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Coastliner 700
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC in the current Coastliner livery along Old Steine in November 2023
Overview
OperatorStagecoach South
VehicleAlexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC
Peak vehicle requirement47
PredecessorsRoute 31
Night-timeRoute N700
Route
StartBrighton
ViaHove, Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing, Littlehampton, Wick, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, Portsmouth
EndPortsmouth
Length50.1 miles (80.6 km)
Service
LevelDaily
Frequency12 minutes (Mondays-Saturdays)
20 minutes (Sundays)[1]
Journey time4 hours 20 minutes
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Coastliner 700 is a bus service operated in West Sussex and south east Hampshire, England, by Stagecoach South between Brighton and Portsmouth via Hove, Shoreham-by-Sea, Worthing, Littlehampton, Wick, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, and Portsmouth with a daytime frequency of every 12 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays; the service runs every 20 minutes on Sundays.[1] The route has its own livery and is usually operated with double-decker buses.[2]

History

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Coastliner 700 liveried Alexander Dennis Enviro300 at The Hard Interchange, Portsmouth in October 2010 showing the Coastliner 2010–2015 logo
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD in Worthing in May 2016 showing the 2015-2021 Coastliner logo

The route was introduced in 1975, as the 'Stagecoach 700'[2] operated by Southdown Motor Services, a subsidiary of the state-owned National Bus Company (NBC). A similar route numbered 31 had existed since the 1920s, but was broken up into shorter routes in the early 1970s to improve reliability; the 700 initially ran as a limited stop service to avoid the same reliability issues.[3] It was operated by ECW bodied Bristol VRs and Charles H Roe / Park Royal bodied Leyland Atlanteans. Southdown became an independent operator following the privatisation of NBC in 1986, and was taken over by the Stagecoach Group in 1989.[4][5]

In 2006 the route, by now operated by the Stagecoach South division, was upgraded as part of a partnership between Stagecoach and several local authorities led by West Sussex County Council.[5] The partnership, initially marketed as "coastal fastway", included the introduction of new vehicles and electronic passenger information systems with the aim of increasing passenger numbers by 50% in five years. The upgrade provoked some criticism from Derek Deedman, county councillor for the Bramber Castle area, for failing to include benefits to other services linking the coast to towns such as Steyning.[6]

Further upgrades, initially centred on Shoreham-by-Sea before being extended to the section of route between Worthing and Brighton, were announced in 2009, including bus priority measures at busy road junctions.[7] By 2010 the service carried four million people per year;[8] in 2012, this figure was 4.9 million.[9] Stagecoach introduced new vehicles in March 2010.[8]

The service has had its own livery from the beginning. It began with a coloured strip along the side of the green Southdown bus; now it is the regular Stagecoach livery, blue, white, orange and red, with the route description on the side, with individual buses having livery related to a certain town along the route, and slogans such as 'We took the Coastliner 700 to fun and fashion'.[2][10]

Since May 2014, the Coastliner has been split into three services. One route runs between Brighton and Littlehampton, with the services extending to Wickbourne, just North of Littlehampton, another between Littlehampton and Chichester and a third between Chichester and Portsmouth.[11] Other changes made at the same time included a higher frequency of service between Chichester and Portsmouth and between Littlehampton and Arundel, and the introduction of later evening journeys.[9][5]

Since April 2017, the Coastliner service no longer serves the tourist town of Arundel. Instead, the town is now served by an hourly service Number 9 to Littlehampton, Shoreham-by-Sea, and Holmbush Shopping Centre. This connects with the Coastliner at Littlehampton.

At the end of May 2021, Stagecoach applied their new yellow and gold 'long distance' brand to Coastliner buses and their associated publicity.[12][needs update]

Vehicles

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The route is operated with a peak vehicle requirement of 47 buses from three Stagecoach depots, Worthing, Chichester and Portsmouth.[citation needed] Since 2023, the route is operated using branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs, 30 of which were delivered in 2018 to run on the service between Littlehampton and Brighton due to Brighton's low-emission zone,[13] and 22 more featuring a revised Coastliner livery scheme being delivered in June 2023.[14]

Previously, the route was operated by Alexander Dennis Enviro400 and Alexander Dennis Enviro300 vehicles, which were delivered between 2010 and 2014.[8][2][9][11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "700 and Pulse Uplift". Stagecoach South. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hants & Sussex Part 1". Transport Illustrated. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  3. ^ Osborne, Julian (February 2015). "Plus ca change, as they say in Worthing". Buses (719): 36.
  4. ^ Kraemer-Johnson, Glyn; Bishop, John (2003). The Heyday of Southdown. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0711029199.
  5. ^ a b c "All change" Coach & Bus Week issue 1137 15 May 2014 pages 23–25
  6. ^ "Horsham blamed over bus failure". West Sussex County Times. 3 February 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  7. ^ "All aboard for ride on the Coastal Expressway". Sussex Express. 18 February 2009.
  8. ^ a b c "South coast bus travel gets a green upgrade". The News. 2 March 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
  9. ^ a b c Passengers to gain from more buses on major service Archived 22 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine Bognor Regis Observer
  10. ^ "The Brand Surgery". The Brand Surgery. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b Coastliner 700 improved Archived 22 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Buyer 17 April 2014
  12. ^ @StagecoachSouth (20 May 2021). "A new brighter look for #Stagecoach Coastliner 700 buses running between #Portsmouth #Havant #Chichester #BognorRegis #Littlehampton" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ @StagecoachSouth (21 May 2018). "Launching the new #Stagecoach #Coastliner 700 buses in #Brighton city centre with guests from @BrightonHoveCC & Brighton Area Buswatch" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 November 2022 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Peat, Chris (23 June 2023). "Stagecoach rolling out 22 Enviro400s on Coastliner". Bus & Coach Buyer. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
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Media related to Coastliner 700 (bus route) at Wikimedia Commons

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