‘Sid’ celebrates 15 years

Budget express coach operator megabus.com is celebrating its 15th birthday.

The Stagecoach-owned operator started in Scotland with three coaches, and claimed it transformed the market by lowering fares and allowing people to book in advance online. Fares were based on a pricing model followed by low-cost airlines, with ultra-low lead-in fares which rose in price.

Today, megabus.com operates more than 90 coaches to nearly 80 destinations across the UK and carries around five million customers a year. In the past 15 years, more than 54 million customers have travelled with it in the UK. The Sid the Driver logo has become a trademark.

It began a network to Europe in October 2014, selling the network two years later to Flixbus. The company launched the megabusgold.com product in 2013, providing luxury daytime coach services in Scotland, England and Wales as well as overnight sleepercoach services. The megabus.com service has also been replicated in the United States.