07/11/2007

• Transport giant wins more awards than any other British bus operator
• Company takes customer, marketing, integration and operator titles
• Transport Minister praises Stagecoach for attracting motorists to bus

Stagecoach led the field at the 2007 UK Bus Awards today (7 November 2007), driving off with more awards than any other British bus operator.

The Perth-based transport giant won four top awards for its excellence in marketing, integration, operations and winning new customers.

Stagecoach, the UK Bus Operator of the Year in 2005 and 2006, was named Shire Operator of the Year for its Cambridge operation.

Minster of State for Transport Rosie Winterton MP praised Stagecoach for its success in cutting congestion and helping make the bus a viable alternative to the car.

• Stagecoach’s Research and Development Team won the Department for Transport ‘Winning New Customers’ Award for its innovative ‘Where You Want To Be’ campaign. The campaign, which used industry-leading telemarketing techniques, has attracted millions of new bus passengers across the UK.
• Stagecoach Cambridge was named Shire Operator of the Year. The company has attracted around 80% more bus passengers to its services in Cambridge in the past five years, investing millions of pounds in new vehicles and high frequency services, and supported by a strong partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council.
• Stagecoach South took the CBS Outdoor Award for Bus Marketing Campaign of the Year for its ‘Cruise Along the Coast’ initiative. The campaign was devised to promote Portsmouth to Brighton bus services to local people and tourists, making strong use of branding, advertising, direct marketing and a special customer magazine.
• Stagecoach East’s Route X1, which links Corby with Kettering’s General Hospital and railway station, won the BAA Heathrow Integration Award.
• Oxford Tube, Europe’s most frequent express coach service, was Runner-up in the Express Coach Operator of the Year Award sponsored by Volvo Bus.

Stagecoach had a total of 13 shortlisted entries across 18 categories, including areas covering rural transport and accessibility.

Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “We are continuing to lead the way in making bus travel more attractive and I am delighted that our companies and our people have been recognised for their innovation and service.

“Our success is also down to our strong partnerships with our stakeholders. We will continue to work hard to make our services even better in the future to get more people in Britain back on board the bus.”

Rosie Winterton MP commented: “Excellent work is going on up and down the country by bus companies, local authorities and suppliers to improve services and increase the number of passengers on buses. I’m pleased to be here at the UK Bus Awards today to see first hand the people behind this success rewarded for their tremendous efforts.

“It is particularly pleasing to present the Department for Transport ‘Winning New Customers’ Award to the Stagecoach R&D Team for their ‘Where You Want To Be’ project which has generated an extra 4.2million bus journeys each year, helping to cut congestion and prove that the bus really is a viable alternative to the car.”

John Owen, Chairman of the UK Bus Awards, said: “The 2007 awards have been the most hotly contested yet with more entries arriving at the UK Bus Awards HQ than ever before. With such stiff competition this year, those entrants who were shortlisted for an award should be celebrating as winners in their own right. But after hours of deliberation the judging panels managed to reach their decisions and those who have collected the gongs really are the best of the bus industry.”

Now in its 12th year, the UK Bus Awards places a spotlight on best practice in areas such as marketing, customer service, innovation and integration, as well as the award of the prestigious Bus Operator of the Year prize. The Awards presentation ceremony took place at Old Billingsgate Conference Centre in London.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications, Stagecoach Group
Tel: 01738 442111
Mobile: 07764 774680
E-mail: steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus operators, running around 7,000 buses in nearly 100 towns and cities across the country, from the Highlands of Scotland to south-west England.

Stagecoach West Scotland, which runs around 400 buses stretching from Dumfries to Glasgow, won the Belmont International Bus Operator of the Year Award in 2005 and 2006. The winner of the 2007 title was Lothian Buses.

The winners of the Titan Outdoor City Bus Operator of the Year, Shire Operator of the Year and the Scania Independent Operator of the Year battle it out for the grand prix prize of Belmont International Bus Operator of the Year Award

The full list of shortlisted Stagecoach entries at the 2007 UK Bus Awards was:

• Stagecoach Research and Development Team – ‘Where You Want To Be’ (Department for Transport ‘Winning New Customers’ Award)
• Stagecoach Merseyside (Titan Outdoor City Bus Operator of the Year Award*)
• Stagecoach West Scotland (Shire Operator of the Year Award*)
• Stagecoach Cambridge (Shire Operator of the Year Award*)
• Stagecoach North East – David Hands (Chris Moyes Memorial Award: Industry People of the Year)
• Stagecoach South – Cruise Along the Coast (CBS Outdoor Award for Bus Marketing Campaign of the Year)
• Stagecoach Fife/Fife Council – Go Flexi (Bus In The Countryside Award)
• Stagecoach Warwickshire – Route 63/64 (Bus In The Countryside Award)
• Stagecoach North East – Quaylink (Alexander Dennis Innovation Award)
• Stagecoach Oxford Tube – Enabling Passengers with Wi-fi (Alexander Dennis Innovation Award)
• Stagecoach East Midlands – Gainsborough Into Town (Claudia Flanders Memorial Award for Accessibility – sponsored by The TAS Partnership)
• Stagecoach East – Route X1 (BAA Heathrow Integration Award)
• Stagecoach – Oxford Tube (Express Coach Operator of the Year Award sponsored by Volvo Bus)