order to improve punctuality on Service 1 to allow more time for the service between Hillfoot Road and Ayr Town Centre, service 1 will continue from Ayr Town Centre to Hayhill turning circle with alternate journeys going via Ayr Education Campus and Craigie Way. Service 1 will operate every 30 minutes with one journey per hour continuing to Masonhill as per the current timetable.

Service 2 Dalmilling, Hayhill, University, Town Centre & Prestwick

Service 2 will no longer serve Dalmilling or Hayhill, with Dalmilling served by service 3 and Hayhill by service 1. There will be a morning and evening bus between Dalmilling and Hayhill to Ayr Academy. The service will continue to operate every 15 minutes between Ayr, Prestwick, Asda and Hunters Avenue as per the current timetable.

Service 3 Kincaidston, Whitletts & Dalmilling

Service 3 will operate via Whitletts and Dalmiling to allow customers in Dalmilling to access Tesco on

Whitletts Road. The service will continue to operate every 12 minutes.


Service 6 Castlehill, Town Centre & Marchburn

Service 6 will no longer serve Belmont; this will be replaced by Service 7. Service 6 will continue to operate between Hunters Avenue, Asda, Prestwick and Ayr every 15 minutes.

Service 7

The current route of the service 6 in Belmont will be replaced by service 7 which will operate every 30 minutes. This is based on low passenger demand for the current service and will be reviewed in 6 month time to determine the ongoing viability of the service.


Service 14 / 14A Ayr, Troon & Irvine

Service 14 will revert to operating from Ayr to Troon and on to Irvine and will operate every 45 minutes. All journeys will operate via Barassie, Muirhead and Loans as well as via Monkton. This will mean an increased level of service in Monkton and between Troon and Irvine, as well as a service every 45 minutes via Loans.

The 14A service will be withdrawn due to this improved timetable, and the two hourly 585 diversion via Loans will no longer operate via Loans but will instead continue on the normal 585 route, due to this new 45 minute service on the 14 service.

Service X17 Ayr, Prestwick, Kilmarnock and Silverburn
Due to very low passenger numbers this service will be removed as of 6th January 2019.


Service 42 / X42 Ayr to Muirkirk
As a result of moving some journeys to our premises in Cumnock we propose to remove some early and late night placing journeys.


Service X77 Ayr & Glasgow
To meet the increased demand for the X77 service between Ayr and Glasgow additional journeys will be introduced to depart Ayr and Glasgow at key times throughout the day

Further information on Stagecoach West Scotland service changes taking place on 06th January 2019 can be found online via www.stagecoachbus.com.

 

[Mwanesh]

X77 has seen numbers go up .No wonder they took Megabus coaches off Rugby/Cwmbran.With the new Panoramas the future is bright.

 

[route101]

x77 now single deckers coaches now ? Im sure the x77 used to be more frequent back in the day . x76 got new coaches but still 61 plates on the route.

 

[gka472l]

At least three of the new MMC's for Lancaster have been delivered this week.....YX68UWN/O/P are the reg's, from elsewhere, the new buses will go on to the 1 (13 January is the date I've seen), the current 12 plate E400's move to the 2/2X making that double deck to increase capacity...….no idea what will happen to the displaced stuff mind.

HTH

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Hello. I'm still new to the buses & coaches forum .

The S1, S2, S3 and S5 buses will kind of be due for replacement. Isn't it around 7/8 years old that Gold buses normally get replaced? The S1 and S2 Gold Scania E400's are nearing 10 years old but I'm told something about the fact that new buses won't be on that route until new buses are built.

If the other S routes in the above paragraph get new buses then it means the oldest bus that may appear on the S8 and S9 will be one of the 63-plate Gold ones, 15933 and 15934. At the minute it's an S5.

It'd be great if Stagecoach Oxford could have more Gold E400 MMC's - at the moment there seems to be a mid-regular use of a few non-Gold vehicles on the S8 and S9. That's the only problem on these routes!

 

[goldisgood]

Hello. I'm still new to the buses & coaches forum .

The S1, S2, S3 and S5 buses will kind of be due for replacement. Isn't it around 7/8 years old that Gold buses normally get replaced? The S1 and S2 Gold Scania E400's are nearing 10 years old but I'm told something about the fact that new buses won't be on that route until new buses are built.

If the other S routes in the above paragraph get new buses then it means the oldest bus that may appear on the S8 and S9 will be one of the 63-plate Gold ones, 15933 and 15934. At the minute it's an S5.

It'd be great if Stagecoach Oxford could have more Gold E400 MMC's - at the moment there seems to be a mid-regular use of a few non-Gold vehicles on the S8 and S9. That's the only problem on these routes!

The S1/S2 and S5 buses do need to be replaced. The S1/S2 ones should have been replaced this year with the S5s replaced next year, but I'm not sure if that will happen.

I'm not sure how much profit Oxford's making, but I know that a few years back it had some of the highest profit margins in the country for Stagecoach. Usage appears to be rising too, with the Stagecoach 3A really needing a double decker for the peak runs which I normally see full and standing (although it can just about get away with an Enviro 200, if many more people use it then it won't be able to cope much longer). The 10s are doing well since the decker upgrade, and the S9 is also doing well, with lots of peak buses full (apparantly one is full and standing most days from Botley into Oxford). The 12s can get pretty busy at times - I regularly see standees on it, and all of the East Oxford services are pretty busy. The S1s are very busy at peak, particularly in the morning where it's only every 15 minutes.

One day around two weeks ago at least 5 of the Wantage allocation wasn't Gold MMCs - there were 4 of the standard 2016 MMCs and a Scania! (I didn't see the sixth, as I think it was on a 34) That day I also saw 2 S3s running with the standard 2016 MMCs.
I heard a while back that the new buses for the S1/S2 would be 'something different', but I'm not going to guess at what that means.

There's probably less investment at the moment because of the zero-emissions zone concerns. There are options on the market for buses to go electric, but not commercially I presume.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Changing the subject but still relating to Stagecoach, in 2019 I'm keen to ride on 2 Olympians - an 85-seat Gardner- powered Leyland and a 79-seat Cummins L10-powered Volvo. I'll explain why..

I've not been on many buses with Cummins L10 engines (first one was an M or N-reg Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine in 2003 when I was 10 years old - Mum and I (and I think my sister, Michelle) caught one on the 12:46 32 from Didcot to Wantage or Grove (11:46 never showed up back then).

I'll be very honest in saying that after a 2nd trip on an RH Transport one from Marston to Kidlington, route 700, in around September 2010 (L651 MYG which was good the first time), I was put off travelling in Cummins L10 Olympians til the Newbury showground in July 2013.

I have an Olympian book with the Badgerline / Bath one on the front which I brought home from an Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society meeting in Autumn 2013. It was from reading this and my February 2013 'BUSES' magazine (not all of it) where I learnt that my least favourite chassis / engine actually turned out to be amongst the best chassis and engines ever built. It would have therefore been that the maintenance on the RH bus wouldn't have been its best.

Since February (will explain later) I've been very keen to ride on more.

I looked at the Hampshire Bus Preservation website yesterday and the day before and found 2 of the Olympians mentioned in the first paragraph - I think F601 MSL and N389 LPN.

Would the Winchester bus running day on the 6th May 2019 be my best shot?

I'm slowly beginning to agree with enthusiasts who say there is nothing wrong with the Olympians compared to early low-floor buses!

 

[carlberry]

Changing the subject but still relating to Stagecoach, in 2019 I'm keen to ride on 2 Olympians - an 85-seat Gardner- powered Leyland and a 79-seat Cummins L10-powered Volvo. I'll explain why..

I've not been on many buses with Cummins L10 engines (first one was an M or N-reg Volvo Olympian / Northern Counties Palatine in 2003 when I was 10 years old - Mum and I (and I think my sister, Michelle) caught one on the 12:46 32 from Didcot to Wantage or Grove (11:46 never showed up back then).

I'll be very honest in saying that after a 2nd trip on an RH Transport one from Marston to Kidlington, route 700, in around September 2010 (L651 MYG which was good the first time), I was put off travelling in Cummins L10 Olympians til the Newbury showground in July 2013.

I have an Olympian book with the Badgerline / Bath one on the front which I brought home from an Oxfordshire Bus Enthusiasts Society meeting in Autumn 2013. It was from reading this and my February 2013 'BUSES' magazine (not all of it) where I learnt that my least favourite chassis / engine actually turned out to be amongst the best chassis and engines ever built. It would have therefore been that the maintenance on the RH bus wouldn't have been its best.

Since February (will explain later) I've been very keen to ride on more.

I looked at the Hampshire Bus Preservation website yesterday and the day before and found 2 of the Olympians mentioned in the first paragraph - I think F601 MSL and N389 LPN.

Would the Winchester bus running day on the 6th May 2019 be my best shot?

I'm slowly beginning to agree with enthusiasts who say there is nothing wrong with the Olympians compared to early low-floor buses!

The Alton rally or the Bournemouth rally in July (possibly the Southsea event in June if it's on this year) might also be worth looking at. The best idea would be to contact the group directly and ask if they're going to take them to any events.

 

[Volvodart]

Stagecoach Group plc ("Stagecoach") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to sell its North America Division to an affiliate of Variant Equity Advisors, LLC ("Variant") (the "Disposal"), for an estimated enterprise valuation of US$271.4m.

https://www.stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2018/2018-12-19.aspx

SALE OF NORTH AMERICA DIVISION FOR ESTIMATED ENTERPRISE VALUE OF US$271M
19 Dec 2018

Stagecoach Group plc ("Stagecoach") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to sell its North America Division to an affiliate of Variant Equity Advisors, LLC ("Variant") (the "Disposal"), for an estimated enterprise valuation of US$271.4m.
The cash proceeds will be used to reduce Stagecoach’s consolidated net debt.
The Disposal is expected to complete by the end of the current financial year to 27 April 2019.
Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach Chief Executive, commented:

“During our two decades in the North American transportation market, our success included reinvigorating the inter-city coach sector and delivering growth with our innovative megabus.com brand. We have a great team of people who have ensured we have played a leading role in the development of public transportation in the United States and Canada.

“The sale of our North American operations will allow management to focus more closely on the significant opportunities for growth in the UK. We have strong bus and rail operations in the UK where public transport has good prospects as the clear solution to the challenges of increasing road congestion and poor air quality.”

Information regarding Stagecoach’s North America Division

Stagecoach’s North America Division operates bus and coach services. It provides megabus.com inter-city coach services, commuter services, airport transportation, sightseeing tours, charters and contract services across North America. It is one of the largest ground transportation operators in North America with around 4,500 employees and more than 2,000 buses and coaches.

For the year to 27 October 2018, Stagecoach reported revenue of US$619.4m (£460.3m) and operating profit* of US$21.7m (£15.9m) for the North America Division. For the last full Stagecoach financial year to 28 April 2018, revenue for the North America Division was US$630.0m (£470.9m), operating profit was US$28.1m (£21.0m) and profit before tax was US$23.8m (£17.8m). The gross assets of the North America Division as at 27 October 2018 were US$478.6m (£373.3m).

Background to and reasons for the Disposal

The Stagecoach Board believes that the Disposal represents an opportunity to realise an attractive valuation for the business whilst refocusing Stagecoach’s portfolio on the UK.

The management of the North America Division are expected to remain with that business following the Disposal, while Stagecoach Group’s management will principally focus on its UK bus and rail operations, and growth opportunities in the UK.

Terms of the Disposal and use of proceeds

The North America Division is headed by Coach USA, Administration, Inc. Stagecoach subsidiary, Scusi Limited (“Scusi”), has agreed to sell 100% of the equity of Coach USA, Administration, Inc. to Project Kenwood Acquisition, LLC. Project Kenwood Acquisition, LLC. is an entity managed by Variant. Variant is a private equity firm that focuses on pursuing corporate divestitures and other operationally-intensive transactions.

The consideration for the Disposal has been agreed at US$207.0m, subject to a “Locked Box” arrangement. Based on the net debt of the North America Division as at 27 October 2018 of US$64.4m (after adjusting for US$20.0m of dividends paid in November 2018 and reflected in the
agreed price), that represents an enterprise value for the business of US$271.4m.

The consideration includes a Deferred Payment Instrument of US$65.0m, with the balance of the consideration being payable in cash on completion of the Disposal. The amounts that Scusi receives under the Deferred Payment Instrument might be affected by the future performance or subsequent sale of the North America business.

Under the agreed “Locked Box” arrangement, the cash consideration may be adjusted for certain “leakage” transactions, such as further dividends, prior to the completion of the Disposal. For a transitional period following the Disposal, Stagecoach will continue to support collateral arrangements for the ongoing operation of the North America Division, principally in relation to insurance.

The cash proceeds will be applied to reduce Stagecoach’s consolidated net debt.

Completion of the Disposal is subject to certain conditions, principally relating to the approval of the Surface Transportation Board, the removal of certain Stagecoach parent company guarantees, change of control consents and no material adverse events. Stagecoach expects the Disposal to
complete by the end of its current financial year to 27 April 2019.

RBC Capital Markets acted as Financial Adviser to Stagecoach on the Disposal. Covington & Burling LLP acted as Legal Adviser to Stagecoach on the Disposal. Sidley Austin LLP acted as Legal Adviser to Variant on the Disposal.

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of Stagecoach Group plc is Ross Paterson, Finance Director.

*Operating profit for the North America Division refers to profit before net finance income/charges, taxation, non-software intangible asset amortisation, exceptional items and restructuring costs.

 

[winston270twm]

Stagecoach Group plc ("Stagecoach") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to sell its North America Division to an affiliate of Variant Equity Advisors, LLC ("Variant") (the "Disposal"), for an estimated enterprise valuation of US$271.4m.

https://www.stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2018/2018-12-19.aspx

I was expecting it to potentially be sold to Flixbus, or at least the US Megabus arm.

 

[Volvodart]

Maybe relations to Flixbus are not too good after the Europe sale, or they were offering too little.

 

[overthewater]

I have read the statements, Coach USA is being sold off to Variant Equity Advisors, Does this sale including Megabus USA?

 

[Volvodart]

Yes it does.