Stagecoach North West

Infobox Bus transit
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image_size = 250px
image_caption = A Stagecoach in Lancashire Dennis Trident 2 bus departing from Bolton bus station.
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parent = Stagecoach Group plc
founded = 2001
headquarters = Carlisle, Cumbria
locale =
service_area = North West England
service_type = Bus
hubs = Carlisle, Chorley, Morecambe, Kendal, Preston
stations = Chorley, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn, Lancaster, Barrow, Carlisle, Blackpool, Kendal
lounge =
fleet = Optare Solo Volvo B10M Alexander Dennis Trident Alexander Dennis Pointer Volvo Olympian Leyland Olympian Alexander Dennis Enviro400 Dennis Dart Volvo B6 Volvo B10B Optare Versa
ridership =
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operator = Stagecoach Group
ceo =
website = [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/region_4.html Official Website]

Stagecoach North West is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and has its origins in the purchase of Cumberland in 1987 and Ribble in 1988 from the National Bus Company. The head office of Stagecoach North West is in Carlisle. Although the cities of Liverpool and Manchester are in the North West of England, Stagecoach in Manchester and Stagecoach Merseyside are currently run as separate divisions.

tagecoach in Cumbria

Stagecoach in Cumbria is the trading name of Cumberland Motor Services Ltd and operates services around the Cumbria area (formerly known as Stagecoach Cumberland, Stagecoach Ribble and Barrow Borough Transport).

Cumberland was one of the first National Bus Company subsidairies to be privatised: this was almost immediately after gaining the Penrith and Carlisle depots from Ribble. The company was bought from the NBC by Stagecoach, who split it into two territories: "CMS Carlislebus" for services within Carlisle itself and "CMS Cumberland" for the rest of the services; eventually both territories merged with Ribble's south Cumbria services to become Stagecoach Cumberland.

Since 2005 with the arrival of new low floor buses Carlisle's urban services are treated separately to the rest of the Cumbria division under the brand name of "Carlisle Citi".

In 2005 Stagecoach introduced new double-decker buses on its flagship service X35 route between Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston, Grange-over-Sands and Kendal. This route is subsidised by Cumbria County Council, ensuring that a return fare between Barrow/Ulverston and Kendal is £4.10, as of April 2006.

The 62, 62A and 62B service to Kingmoor Park is also subsidised by Cumbria County Council, as of 2006.

As of January 2008, the 555/556 route from Keswick to Lancaster is operated by low floor Dennis Trident 2 buses, cascaded from Stagecoach Manchester. 18354 has vinyls for Beatrix Potter, and 18356 has ones for William Wordsworth.

tagecoach in Lancashire

Stagecoach in Lancashire is the trading name of Ribble Motor Services Ltd and operates services around the Central Lancashire area, serving Preston, Chorley, Bolton and Blackburn (formerly Stagecoach Ribble) The service also operates Network Chorley which provides transport around the local Chorley area.

tagecoach in Lancaster

Stagecoach in Lancaster operates services in Lancaster, Morecambe, and the surrounding area, including the services between Morecambe/Lancaster and Preston/Blackpool. It is a trading name of Cumberland Motor Services Ltd, and consists of the former Stagecoach Ribble services in the area combined with those formerly operated by Lancaster City Transport, the local municipal bus operator which ceased trading in 1993.

Controversy

As of 2006, Preston Bus has been experiencing competition from Stagecoach North West. Competition has escalated into a bus war [ [http://www.lep.co.uk/features/How-Preston39s-bus-wars-have.3309747.jp How Preston's bus wars have been fought - Lancashire Evening Post ] ] with Stagecoach offering lower fares on the busiest routes. [ [http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Bus-company-accused-of-39dirty.3392699.jp Bus giant accused of 'dirty tactics' - Lancashire Evening Post ] ] The managing director of Preston Bus is concerned that Stagecoach could force his company out of business. [ [http://www.lep.co.uk/features/Preston39s-bus-war-it-won39t.3462138.jp Preston's bus war... it won't be over for Christmas - Lancashire Evening Post ] ] Both companies have accused each other of unprofessional behaviour. [ [http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Legal-loophole-delay-for-eggthrowing.3430621.jp Legal loophole delay for egg-throwing drivers - Lancashire Evening Post ] ] However Stagecoach was forced by the authorities to suspend two of its drivers for throwing eggs at Preston buses. [ [http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Bus-eggthrowers-suspended.3802621.jp Bus egg-throwers suspended - Lancashire Evening Post ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.stagecoachbus.com Stagecoach UK Bus]
* [http://www.competition-commission.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1993/fulltext/344c2.pdf A report on the merger situation between Stagecoach Holdings plc and Lancaster City Transport Limited (Competition Commission]