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| Parent | Stagecoach Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 11 September 1983; 42 years ago (1983-09-11) |
| Headquarters | Gloucester |
| Service area | Gloucestershire Bath & North East Somerset Bristol Herefordshire Wiltshire South Gloucestershire Oxfordshire Swindon North Somerset |
| Service type | Bus and coach |
| Depots | 9 |
| Fleet | 270 (October 2022)[1] |
| Annual ridership | 24.9 million (2018/19)[2] |
| Managing director | Chris Hanson[3] |
| Website | Official website |
Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services inGloucestershire,Bristol,Swindon,Oxfordshire,Wiltshire,North Somerset andHerefordshire, in the West of England, andMonmouthshire in the South-East of Wales. The company is a subsidiary of theStagecoach Group.
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On 11 September 1983, theNational Bus Company (NBC) split its loss-makingBristol Omnibus operation into three separate companies, with Gloucestershire-based operations transferred to a new company named the Cheltenham and Gloucester Omnibus Company.[4] The NBC's National Travel (South) coaching operation was transferred to Cheltenham and Gloucester during 1984,[5] while the Swindon and District bus operation followed in 1985. In 1986, in preparation for the break-up of the National Bus Company as a result ofbus deregulation, all company assets were transferred to a new legal entity named Western Travel.[citation needed]
Western Travel was the fourth NBC subsidiary to be privatised following deregulation, being purchased in a £1 million (equivalent to £3,701,000 in 2023)management buyout in November 1986.[6] The Cheltenham and Gloucester and Swindon and District companies were maintained as subsidiaries, joined in December 1987 byMidland Red South following Western Travel's purchase of the company.[7] Among other acquisitions in and around their operating area, the company went on to acquire the eastern division ofNational Welsh Omnibus Services in February 1991, reforming the division as a reconstitutedRed & White Services, which was based out of depots inCwmbran,Chepstow,Brynmawr andCrosskeys,[8] with an additional depot inMerthyr Tydfil opening in May 1993.[9]
After having also purchased the independent Circle Line of Gloucester earlier in the year, Western Travel was purchased byStagecoach Holdings in November 1993 for £9.25 million (equivalent to £23,800,000 in 2023).[10] Red & White's Welsh operations were transferred to what is todayStagecoach South Wales, with the remainder of Western Travel eventually rebranded as Stagecoach West.[11][12]
Having worked in partnership with the company's owners from 2017 onwards, in September 2019, Stagecoach West took over the 53-vehicleSouth Gloucestershire Bus & Coach business for an undisclosed sum after the SGBC's owners decided to step down. This takeover saw 100 employees transferring to Stagecoach West, with Stagecoach taking on SGBC's existing local bus and private hire work in the Bristol area, as well as theirMegabus contract.[13][14][15]
In February 2021, it was announced that Stagecoach West was to merge with neighbouringStagecoach Oxfordshire, with the headquarters of the combined operating company located in Gloucester. Stagecoach West took over the operations of Stagecoach Oxfordshire's three depots inBanbury,Oxford andWitney and outstations atBicester,Chipping Norton andGrove, along with around 500 vehicles and theOxford Tube coach service between Oxford andLondon.[16]
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Stagecoach West has eight depots:[16]
There are also outstations atBicester,Coleford,Chipping Norton andGrove.
As of October 2022, the Stagecoach West fleet consists of 270 buses and coaches.[1]
Stagecoach West mainly operates local bus services inGloucestershire,Bristol,Herefordshire,Wiltshire,Oxfordshire and intoSouth Gloucestershire, although some routes serve more distant destinations includingBrackley,Hereford,Monmouth andBath.
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Routes branded asStagecoach Gold have vehicles of a higher specification and provide more frequent, higher profile or interurban journeys. These services are:
Gloucester depot's 10 and 97/98 services were previously among these Gold routes. For the 10 service, as well as the 97/98 services, in June 2021, 21 newAlexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodiedScania N250UDdouble-decker buses in the group's replacement "Long Distance" livery were delivered for service on the routes.[17]
The Oxford Tube service is a limited-stop express coach service between Oxford andVictoria Coach Station inLondon, using a fleet of 34Plaxton Panorama double-decker coaches onVolvo B11RLE chassis, uniquely equipped withsolar panels on the roof, which began to enter service on the route from October 2020.[18] The service was founded in 1987 byThames Transit in competition with theOxford Bus Company'sX90 service,[19] withdrawn in January 2020 as it had become unprofitable, and was originally operated by Stagecoach Oxfordshire before being included in the merger with Stagecoach West in February 2021.[16]
Stagecoach West's operations in the City of Oxford, in partnership with the Oxford Bus Company, are part of Oxford SmartZone joint ticketing scheme, launched on 24 July 2011 as a successor to the Plus+Pass scheme, which had ceased operations three years earlier. This ticketing scheme, introduced byOxfordshire County Council following the passage of theLocal Transport Act 2008, allowed for bus users in Oxford to buy and use one paper ticket until its expiry on services operated by both Stagecoach and the Oxford Bus Company, who worked with the council to introduce coordinated service timetables using a fleet of 46 new double-decker buses.[20]
On 15 January 2024, the Oxford SmartZone was officially relaunched as an enhanced partnership between Stagecoach West and the Oxford Bus Company, with the aim to reduce bus journey times by 10%.[20] Orders forbattery electric buses have been funded for both operators, with Stagecoach West taking delivery of the first of 55 'electro'-brandedAlexander Dennis Enviro400EVs for use in the Oxford SmartZone area in March 2024.[21]
Another part of NBC has gone into private ownership with Rugby-based Midland Red South being bought by Western Travel, which is the holding company for Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company.
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