Stagecoach in Cambridge

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Stagecoach in Cambridge
File:CambridgeCiti.svg
ParentStagecoach Group
Founded1984 from de-merger of Eastern Counties Omnibus Company
HeadquartersCambridge
Service areaCambridgeshire, West Suffolk, Royston, Hertfordshire
Service typeUrban and interurban bus services
OperatorStagecoach East
WebsiteCambridge Citi
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stagecoach in Cambridge.

Stagecoach in Cambridge is a bus company, which runs services throughout Cambridgeshire and the surrounding areas. It is part of Stagecoach East.

Stagecoach in Cambridge is a trading name of Cambus Limited, which is a subsidiary of Cambus Holdings Limited, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.

The main depot, and head office are in Cambridge but there is also a depot facility in Ely, although this is officially classed as an outstation, even though it carries out maintenance. Outstations of the Cambridge depot are based in Haverhill, St Ives, Longstowe, Royston. Newmarket is home to an sub-outstation of Ely.

History

Under the control of the National Bus Company, Cambus Ltd. was set up when the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company Ltd. was split in preparation for privatisation. The company was incorporated on 8 June 1984;[1] it took over Eastern Counties' bus and National Express coach operations from garages in Cambridgeshire and parts of Suffolk (Newmarket and Haverhill) on 9 September 1984. On 5 December 1986, Cambus was sold to its management team, off-the-shelf company Minuteflush Ltd. being used for this purpose; Minuteflush Ltd. was renamed Cambus Holdings Ltd.

In September 1989, Cambus's Peterborough operations were split off to form The Viscount Bus and Coach Company Ltd., while in May 1990 Cambus Holdings acquired most of the bus and coach operations of Cambridge-based Premier Travel Services Ltd., the exception being the Cambridge - London Airports coach services, which remained with the AJS Group Ltd. as part of a new Cambridge Coach Services Ltd. (which retained the old Premier livery). A reorganisation followed on 20 May 1990, with all coach operations (including National Express contracts) being transferred to Premier Travel, and Premier Travel's stage bus routes being transferred to Cambus.

In February 1992, Cambus Holdings bought Millers Coaches Ltd. of Foxton (Cambs) from its owner, Bernard Miller, on his retirement. Millers Coaches had been competing with Cambus on a number of bus routes, using the Millerbus name, and this operation became a new Millerbus Ltd. subsidiary, under the direct control of the Cambus Ltd. management; the operation lasted for about three years before being absorbed into its parent. Meanwhile, Millers Coaches Ltd. itself was placed under the control of Premier Travel, although the name was retained (and both companies adopted liveries using different colours applied in the same style). By the autumn of 1995, however, the operations of Premier Travel and Millers Coaches had been absorbed into the main Cambus Ltd. company, although the Premier Travel name survived in use with Cambus a few years longer.

On 25 November 1992, Cambus Holdings expanded in Buckinghamshire, with the purchase of Generalouter Ltd., the holding company of Milton Keynes City Bus Ltd. and Buckinghamshire Road Car Ltd. - offshoots of former National Bus Company subsidiary United Counties.

Cambus Holdings Ltd. was sold to Stagecoach Holdings plc on 6 December 1995. However, following a report by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, Stagecoach was required to divest itself of its Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire operations, as well as United Counties' Huntingdon garage. In late 1997, new company MK Metro Ltd. took over those operations, independent from Stagecoach. More recently (and following several changes of ownership), Stagecoach re-acquired the Huntingdonshire operations (now trading as Huntingdon and District) on 31 March 2008, forming new subsidiary Stagecoach in the Fens Ltd., also part of Stagecoach East.

Vehicles

Stagecoach operate a fleet of almost 150 vehicles[2] across its operations in Cambridge. Although there are no fixed allocations of vehicles at outstations, Stagecoach in Cambridge prefers to keep similar vehicle types together.

Stagecoach in Cambridge has around:

  • 1 Volvo Olympian used for private hire events (weddings, Proms, etc), part open top;
  • 21 Dennis Tridents, all in Stagecoach livery, with some having Citiplus branding applied;
  • 22 Enviro400s all with Cambridge Park and Ride branding applied;
  • 50 'Citi' Branded Enviro400s were launched along with the rebranding of the 'Citi' Logo on Saturday 3 April 2010. These Vehicles were purchased by Stagecoach to help meet EU policy, empowering handicapped people to access buses, by making all buses, low-floored, easy access.
  • 27 Alexander ALX300's the majority of which were supplied new to Cambridge, for the launch of the Citi services. These are in Stagecoach livery with many displaying Citi branding;
  • 3 Dennis Tridents used for City Sightseeing (one full open top and two partial open top), in special red Sightseeing livery;
  • 5 Enviro200s which largely reside on the Citi 4 / 6 service and 3 E200 have branded with uni 4 services;
  • 1 Optare Solo which is in Stagecoach livery and reside on services 16, 17 and 19, except one which is in a green City circle livery and;
  • 4 Volvo B10M Interurbans which are in Stagecoach training livery and are exclusively used for training duties.

Liveries[3]

The original Cambus livery was light (Cambridge) blue with an off-white stripe, applied in the standard National Bus Company style. Dual purpose vehicles (Bristol REs) were light blue lower and cream upper, while coaches were cream and light blue with dark blue and light blue stripes (with those used on National Express work carrying full National Express colours). The fleetname "CAMBUS", written in dark blue with wavy lines through it (to represent waterways), was applied in the usual place, accompanied by the National Bus Company double N logo for the first couple of years.

In 1986 a new livery was introduced, comprising dark blue, white and light blue (bottom to top), and including stripes on dual purpose vehicles and non-National Express coaches; this was soon followed by a new and bolder CAMBUS logo, written in a less fussy style. The strap line "It's much less fuss" was added later. In 1990 one single-deck dual purpose vehicle gained a maroon and light blue livery with a "CAMCOACH" logo, but this was not continued.

Following the Stagecoach takeover, standard Stagecoach livery was applied to the fleet, with "Stagecoach Cambus" branding. The current Stagecoach livery with "Stagecoach in Cambridge" fleetnames appeared later. Vehicles used on Park and Ride services in Cambridge wear special liveries (there have been a variety), as do guided buses for use on The Busway; there have also been special liveries for certain other services.

References

  1. ^ http://www.creditgate.com and search for Cambus
  2. ^ Stagecoach Cambridgeshire Fleetcard, Ending 28 May 2011
  3. ^ Photos of the various Cambus liveries: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr-bg/sets/72157625402703701/detail/

External links


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