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Stagecoach Invest over £4.5M in Fife Express Network

Monday 29 October 2007 saw the launch by Stagecoach of 29 new vehicles into the Fife bus network, in preparation for extensive network improvements which commence on Monday 29th October and will offer an enhanced service to Glasgow and Edinburgh from Fife. As part of the significant investment, Stagecoach will introduce a fleet of 20 coaches and 9 buses at a cost of over £4.5m into the network. All vehicles will be wheelchair accessible, air conditioned with leather seats, and fitted with the latest Euro 4 engines that meet the current European directive standard.

The timetable improvements for the Fife network include:

Doug Fleming, Managing Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: "We are extremely pleased to be introducing this fleet of new buses into the Fife network at a time when we are updating our timetables to suit the changing travel needs and expectations of bus users in Fife. This huge investment demonstrates our commitment to offering a convenient, comfortable alternative to the car on a network which often suffers from traffic congestion."

Stagecoach Targets UK Motorists with £2 Million Trial of Innovative Premium Bus Concept

Stagecoach has developed a new innovative premium local bus concept to tempt motorists out of their cars with the promise of luxury comfort, service guarantees and state-of-the art green travel. The Scottish-based transport group will launch pilot projects in Perth and Leamington later this month at a cost of more than £2million, with further plans to roll the new product out to key locations across the UK. Passengers travelling on the new goldline service will benefit from a comprehensive package that includes:

Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, said: "goldline is a completely new concept and we are challenging people to rethink their expectation of bus travel. This is about far more than a bus with leather seats. It is a complete package offering passengers luxury travel and unrivalled first-class customer service on some of the greenest state-of-the-art transport in Europe. "Our research shows that some people stick with the car because they like some of the comforts it offers. With goldline, they can get catch a little luxury at a fraction of the cost of commuting to work by car - and do their bit to cut their carbon footprint and save the planet. We believe there is significant potential to roll the goldline concept out to further locations across the country".

Stagecoach - named UK Bus Operator of the Year for the past two years and shortlisted for the same award in 2007 - is launching a £100,000 direct marketing campaign to support the goldline product.

Press and bus shelter adverts will encourage passengers to "catch a little luxury". Door-to-door sales team activity is planned and a dedicated customer website, www.stagecoachgoldline.com, has also been developed.

A £1million fleet of eight 12-metre next-generation Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 buses will operate the goldline product on the Service 7 route in Perth. Service 7, which runs on the Hillend-City Centre-Scone route every 10 minutes during the day, carries more than 20,000 passengers every week.

Bus fares on the service, which has seen passenger numbers shoot up by more than 17% in the last five years, will stay the same with unlimited weekly travel using a megarider ticket from just £6.50. Stagecoach is also improving the frequency of services later in the evening from every hour to every 30 minutes.

More than £1 million is also being invested in a fleet of 11 high-spec 9.5metre Optare Solo midibuses for the GI service in Leamington, Warwickshire. Formerly known as Route 66, it runs between Warwick, Woodloes, Percy Estate, Leamington, Whitnash and South Farm. Buses run up to every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday, and up to every 30 minutes on Sunday.

Scottish Region News.

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