Description of the business
Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transportation group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The Group employs around 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services. The Group has three main divisions – UK Bus, UK Rail and North America.
Stagecoach Group plc is a public limited company that is incorporated, domiciled and has its registered office in Scotland. Its shares are publicly traded and it is not under the control of any single shareholder.
UK Bus
Our UK Bus division connects communities in more than 100 towns and cities across the country on a network stretching from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to south-west England. It includes major city bus operations in Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge.
Our UK Bus division operates a fleet of around 7,000 buses across 19 regional companies. Each regional operating company is managed independently and is led by a Managing Director, reporting directly to the head of the UK Bus division.
Stagecoach operates express coach services linking major towns within its regional operating company areas. The Group also runs the market-leading budget inter-city coach service, megabus.com, which has a network covering nearly 40 locations.
Our local and express bus services carry around two million passengers a day in rural and urban areas. Stagecoach’s bus and coach services in the UK are operated on a commercial basis in a largely deregulated market. We also operate tendered services, including schools contracts, on behalf of local authorities.
North America
Stagecoach is a major provider of transport services in North America where the market is highly fragmented with several thousand operators. Our businesses include commuter services, tour and charter, sightseeing and school bus operations.
The United States business is headed by a Chief Operating Officer. Stagecoach runs around 2,600 vehicles in the United States where our operations are centred on the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, northern Indiana, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Our services operate in major cities such as New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Milwaukee.
In Canada, we own four operating companies, which together operate around 500 vehicles in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
UK Rail
Stagecoach Group has major rail operations and has an involvement in operating around a quarter of the UK passenger rail network. The UK rail market is split into a number of separate franchises, which are awarded by the Government for set time periods to a specification set by the DfT on the basis of bids by train operators.
The Group operates the South Western franchise, which incorporates the South West Trains and Island Line networks. South West Trains, the UK’s biggest commuter franchise, runs around 1,600 trains a day in south-west England out of London Waterloo railway station. Island Line, on the Isle of Wight, has been designated a Community Rail Partnership. The South Western rail franchise operates for 10 years from February 2007, with the last three years conditional upon preset performance criteria being met.
Stagecoach also runs the East Midlands rail franchise, which includes high-speed long distance services from London St. Pancras to Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham and regional services between Nottingham and Derby – Lincoln – Cleethorpes – Skegness, and between Derby and Crewe - Matlock and Norwich and Liverpool. The franchise runs until 31 March 2015, the last year and four months of which will be conditional upon achieving pre-set performance targets.
Stagecoach is Britain's biggest tram operator, with contracts to operate major systems in both Sheffield and Manchester. Supertram, a 28km light rail network incorporating three routes in the city of Sheffield, is operated on a 27-year concession running until 2024. Stagecoach has also been contracted by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive to operate and maintain the 37km Manchester Metrolink system and the associated infrastructure. The 10-year contract, which started in July 2007, includes managing a number of special projects sponsored by GMPTE to improve the trams and infrastructure to benefit passengers. Stagecoach Metrolink will also be responsible for operating tram services on the new Metrolink lines to Oldham, Rochdale, Droylsden and Chorlton.
Stagecoach Group’s rail division is headed by a Chief Executive, who reports directly to the Group Chief Executive. South West Trains, Island Line and Supertram each has a Managing Director, who reports to the Chief Executive of the Group’s rail division, who is also Chairman of South West Trains.
Joint Ventures
Virgin Rail Group
Stagecoach Group has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group ("VRG"), which operates the West Coast rail franchise. The other shareholder in VRG is the Virgin Group of Companies. The Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group’s Rail division is Joint Chairman of VRG. The West Coast franchise runs until 2012. It has a Managing Director, who reports to the VRG board, which includes Stagecoach Group representatives.
Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited
In Scotland, Stagecoach has a joint venture (Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited) with transport group ComfortDelGro to operate megabus.com and Scottish Citylink coach services. Stagecoach owns 35% of the share capital of Scottish Citylink Coaches Limited and ComfortDelGro owns the remaining 65%. The joint venture is the leading provider of express coach services in Scotland. Stagecoach is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the business, which is overseen by a joint board.
Twin America LLC
In North America, Stagecoach Group has a joint venture with Citysights NY to operate sightseeing services in New York. Twin America LLC operates the sightseeing services of the Group's Gray Line New York business and the business of Citysights NY. The Group holds 50% of the voting rights and 60% of the economic rights in the joint venture, with Citysights NY holding the remaining voting rights and economic rights. Twin America commenced trading on 31 March 2009.
Group Structure
