Stagecoach’s £70m orders
Stagecoach Group has announced new vehicle orders worth £70m. A new fleet of around 340 vehicles, most equipped with free Wi-Fi, will be introduced in the 2017-18 financial year as the company continues to reinvest profits in improving services for customers in communities across the UK. The majority of the order has been placed with ADL, with a share going to Wrightbus and Volvo. The vehicles will be introduced in Stagecoach’s regional networks in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as on the company’s megabus.com network in the UK. Almost half of the new vehicles meet the Government’s Low Emission Bus specification, while around two thirds feature stop-start technology to help improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions. The new vehicles will be fitted with CCTV and USB charging points, while most will also have Wi-Fi installed. The latest orders follow an annual competitive tendering process and the first of the new vehicles are being delivered from spring 2017.
Details of the new orders are as follows: 122 ADL MMC Enviro400s, 59 Scania ADL MMC Enviro400s, 62 ADL MMC Enviro200s, 40 ADL MMC Enviro200 midibuses, 18 Wrightbus StreetLite 11.5m Micro Hybrids, seven Wrightbus Volvo open top double deckers, two Wrightbus Eclipse Volvos, nine 15m Plaxton Elitei coaches, eight 15m Plaxton Elite 6×2 coaches, 14 Plaxton Elite 4×2 coaches and three Caetano Levante Volvo B11R 6×2 coaches. The Wrightbus Volvo open toppers are the first purpose built open top vehicles the company has ever requested. The order includes new vehicles for the Cambridge Guided Busway and a fleet of 18 micro hybrid vehicles to go into operation in Sheffield, which have been partly funded by the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV). The 34 coaches are for the Group’s UK Bus, Scottish Citylink and megabus.com operations.
Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, Martin Griffiths, said, ‘Our focus is on delivering practical improvements to make travel even better for our customers. We are continuing to re-invest money from fares in state-of-the-art, cleaner, greener vehicles, digital technology and smart ticketing to deliver an even higher standard of service. These latest vehicle orders are an important part of our strategy to encourage even more people to take the bus. Local bus services are the backbone of the country’s transport networks. However, the increasing problem of traffic congestion in our towns and cities is holding buses back and it is high time our politicians stepped up and took action to support bus passengers and free up road space to help bus networks flourish.’