[18] In August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group halfway through its ten-year contract to operate the network. [59], Megabus re-entered California on December 12, 2012, serving San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose Sacramento, Reno, Riverside and Los Angeles. Traction was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK. CoachUSA is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group plc, which is headquartered in Perth, Scotland. [20], On February 2, 2015, Megabus discontinued service from Columbus, Ohio to Cleveland. All of the Canada fleet is equipped with electrical outlets and Wi-Fi. On August 17, 2011, Megabus started service to Omaha, via Des Moines and Iowa City; twice-daily departures and arrivals from Omaha and an increase to four daily departures and arrivals from Des Moines and Iowa City. This can now be done online or by phone. The sale was completed in April 2019. Stagecoach purchased Citybus in March 1999 but sold the company in 2003 after the group hit financial difficulties, the batch of Olympians use… In late May 2008, Megabus began service to/from New York City, with service to/from Albany, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington, D.C. Further expansions included service to Syracuse, Rochester, Hartford and Niagara Falls, Ontario. Initially, most of the routes used buses designed for short local public transport journeys that had no toilet or luggage space, and each passenger was allowed only one bag. This expansion came as Megabus exited from the West Coast market. ", "Megabus.com Expands Washington D.C. Service To and From 10 Cities", "Megabus.com Expands Toronto Service to/from Washington D.C.", "Union Station to become intercity bus center", "MegaBus brings daily routes from Christiansburg to DC and Knoxville", "Megabus.com Expands Service to Morgantown", "Megabus is coming to Virginia Beach and a Norfolk stop is in the works", "Megabus to Begin Express Service from Charlottesville to D.C.", "$1 Express Bus Service From L.A. To Bay Area and Vegas is Back! [55], Stagecoach New Zealand was a wholly owned part of the Stagecoach Group, which provided bus services in Auckland, Wellington and the Hutt Valley and nine ferry routes in Auckland. [80][81][82], The Stagecoach Group has also indirectly attracted criticism through controversial statements and actions made by its chairman and co-founder, Brian Souter, regarding certain public statements and his funding of a campaign to block the repeal of the Section 28 law. In early 2010, Champaign/Memphis route was cut to one daily round-trip due to poor ridership, but the second round trip has since been restored. [21], On March 1, 2017, Megabus added service between Chicago and Lincoln, NE thru Moline, Coralville, Des Moines and Omaha. Fares use a yield management model, formerly starting at £1. The following is a breakdown of the Stagecoach operating divisions. In December 2008, service to Binghamton, which had been operating only to Buffalo and Toronto, was dropped in favor of service to Syracuse, Rochester and Niagara Falls. [10] On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group (Yorkshire Traction) for £26m, and also assume Traction's £11m debt. [15], Baton Rouge service was added September 9, 2013, with service to New Orleans and San Antonio.[16]. On 27 October 1999, Stagecoach revealed that it was going to sell Swebus to Concordia Bus for £100m, to refocus its bus operation on the United States and Asia.[65]. Some services link with Megatrain services, also operated by Stagecoach. From Dallas, passengers had options to travel to Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock, Memphis, Norman, Oklahoma City, Springfield and St Louis. Applying the business model of the low-cost carrier air lines, these services aim to offer cheaper alternatives to the established operators in the bus, coach and rail markets, by reducing costs, and offering extremely low fares for the earliest bookings, rising nearer the journey time: Magic Bus was the first no-frills brand of Stagecoach. [51], In 1999 Stagecoach planned to become the largest bus company in China through joint ventures, equity stakes and partnerships, and confirmed the £181m acquisition of Hong Kong's Citybus. Services also began between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. [8] Stagecoach took another turn in 1998, when it purchased Scotland's Prestwick Airport for £41 million. This was "predatory, deplorable and against the public interest" according to findings from the Monopolies & Mergers Commission. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. Apart from the ordinary bus operations and no-frills services, the UK bus division has the following brands that extend across operating divisions. Stagecoach-owned megabus.com has introduced a new stop at Manchester airport. [12] In September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. Citi – some urban networks have received Citi branding, such as Cambridge, Exeter & Peterborough; although much of this brand has now been withdrawn. Megabus is a low cost, daily express bus service first launched in the United Kingdom in 2003 and the United States in 2006 by Stagecoach Group. ", "Megabus returning with trips between Las Vegas and L.A.", "MegaBus driver arrested on DUI charges in Southwest Mich", "Megabus passengers awake to crash, blood and cries for help", "Canadians not among 4 killed in bus crash", "Megabus settles lawsuits over crash that killed 4 near Syracuse", "Police: Blown tire likely caused Megabus crash", "Megabus Crash in Illinois: At Least 1 Dead, 30+ Injured", "Carnage on I-95 After Crash Rips Bus Apart", "High Fatality Rate Found for Low-Cost Buses", "National Transportation Safety Board: Report on Curbside Motorcoach Safety", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Megabus_(North_America)&oldid=998818148, Intercity bus companies of the United States, Stagecoach Group bus operators in the United States and Canada, Transportation companies based in New Jersey, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Pacific Coast Sightseeing Tours & Charters, On September 1, 2008, a Detroit-bound M1 coach was pulled over by Michigan State police after officers noticed the bus swaying and speeding outside, On September 11, 2010, around 2:30 a.m., a Toronto-bound M34 double-decker coach missed an exit to the, On August 2, 2012, a St. Louis-bound M5 service Megabus coach with 64 passengers slammed into a concrete bridge pillar on, This page was last edited on 7 January 2021, at 04:58. If you decide to disable cookies in your browser settings, certain functionality will cease to work. It is to launch an extension to the route on 16 December, which will link Brussels with Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich. Megabus operates primarily in the Midwest servicing more than 50 cities in the region, in particular, in Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, etc. Following this initial acquisition Stagecoach also purchased Eastbourne Buses, The Yellow Bus Company in Auckland and a controlling interest in Fullers Auckland. [44], Virgin Rail Group operated the CrossCountry franchise as Virgin CrossCountry from January 1997[45] until November 2007 when it passed to Arriva. The Megabus fleet has the megabus.com name on the front and sides in yellow against a blue base, and the Megabus logo on the left side of the coach (facing forward) and rear of the bus. Megabus offers safe, convenient, affordable bus service. [43] The route was later rebranded to a Megabus route. Megabus is a long distance coach operator operated by the Stagecoach Group. Eastern Bus[32] and Today's Bus[33] were acquired by Coach USA in late 2008 and early 2009 but were divested in 2009. But the main attraction is low cost inter city travel that is reserved on … [3][4][5] In its first foray into California, ridership was sluggish and Megabus started to discontinue services from Los Angeles in early 2008. On May 4, 2010, service between New York and Pittsburgh via State College began operating; Pittsburgh had previously been served by a route to and from Chicago earlier. Stagecoach sold the Metrolink business to RATP Group in August 2011. The final day for services from Los Angeles was June 22, 2008. On March 27, 2008, a new route was added, Chicago-Champaign-Memphis, offering 2 daily trips in each direction. [9], On 21 November 2005 Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil. New budget coach services are now operating out of Omaha, Memphis, St Louis and Boston, bringing to 64 the total number of locations covered in North America from the company’s six key hubs. Toilets have been added to the fleet, enabling Megabus to eliminate toilet stops. [4], During the privatisation of British Rail, Porterbrook was formed as one of three rolling stock companies owning around a third of passenger railway locomotives, multiple units and coaching stock running on Network Rail's system which is leased to various train operators. Introduced in Canada in August 2009, megabus services are provided in partnership with Coach Canada, offering premier intercity motorcoach service at … This page was last edited on 6 January 2021, at 21:31. These double decker buses are 94-seat tri-axle Leyland Olympian built for service with Hong Kong Citybusin 1990/1991. [39] This system was the first modern tram system in the United Kingdom, opening just before the Sheffield system in 1992. [11], Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside the UK capital, focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options. This is to avoid incurring roaming charges from the cellular carriers that provide the internet service. [27], Service between New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee began December 17, 2013.[28]. The Canadian Megabus fleet consists of 15 2009 TD925 buses and are operated by Trentway-Wagar. 90000 – 99999: pool cars, staff transport vehicles, etc. Only one or two seats are sold for $0 or $1 per schedule, so the less popular schedules tend to be less expensive. [60], In California and Nevada, Megabus operates almost exclusively from either commuter rail stations or transfer stations for local transit buses. In the US, Megabus/Eastern Shuttle's main rival is BoltBus, which is 50% owned by Stagecoach rival FirstGroup. [74][75], In 2000 Stagecoach Manchester was found to have been employing bus inspectors to usher passengers away from competitor's services. [55], In May 2011, Megabus added service to Frederick, Maryland. [23], In December 2018, it was announced that private equity house, Variant would acquire Stagecoach Group's US division for $271 million. Below is a list of notable incidents and accidents involving Megabus vehicles (not counting Megabus vehicles operated by DATTCO or Concord Coach Lines on services to and from Boston, and services on the M25, which are operated separately). [71], To satisfy the commission, some Citylink routes were sold to Parks Motor Group in early 2008. [70][71], 34th Street - Hudson Yards subway station, William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center, "Bargain bus company riding into Bay Area next week", "Megabus.com launches $1 bus service on West Coast", "Megabus.com begins new service to/from Los Angeles, San Francisco and six cities", "Sale of North America Division for Estimated Enterprise Value of US$271M", "Stagecoach sells off North American division for $271m", "Megabus.com Expands Service to/from Atlanta and 11 Cities", "Megabus.com expands service to/from South Carolina", "Megabus.com adds three daily arrivals/departures to/from Baton Rouge", "MEGABUS IS A NEW OPTION TO CHICAGO THE BUS SERVICE WILL LINK CHICAGO, MADISON AND MINNEAPOLIS BEGINNING MARCH 13", "MegaBus ending service in Columbia, Kansas City; Mizzou senior petitioning to save it", "Megabus.com expands Chicago service to Omaha", "All aboard: Megabus unveils start date, ticket sales for new Michigan route", "Megabus cuts service between Cleveland and Columbus, Cincinnati, cites declining gas prices as the reason why", "Megabus, Windstar Lines partnership brings bus service back to area", "STAGECOACH EXPANDS MEGABUS.COM NORTH AMERICAN NETWORK TO TEXAS", "Megabus begins express service in Dallas on June 19", "Megabus resumes service to Dallas | wfaa.com Dallas-Fort Worth", "Oklahoma business briefs for April 2, 2013", "Megabus to begin Anaheim–San Francisco service in December", "Megabus.com expands service to/from Mississippi", "Stagecoach Group PLC and Coach USA, Inc., et al.-Acquisition of Control-Eastern Travel & Tour, Inc., 54202-54203 [E8-21733]", "Today's Bus Now Part of Eastern Coach/Coach USA", "Megabus.com Expands Service in Midwest and Northeast", "Megabus Rolls Back Into Hartford Market", "Letter: Megabus not all it's cracked up to be", "Megabus pickup location in NYC changing as of August 1st", "Megabus restarts Cleveland-New York route with some $1 fares", "Coach Canada Offers $1 Tickets To Montreal", "Megabus.com ending service to Cincinnati, Columbus", "Megabus cancels route from Pittsburgh to Cleveland, Detroit", "Megabus.com Expands Philadelphia Service to and From Nine Northeast Cities", "NEW ROUTES FOR MEGABUS.COM NETWORK IN NORTH AMERICA", "THE BUS STOPS HERE: Megabus to run $1 trips from UD campus to D.C., N.Y.C. Service was extended to Anaheim on December 6, 2014. Additional services were added on April 2, 2007: a stop in Ann Arbor along the Chicago-Detroit route for travel to and from Chicago, new service between Minneapolis and Milwaukee, an extension of the Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland route into Pittsburgh (since withdrawn on the Midwest network, but later re-entered on the Northeast network), an extension of the Chicago-St. Louis route into Kansas City, reactivation of the Chicago-Indianapolis-Columbus route, new service between Cincinnati and Columbus, and new service between Chicago and Louisville via Indianapolis (since withdrawn). In Los Angeles, the buses utilize Union Station's Patsaouras Transit Plaza. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Stagecoach owned megabus.com is to start coach services in new locations in Germany as the company continues its European expansion. Preston Bus was sold in January 2011. [21][22] The franchise was terminated on 23 June 2018 after it was revealed that Stagecoach had overbid. Online bus ticket booking available. In June 2012, Megabus announced service from Chicago to Detroit via Grand Rapids and East Lansing beginning July 12. [9][10], Megabus announced service to in Atlanta, its first destination in the Southeastern United States, on October 25, 2011. Stagecoach operate a number of so-called "no-frills" services across the United Kingdom and the United States. Bus division operations are as follows:[28]. It commenced operating in August 2003, initially in the United Kingdom, and by December 2012 served 60 destinations in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1990, the nationalised Rodoviária Nacional was split into ten components. The Danish operations never proved profitable, and were sold to Combus in autumn of 1997. S tagecoach has announced it is suspending all Megabus services in England and Wales by Sunday amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. In the UK, the Megabus network covers most of the island of Great Britain, although some routes offer only one journey per day. The operator already operates services between Brussels and Cologne. Niagara Falls and Hartford were later withdrawn although service to Hartford resumed in 2010. Two British Railways Mark 2 passenger carriages were re-branded in Stagecoach colours and attached to a scheduled British Rail InterCity sleeper service. [7][8], In April 2019, Stagecoach Group sold its North American operations, including Megabus, to Variant Equity Advisors. According to federal records, since August 2007, Chicago drivers have been cited 54 times by police: 21 times for not maintaining driver logs, 20 times for speeding, three times for following too closely, 2 times for improper lane changes, and 2 for windshield violations. Megabus routes from Pittsburgh included Pittsburgh-State College-NYC, Pittsburgh-Washington, Pittsburgh-Harrisburg-Philadelphia-Camden, Pittsburgh-Erie-Buffalo-Toronto, Pittsburgh-Columbus-Cincinnati, Pittsburgh-Akron-Cleveland (a restoration of an earlier cut), and Pittsburgh-Toledo-Detroit. Ann's brother, Brian Souter, an accountant, joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. Megabus received the necessary permissions to start on the following Monday.[25]. Stagecoach is controlled, in part, by one Brian Souter. It previously had extensive operations in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. All Megabus coaches in the United States are equipped with Wi-Fi and electrical outlets. The name of Rodoviária de Lisboa survived as part of the Barraqueiro bus company, but another part, serving the area to the west of Lisbon, became Stagecoach Portugal in 1995. [34][35] In July 2010, Philadelphia and Boston were added as destinations. In 2013, the British group first launched their cross-border routes from London to Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona. It also operates Megabus which serves 130 destinations in several Eastern, Southern and Midwestern states, as well as California and Nevada. [73] In Darlington, Stagecoach subsidiary Busways offered bounties to recruit drivers away from the existing bus service and offered free buses to deter the rival preferred bidder from taking over the existing bus service. Extend across operating divisions Infratil and rebranded as NZ bus. [ 42 ] Union Station and Canada 35. December 2013, Stagecoach bought Preston bus, coach, and tram in. 27, 2008, the business into bus hire operations never proved profitable, and were in April,!, but withdrawn on September 8, 2010, Stagecoach rapidly expanded the fleet, enabling Megabus eliminate... 19 ] in January 2001 to concentrate on surface transport this is to avoid roaming! 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