Stagecoach West

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For the ABC television series from 1960/61, see Stagecoach West (TV series).

Stagecoach West
Stagecoach Swindon 22626.JPG
Alexander Dennis Enviro300 bodied MAN 18.240 in Oxford in 2008
ParentStagecoach Group
Founded1983
HeadquartersGloucester
Service areaGloucestershire
Bath & North East Somerset
Bristol
Herefordshire
Wiltshire
South Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
Northamptonshire
North Somerset
Service typeBus & Coach services
Routesover 80
DestinationsOver 100
Depots9
Fleet1,500 (April 2021)
Annual ridership24.9 million (2018/19)[1]
OperatorStagecoach UK Bus
Managing DirectorRachel Geliamassi
Websitewww.stagecoachbus.com

Stagecoach West is the trading name of Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited, a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. The company is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group.

History[]

Alexander PS bodied Volvo B10M
Alexander ALX200 bodied Dennis Dart SLF in June 2012
Stagecoach Gold liveried Alexander Dennis Enviro400 in September 2009

In 1983, Bristol Omnibus Company's Gloucestershire-based operations were transferred to the Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company.[2] In 1985, the National Bus Company's Swindon and District operation was transferred to the same company. In 1986, all the assets were transferred to a new legal entity, Western Travel.

In 1986, Western Travel was privatised in a management buyout and in December 1987 purchased Midland Red South.[3] In 1993, Western Travel purchased Circle Line of Gloucester (primarily a school bus operator, who had started to compete on regular bus routes) before being sold to Stagecoach in November 1993.[4][5]

In 1988, National Welsh Omnibus Services was privatised in a management buyout. After being placed in receivership in January 1992, the Eastern Division was purchased by Stagecoach South Wales. After the Western Travel purchase, the Wye & Dean operations were transferred to Stagecoach West.[citation needed]

In August/September 2017 four Enviro 200's from Stroud and eight Enviro 200's alongside the four Optare Solo's from Cheltenham that were used for service 99 before the contract moved to Pulhams Coaches, Transferred to the South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach Depot in Patchway along with Stroud's 84/85/86/621/622 and Gloucester's 60/62 Routes.

in July 2018 Service 60 transferred back to Gloucester depot, with 62 remaining operated by Bristol but only running between Dursley and Bristol

In September 2018, the company took over the operation of eight routes in the Bristol and Bath areas from Wessex Bus.[6][7] Stagecoach purchased nine of their vehicles, three of which were found to have serious defects and were subsequently scrapped.[citation needed]

On 1 September 2019 Stagecoach West took over operation of the X5 (Weston-super-Mare to Cribbs Causeway) and Severn Express (Newport to Bristol) routes from First West of England.[8] In October 2019, Stagecoach West took over the South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach business with 53 vehicles.[9]

On 4th April 2020 service 62 transferred to CT+ Bristol

In February 2021, it was announced Stagecoach West would merge with neighbouring Stagecoach Oxfordshire. The HQ of the combined operating company is in Gloucester and would see Oxfordshire's three depots and 4 outstations along with around 500 vehicles move to West's Ownership. it would also see the final part of the takeover of Stagecoach Midlands Banbury depot.[10]

Depots[]

Stagecoach West has nine depots:[10]

  • Banbury (Canal Street)
  • Bristol (Gipsy Patch Lane, Patchway)
  • Cheltenham (Lansdown Industrial Estate, Gloucester Road)
  • Gloucester (London Road)
  • Oxford (Horspath Road)
  • Ross On Wye (Ashburton Industrial Estate)
  • Stroud (London Road)
  • Swindon (Cheney Manor Industrial Estate)
  • Witney (Corn Street)

There are also outstations at Bicester, Coleford, Chipping Norton and Grove

Routes[]

Stagecoach West mainly operates services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and into South Gloucestershire, although some routes serve more distant destinations including Brackley, Hereford, Monmouth and Bath.

Routes branded as Stagecoach Gold have vehicles of a higher specification and provide more frequent, higher profile or interurban journeys. These services are:

  • 7 Woodstock to Oxford
  • 55 Chippenham to Swindon
  • 63 Forest Green to Gloucester
  • 94 Cheltenham to Gloucester
  • 97/98 Cheltenham to Gloucester
  • S3 Chipping Norton/Charlbury to Oxford
  • S4 Banbury to Oxford
  • S5 Bicester to Oxford
  • S6 Swindon to Oxford
  • S8/S9 Wantage to Oxford.

In March 2021, the Bath Clean Air Zone came into force and affected services 69/620. As Stroud depot didn’t have any vehicles that met the zone requirement they had to temporarily swap four Enviro 200s from Cheltenham with four of their own Optare Solos.

21 new Scania Enviro 400MMC double-decker vehicles are due for Gloucester Depot's 10 route in June 2021. They carry the new Stagecoach "Long Distance" livery. This meant the 10 route is no longer classed as Gold. These new buses commenced driver training operations in mid-June, operating from the Gloucester Depot, and many had entered service on the 10 route by the end of the month.

When Stagecoach West bought South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach in November 2019, it took over operation of its existing local bus, private hire and Megabus work. The fleet was also taken over, but replaced with newer vehicles sourced from across Stagecoach Group.

Fleet[]

As of May 2021, the fleet consisted of around 700 vehicles (including training vehicles). Types include:

  • ADL Enviro 400 MMC
  • Scania N250UD with ADL Enviro 400 MMC bodywork
  • Scania N230UD with ADL Enviro 400 bodywork
  • ADL Trident (includes seven E400 bodied)
  • Volvo B10M (training)
  • MAN with ADL Enviro 300 bodywork
  • Optare Versa (training)
  • ADL Enviro 300 (includes one MK1)
  • Scania K230UB with ADL Enviro 300 bodywork
  • Dennis Dart SLF with Plaxton Pointer bodywork (one training)
  • Short Wheel Base Dennis Dart SLF with ADL Enviro 200 bodywork
  • Dennis Dart SLF with ADL Enviro 200 bodywork
  • ADL Enviro 200
  • MAN with ADL Enviro 200 bodywork
  • ADL Enviro 200 MMC
  • Optare Solo (four with SR bodywork)
  • Volvo B10M with Van Hool bodywork
  • Volvo B11R with Plaxton Elite bodywork (Megabus)
  • Scania K340 with Caetano Levante bodywork
  • Scania K440 with Caetano Levante bodywork (Megabus)
  • Volvo B11RLE with Plaxton Panorama bodywork (Oxford Tube)

See also[]

  • Buses in Bristol
  • Buses in Swindon

References[]

  1. ^ "Annual Performance May 2018 to April 2019" (PDF). Stagecoach West.
  2. ^ Companies House extract company no 1713578 Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited
  3. ^ Companies House extract company no 1556310 Midland Red (South) Limited
  4. ^ Murray, John (23 October 2011). "Stagecoach Acquires Western". The Independent.
  5. ^ Midland Red Depots Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine MidlandRed.net
  6. ^ Important Changes for Wessex Bus Wessex Bus 20 July 2018
  7. ^ Wessex bus to close and services 42, 12 and 51 cancelled in Bristol and Bath Bristol Post 20 July 2018
  8. ^ "Severn Express and X5 bus routes to transfer from First Bus to Stagecoach". First Bus. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  9. ^ Britain's biggest bus and coach operator expanding in Bristol Stagecoach 23 September 2019
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Jackson, Peter (24 February 2021). "Stagecoach in Oxfordshire to merge with Stagecoach West". Coach and Bus Week. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

External links[]

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