5th Dec 2007 07:01
Stagecoach Group PLC05 December 2007 5 December 2007 Stagecoach Group plc Passengers to benefit from record £71m Stagecoach investment in new buses for UK •Metropolitan and shire operations to benefit from 580 new vehicles in 2008-09 •Increased profits at UK Bus division re-invested in improved quality of service •Britain gets on board the buses as telemarketing and partnerships drive growth Stagecoach Group plc announced today (5 December 2007) that it is to invest £71min new vehicles next year for its growing bus operations in the UK. The orders for 584 new buses will be the highest ever placed by the Perth-basedtransport group. Customers in both Metropolitan and shire areas will benefit from the massiveinvestment in services following increased profits at the Group's UK Busdivision. Estimated passenger volumes at Stagecoach's bus operations have grownyear-on-year by 3.9%. The growth has been driven by continued fleet investment,industry-leading marketing campaigns, partnerships with local authorities,excellent value fares and additional travel under concessionary fares schemes. Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: "Stagecoach isleading the way in getting Britain back on board the bus. "We are committed to reinvesting our profits in making further improvements toour quality of service to passengers so they share in our success. "Our market-leading innovation, highly successful telemarketing strategy andstrong partnerships with transport authorities in metropolitan and shire countyareas are a winning package." Mr Warneford added: "Buses are a key part of the solution to the growing problemof traffic congestion in our towns and cities, and we believe there is a hugeopportunity to attract more and more people out of their cars and on to publictransport in the future." Stagecoach operates around 7,000 buses from the Highlands of Scotland tosouth-west England, covering around 100 towns and cities in the UK. The company was named UK Bus Operator of the year in 2005 and 2006 and won moreawards than any other operator at the 2007 UK Bus Awards. For further information, please contact Enquiries to: Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach Group +44 (0) 1738 442111 Steven Stewart, Stagecoach Group +44 (0) 1738 442111 or +44 (0) 7764 774680 John Kiely, Smithfield +44 (0) 20 7360 4900 NOTES TO EDITORS Stagecoach is one of UK's biggest bus and coach operators, connectingcommunities in more than 100 towns and cities. The company runs around 7,000vehicles from Devon in south-west England to Inverness in the Highlands ofScotland. Carrying around 2 million passengers every day, Stagecoach has majorcity bus operations in Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffieldand Cambridge. Steven Stewart Director of Corporate Communications StagecoachGroup This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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