02/06/2006

• Nearly half of budget coach travel customers are former motorists
• Comfortable, value-for-money service given thumbs-up by women
• 99% of passengers would recommend megabus.com to a friend

Megabus.com USA - the recently-launched budget coach service offering fares from just $1 - is winning over passengers from cars and trains, according to new research.

Passengers can travel on daily non-stop express coach services between Chicago and eight other Midwest cities. The network covers Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Louis.

Research by Stagecoach Group, the international transport operator behind the new venture, has found that 45% of megabus.com passengers previously travelled by car and 24% are former train users.

A further 17% used to travel by another bus service, while 13% are former airline passengers.

The findings are included in a survey of more than 1,600 megabus.com passengers in the United States, following the launch of the service in March 2006.

The new research also found that:

• megabus.com is popular with women, who account for 59% of customers
• 94% of all passengers were satisfied or very satisfied with the service
• 97% of customers would travel with megabus.com again
• 96% believed megabus.com offered value for money fares
• most people (40%) used megabus.com for social trips

Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, said: “These are impressive findings. As well as helping to cut congestion on the roads, megabus.com is already winning passengers from trains and airlines.

“We are delighted with the response of passengers to the high-quality of service and low-cost fares. Women, in particular, are responding to the safe and comfortable travelling environment on board. We believe there is significant potential to attract more people in the United States to the benefits of low-cost inter-city coach travel.”

The North American launch follows the UK success of megabus.com, which carries around 2 million passengers a year on a network of inter-city services covering 40 locations nationwide.

megabus.com USA operates 55-seat express coaches and booking for the services is via the internet at www.megabus.com.

Since its launch, more than 575,000 people have visited the US secure e-commerce site, which provides full information on arrival and departure times. Passengers can quickly book their travel and purchase tickets from the comfort of their home, office or wireless handheld device.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Steve Stewart, Head of Media and Public Affairs, Stagecoach Group
Tel: 01738 442111 or mobile 07764 774680