Stagecoach Gold

Slogan Catch a little luxury...
Parent Stagecoach
Founded November 2007
Service type Luxury bus
Routes 45
Fleet MAN 18.240/Enviro300
Alexander Dennis Enviro300
Scania K230UB/Enviro300
Scania N230UD/Enviro400
Scania N250UD/Enviro400 MMC
Optare Solo
Optare Solo SR
Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC
Operator Stagecoach Chesterfield
Stagecoach East
Stagecoach East Kent
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire
Stagecoach Midlands
Stagecoach Oxfordshire
Stagecoach South
Stagecoach South Wales
Stagecoach South West
Stagecoach West
Website www.stagecoachgold.com

Stagecoach Gold is a luxury bus sub-brand used by various Stagecoach bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.

Stagecoach Gold (originally Goldline) was launched in 2007 and was designed to attract more middle-class passengers to choose bus travel as a method of transport as well as to reward passengers on some busy and popular routes.[1]

Stagecoach in Oxfordshire currently runs the most Stagecoach Gold routes, nine, as of April 2018, with Stagecoach West following closely behind running eight. Stagecoach South Wales owns the largest number of Stagecoach Gold branded vehicles with 62 in its fleet as of January 2018.

History

Interior of a Stagecoach South Alexander Dennis Enviro300 bodied MAN 18.240 in February 2009

The Goldline brand was introduced to try and win more middle class motorists to bus services. It was initially trialled in two areas, Perth and Warwick from November 2007, both on routes which received kick-start funding from the government to help establish the routes. Stagecoach East Scotland invested £300,000 to demonstrate the idea to politicians.[2]

Goldline routes have a luxury specification. Buses have hand stitched leather seats, metallic paint, special flooring and free WiFi. Drivers wear special uniform and there is a Goldline customer charter.[2]

In February 2009 the service was expanded to Aldershot and in September 2009 to Cheltenham and Gloucester on route 94. At this stage the brand name changed from Goldline to Stagecoach Gold, as well as the introduction of a new livery with brighter swoops added, as opposed to the previous gold and blue only livery. The reason behind the name change was that Translink had the rights to the Goldline name, using it on their Ulsterbus coach services, and Stagecoach had to pay Translink a royalty.

In 2010, the Stagecoach Gold brand was extended to services run by Scottish Citylink, where Stagecoach have a 35% shareholding, where the Glasgow to Aberdeen and Glasgow to Inverness services were designated as Citylink Gold.[3]

In 2015, all brand new Stagecoach Gold vehicles came equipped with USB charging facilities underneath every seat which enabled passengers to charge their mobile devices whilst on board. USB charging first became available on the Stagecoach in Oxfordshire S4 service which was upgraded to Stagecoach Gold in September 2015.

As of 2016, all brand new Stagecoach buses, including non-gold vehicles, come equipped with high back leather seats, USB charging facilities and many with free onboard Wi-Fi. Subsequently, this means that many of Stagecoach's new non-gold vehicles are now at the same specification as the Gold branded vehicles. As a result, some non-gold routes now have higher specification vehicles than many of the Gold routes as prior to 2015, Stagecoach Gold vehicles did not come equipped with USB charging facilities.

2016 also saw Stagecoach take delivery of the first Stagecoach Gold branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and Enviro200 MMC vehicles. The liveries on the new vehicles remain the same as the previous models however Stagecoach have slightly modified the interior upholstery with new style leather seats that incorporate a cream coloured headrest as well as new wood effect flooring.

Stagecoach Gold services operated by Stagecoach in Oxfordshire also benefit from the ability to accept Contactless and Mobile payments which was rolled out to all Stagecoach in Oxfordshire services in October 2016.[4] Stagecoach Group plans to have Contactless and Mobile payments available on all services across all divisions by the end of 2018.[5]

Routes

Stagecoach South West Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD in Totnes in July 2014
Stagecoach South Alexander Dennis Enviro300 in April 2013
Stagecoach Midlands Optare Solo in Warwick in February 2008
A upgraded Stagecoach Midlands Optare Solo SR operating route G1 in Warwick since 2015
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC operating route 7 in Oxford
Two Stagecoach Oxfordshire Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UDs in Bicester on route S5 in April 2013
Stagecoach Midlands Gold branded Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC

As of August 2018 there are 45 Stagecoach Gold routes (excluding night services).

Service no/name. Route start Route end Refs
Stagecoach South West
GOLD Torquay Plymouth
57 Exeter Exmouth [6]
Stagecoach West
10 Lower Tuffley Cheltenham [7]
55 Chippenham Swindon [8]
63 Forest Green Gloucester [9]
S6 Swindon Oxford [10][11]
66 Stroud Gloucester [12]
93 Cheltenham Arle Court Park & Ride [13]
94 Cheltenham Gloucester [14]
97 / 98 Cheltenham Gloucester [15][16]
Stagecoach South
1 Aldershot Old Dean [17]
51 Selsey Chichester [18]
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire
1 / 2 Liverpool Chester [19][20]
5 Chester Huntington [21]
9 Chester Pipers Ash [22]
125 Preston Bolton [23]
471 / 472 Heswall Liverpool [24][25]
Stagecoach East Scotland
7 Scone Hillend [26]
Stagecoach Oxfordshire
7 / N7 Woodstock Oxford [27]
S1 / S2 / NS1 Carterton / Witney Oxford [28][29]
S3 / NS3 Chipping Norton / Charlbury Oxford [30]
S4 Banbury Oxford [31]
S5 / NS5 Bicester Oxford [32][33]
S8 / S9 / 34 / NS8 Wantage Oxford [34][35][36]
Stagecoach East
13 Haverhill Cambridge [37]
Stagecoach East Kent
16 Hythe Canterbury [38]
Stagecoach Midlands
48 Coventry Leicester or Atherstone [39]
G1 Warwick South Farm [40]
X4 Peterborough Northampton [41]
X46 / X47 Northampton Raunds [42][43]
Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
300 Carlisle Whitehaven [44]
X4 / X5 Workington Penrith [45][46][47][46]
Stagecoach Chesterfield
X17 Barnsley Matlock [48]
Stagecoach South Wales
120 / 130 Blaencwm Caerphilly [49][50]
132 Maerdy Cardiff [51]
X24 Blaenavon Newport [52]

Future

Stagecoach Group announced their annual 2017/2018 vehicle order on 13 April 2017 with a total investment of £70 million on new vehicles.[53] The official fleet handbook was published late April 2017 and indicated that a total of 36 vehicles on order will be to Stagecoach Gold specification. 11 vehicles will be Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs with 7 intended for Stagecoach Merseyside's Birkenhead depot and the remaining 4 being for Stagecoach in Oxfordshire's Oxford depot. 25 vehicles will be Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMCs with all 25 intended for Stagecoach Midland's Nuneaton depot.[54][55]

Additional vehicles are planned to be rolled out to at least three more Stagecoach Gold routes by the end of 2018, though a specific date is not yet stated. All of these vehicles will be Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs, with 15 intended for Stagecoach West's Swindon depot to upgrade the current fleet of Scania Enviro400s on the 66 Oxford to Swindon route. The rest of this fleet will be intended for Stagecoach Midlands Kettering depot and Stagecoach Chesterfield depot to upgrade the X4 Northampton to Peterborough and recently extended X17 Barnsley to Matlock services respectively.[56]

Other Services

G9 & G10 - Scottish Citylink

Scottish Citylink Plaxton Elite bodied Volvo B12M (right) at Inverness bus station in September 2011

The Citylink Gold brand is used for two Scottish Citylink services, the G9 between Glasgow and Aberdeen and the G10 between Glasgow and Inverness.[57] Service specifications are similar to that of the bus services branded as Stagecoach Gold, but with free tea and coffee served all day.[58]

Former services

Route NumberRouteOperatorNotes
S7Carterton - Witney - Oxford - HeadingtonStagecoach OxfordshireService launched in July 2014 as a new link from West Oxfordshire to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The service has been revised several times since its launch due to low usage, in 2016, route S7 had its Stagecoach Gold status removed. The service still operates between Witney and Headington only with a reduced frequency.
SW1Carterton - Witney - LondonStagecoach OxfordshireService launched in November 2014 as a weekend and bank holiday service linking West Oxfordshire with London.[59] Route SW1 ceased operating in May 2015 due to low passenger numbers.

See also

References

  1. ↑ What is Stagecoach Gold Stagecoach Gold
  2. 1 2 Millar, Allan (December 2007). "£2m two-town trial for Stagecoach's new luxury bus brand". Buses Magazine (633): 6.
  3. ↑ "Contactless Payment Oxfordshire". Stagecoach Bus. Stagecoach in Oxfordshire. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "STAGECOACH TO DELIVER CONTACTLESS BUS TRAVEL ACROSS UK BY END OF 2018". Stagecoach Group. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Deakin, Lewis (29 November 2015). "Stagecoach wants to deliver golden service for Exmouth". Exmouth Journal. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "10 Bus Route & Timetable: Lower Tuffley - Cheltenham". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "Stagecoach Gold 55". Stagecoach. Stagecoach West. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "63 Bus Route & Timetable: Gloucester - Forest Green". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "66 Bus Route & Timetable: Swindon - Faringdon". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "66 Bus Route & Timetable: Faringdon - Oxford". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "66 Stroud to Gloucester and Cheltenham". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "93 Cheltenham to Arle Court" (PDF). Stagecoach. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "94 Bus Route & Timetable: Cheltenham - Gloucester". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  14. ↑ "97 Bus Route & Timetable: Cheltenham - Gloucester". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  15. ↑ "97 Bus Route & Timetable: Gloucester - Cheltenham". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  16. ↑ "1 Bus Route & Timetable: Aldershot - Old Dean". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "51 Bus Route & Timetable: Chichester - Selsey". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "1 Bus Route & Timetable: Liverpool Sir Thomas Street - Chester Bus Exchange". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "1 Bus Route & Timetable: Chester Bus Exchange - Liverpool Sir Thomas Street". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  20. ↑ "5 Bus Route & Timetable: Chester - Huntington, Rake & Pikel". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  21. ↑ "9 Bus Route & Timetable: Chester - Pipers Ash". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  22. ↑ "125 Bus Route & Timetable: Preston - Bolton". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "471 Bus Route & Timetable: Heswall Bus Station - Liverpool, Cook Street". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "472 Bus Route & Timetable: Liverpool, Cook Street - Heswall Bus Station". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  25. ↑ "7A Bus Route & Timetable: Scone P&R - Hillend". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "7 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Woodstock". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  27. ↑ "S1 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Carterton". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  28. ↑ "S2 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Carterton". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  29. ↑ "S3 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Chipping Norton". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  30. ↑ "S4 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Banbury". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  31. ↑ "S5 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Bicester". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  32. ↑ "NS5 Bus Route & Timetable: Oxford - Bicester". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  33. ↑ Grant, Peter (17 October 2017). "Stagecoach announces two new Wantage bus services to launch this Sunday". Times Series. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "Oxfordshire Bus Services and Frequencies" (PDF). Oxfordshire County Council. 2 July 2015. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2018. 34 Stagecoach Oxford - Abingdon - Steventon - Harwell Campus - Wantage Mon-Fri
  35. ↑ "Oxford - Wantage NS8" (PDF). Marcham Parish Council. 22 October 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  36. ↑ "13A Bus Route & Timetable: Cambridge - Haverhill". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "16 Bus Route & Timetable: Canterbury - Saltwood". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  38. ↑ Harrison, Claire (22 February 2018). "GOLD buses to hit the streets of Nuneaton". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  39. ↑ "G1 Bus Route & Timetable: Warwick - South Farm". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  40. ↑ "Stagecoach Gold X4 - luxury at no extra cost". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  41. ↑ "X46 Bus Route & Timetable: Northampton - Raunds". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  42. ↑ "X47 Bus Route & Timetable: Northampton - Raunds". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  43. ↑ "300/301 Whitehaven - Carlisle (brochure)" (PDF). Stagecoach. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  44. ↑ "X4 Bus Route & Timetable: Workington - Keswick". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  45. 1 2 "X5 Bus Route & Timetable: Keswick - Penrith". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  46. ↑ "X5 Bus Route & Timetable: Workington - Keswick". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  47. ↑ "X17 Bus Route & Timetable: Sheffield - Matlock". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  48. ↑ "120 Bus Route & Timetable: Blaencwm - Caerphilly". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  49. ↑ "130 Bus Route & Timetable: Blaencwm - Caerphilly". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  50. ↑ "132 Bus Route & Timetable: Cardiff - Maerdy". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  51. ↑ "X24 Bus Route & Timetable: Newport - Blaenavon". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  52. ↑ "STAGECOACH PLACES £70MILLION ORDERS FOR NEW VEHICLES". Stagecoach. Stagecoach Group. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  53. ↑ 2017 Stagecoach Bus Handbook. British Bus Publishing. April 2017. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  54. ↑ "Stagecoach 2017/2018 Order". North East Buses. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  55. ↑ "Stagecoach new X17". Stagecoach. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  56. ↑ "Citylink Gold - More than a Journey - times, tickets and prices". Scottish Citylink. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  57. ↑ "Citylink Gold - More than a Journey - About the Service". Scottish Citylink. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  58. ↑ "New weekend bus links West Oxfordshire with the capital". Oxford Mail. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.