16/11/2000

Stagecoach, one of Britain's biggest transport groups, has launched a nationwide Fuelsaver campaign of discount bus fares aimed at getting drivers out of their cars and into Britain's buses.

The Fuelsaver campaign, believed to be the first national advertising campaign by any bus operator, highlights two saver tickets which represent huge savings on standard single fares on the Stagecoach network.

The Megarider weekly ticket, which costs about £1 a day or less, allows unlimited travel on Stagecoach services in towns and cities throughout Britain.

The Easyrider return ticket allows a return ticket into town to be used to run around town that day.

The Fuelsaver campaign applies to almost all Stagecoach services, including Newcastle, Sunderland, Manchester, Cambridge, Northampton, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Hull, Chesterfield, Middlesbrough, and other large towns around the country. It does not apply in London, where Transport for London regulates bus fares.

The campaign is being launched at the same time as Stagecoach, one of Britain's biggest bus companies, introduces a new modern look to its 7,000-strong bus fleet, with new interiors and a redesigned livery.

Keith Cochrane, Stagecoach Group chief executive, said "The Fuelsaver campaign is the first step in our plan to encourage more people to use buses".

"With worries over fuel prices, congestion and pollution, the time is right for a renaissance of the bus, and Stagecoach is determined to be in the forefront of this. Our new look will also underline our commitment to making the bus an attractive alternative to the car."

The campaign and the new look comes only two months after Stagecoach's UK Bus division was reorganised into 12 companies across the UK, with senior management based in Perth under Executive Director Brian Cox and Managing Director Les Warneford.

Brian Cox said: "This is our first nationwide low fares campaign, and as far as we know the first national fares campaign by any bus company, which is intended to attract drivers out of their cars and fill the seats in our buses."

"If the last bus you were in was your school bus a decade or more ago, then you may be surprised at the comfort and quality of our new vehicles - after all, your present car is a lot more comfortable than the car you learned to drive in."

"At a time of soaring diesel prices, we want to point out that everyone has an alternative to taking the car. Buying a Fuelsaver Megarider is almost always cheaper than filling up at the petrol pumps, no matter how small your car, and if you have to pay for parking too then there is no comparison - the bus wins hands down."

Click here for more information on UK Bus or Fuelsavers.

Editor's note: The wheel logo was designed by McKinstrie Wilde Millhouse, based in Edinburgh, who also designed the Bus interiors and the FuelSavers campaign. The bus livery was designed by Ray Stenning whose Best Impressions consultancy was also responsible for the colours of South West Trains.