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Stagecoach Group plc () is a leading international transport group operating , and her now ex-husband Robin Gloag . The group is based in Perth , Scotland , and has operations in the United Kingdom and North America . With 16% of the bus market and 11% of the rail market (plus a further 14% through its share in Virgin Trains ), the company is the second biggest transport firm in the UK behind its closest rival First Group . Stagecoach operates over 7200 vehicles and covers 90 major towns and cities across Britain, carrying around 2 million passengers daily. Stagecoach UK Bus employs 18,000 people. In North America, Stagecoach owns the Coach USA and Coach Canada brands, although the Western and South Central units of the company have been sold to a separate company, CUSA LLC. Operations in Kenya , Malawi , Portugal , Sweden , Hong Kong and New Zealand have been sold. HISTORY Stagecoach was born of Deregulation in the British express coach market in the early 1980s , though its roots can be traced back to 1976 when Ann Gloag and her husband Robin set up a small Motor Caravan and minibus hire business called ''Gloagtrotter''. Ann's accountant brother Brian Souter joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. Robin Gloag subsequently sold his shareholding in the business and ceased any involvement in 1982 with the collapse of his marriage to Ann. The Transport Act 1980, which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by the Traffic Commissioner, brought new opportunities for the Perth-based company and services were launched from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan Coaches . For a while, they offered a very personal service with Brian Souter doing the driving and Ann Gloag making up sandwiches and snacks for the passengers. Successfully competing against the then state-owned National Express and Scottish Citylink , the company grew significantly between 1981 and 1985 , when Stagecoach entered local bus operation with the acquisition of McLennan Of Spittalfield, near Perth. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the Privatisation of the national bus groups. Several firms were purchased from the National Bus Company, Scottish Bus Group , London Buses and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing management and Employee Owned bus companies, often ex-NBC and SBG firms where the owners were keen to make a huge profit on their sale. Stagecoach left the long distance express coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to National Express. However, controversy was never far from Stagecoach. The company often found itself on the wrong side of the Competition Commission and faced sharp media criticism over its predatory approach to smaller operators. Bitter "bus wars" broke out in towns and cities throughout Britain as Stagecoach took on the local competition, often forcing the competitor to abandon traditional markets and sometimes causing the collapse of smaller operators. This was through aggressive pricing and timing, often running more buses on a route than necessary and just a few minutes ahead of the competition. In its hometown of Perth, Stagecoach successfully forced the dominant operator Strathtay Scottish to abandon local services in the town. Similarly, Stagecoach subsidiary Bluebird Buses replaced Highland Scottish buses on most city services in and around Inverness . Similarly aggressive tactics were used to force Scottish Citylink into a joint venture. Now that Stagecoach has completed the effective takeover of Scottish Citylink the biggest shock of all was to be Stagecoach’s actions in the town of Darlington . Darlington Borough Council put Darlington Transport up for sale in 1994 . Despite submitting a bid through its Busways subsidiary, Stagecoach lost out to Yorkshire Traction (which was eventually takenover by Stagecoach and rebranded Stagecoach Yorkshire in 2005 ). In response, Stagecoach Busways registered identical routes to Darlington Transport, and subsequently commenced operations running free buses across Darlington Transport's network. Yorkshire Traction withdrew its bid for Darlington Transport and no other interested parties stepped forward. Within a week of Stagecoach arriving in the town, Darlington Transport went into Receivership and ceased trading. This would lead to reform in the Regulatory framework for bus operation in the UK. On 9th May 2007 it was announced Arriva North East were to take over Stagecoach in Darlington's operations, provideing the OFT don't refer the sale to the Competition Commission . Stagecoach took another turn in 1998, when it purchased, for £41 million, Scotland's Prestwick Airport . This acquisition looked to be short-lived, however; by the summer of 1999, the company was rumored to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. They did however, hold out until January 2001 before selling the airport to concentrate on ground transportation. Stagecoach Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange , though company Chairman Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag are major Shareholder s. Despite being co-founder of Stagecoach, Ms Gloag no longer has an executive role in the company. Souter and Gloag's involvement in bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis (the former Transbus International), and Souter's stake in ScotAirways , are not related to the Stagecoach Group in any way. A Stagecoach London vehicle, operating London Buses route 30, was destroyed in the 7 July 2005 London Bombings and a second was targeted 21 July 2005 London Bombings , operating London Buses Route 26 . Coincidentally, both buses were bound for Hackney . In a tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack, Stagecoach London dedicated a new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 , "The Spirit Of London", to London Buses route 30, replacing the vehicle destroyed. The bus was unveiled by the Mayor Of London in a ceremony on 3 October 2005 . {Link without Title} On 21 November 2005 Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil for 250.5m New Zealand dollars (£100m; US$171.6m) {Link without Title} . On the 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased Barnsley -based Traction Group ( Yorkshire Traction ) for £26m, and also assume Traction's £11m debt. Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire (Yorkshire Traction, Barnsley & District, Yorkshire Terrier ), Lincolnshire ( RoadCar ) and Angus ( Strathtay Scottish ). Traction was the largest of the remaining privately owned bus operators in the UK before acquisition. Following the sale of its London Bus Operations to Macquarie Bank on 31 August 2006 (for £263.6m), Stagecoach UK Bus will concentrate on the bus market outside the UK capital, focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options. Macquarie will continue to use the Stagecoach brand for a limited period under licence, and the bus group will provide administrative and other support functions for a transitional period of 12 months from the sale. Stagecoach are also active in the rail industry, currently operating the . In November 2006, Stagecoach was shortlisted to submit a final bid to operate the Manchester Metrolink tram network. On 2007-04-03 it was announced that the group was the preferred bidders for the tram and infrastructure maintenance and operation after Serco ends it's service duing 2007. As of May 30 Stagecoach Group have signed the contract expected to start in July 2007 |
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