Double success at Scottish Transport Awards
15 Jun 2012
• Scottish Citylink named Bus Operator of the Year
• Innovation Award for megabus.com sleeper coach service
Stagecoach Group and ComfortDelGro celebrated double success at the 2012 Scottish Transport Awards last night (Thursday 14 June) as their coach operations scooped two top awards.
Scottish Citylink - a joint venture between Stagecoach and international transport group ComfortDelGro – won one of the most sought-after awards of the night as it was named Bus Operator of the Year at the Glasgow awards ceremony.
And the groundbreaking megabus.com overnight sleeper coach service, which is also part of the Scottish Citylink joint venture, came out on top in the Innovation Transport Project of the Year category at the industry event.
Scottish Citylink – which was shortlisted for a total of five awards at the event – impressed judges with its strong performance in delivering good customer satisfaction levels and increased patronage. The company provides inter-city coach services to more than 200 destinations across the country with more than 400 services every day, carrying more than 4million passengers a year.
In 2010, Scottish Citylink launched its luxury Gold network from Glasgow to Aberdeen and Inverness with journey times which rival the train and car travel. Surveys found that 96% of passengers were satisfied or very satisfied with the service and that almost a third of those travelling would previously have used the car for the same journey. Scottish Citylink also plays an integral role in major Scottish events, providing transport for thousands of passengers to worldwide music festivals such as T in the Park and Rockness..
The megabus.com overnight sleeper coach service became the first service of its kind in the UK when it was launched in October last year. The sleeper coach provides a direct, non-stop service between Glasgow and London and provides passengers with a bunk bed to sleep in as well as a normal seat. Tickets for the service cost between £1 and £40 (plus 50p booking fee) and features include free wi-fi, tea and coffee, a reading light in each bunk and a complimentary overnight kit including a toothbrush and eyemask.
Scottish Citylink and megabus.com General Manager Ian Laing said: “We are thrilled to win two such high-profile awards and I would like to thank all of our staff who are at the heart of delivering coach services for our customers.
“Through innovative ideas and affordable fares, we are proving that coach travel is a high-quality, fast and comfortable alternative to the car and we will continue to work hard to attract even more people on to our greener, smarter coach services.”
Earlier this year, Stagecoach Group was named Company of the Year at the 2012 Scottish Business Awards. In addition, the Group won the Environment Award at the 2011 UK Bus Awards and was named the Low Carbon Vehicle Operator of the Year at the 2011 Low Carbon Champions Awards.
For further information on megabus.com visit www.megabus.com
To find out more about Scottish Citylink visit www.citylink.co.uk
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact: Stagecoach Group Communications on 01738 442111 or email media@stagecoachgroup.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Stagecoach Group
• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services. Around 3 million customers use the Group's transport services every day.
• Stagecoach is one of UK’s biggest bus and coach operators. Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach's 7,700 buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The company's business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. It also operates the market-leading budget coach service megabus.com, which links around 60 key cities and carries 5 million passengers a year in the UK.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 1,900 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Budget coach service megabus.com links more than 80 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter and transit services, as well as tours, charters, sightseeing tours and a small number of school bus services.