09/10/2008

• Major order for 96 double-deckers as passengers ditch car for coach travel
• Around 150,000 passengers a month now using market-leading service
• Coaches to feature free-wi-fi to allow email and web access on the move

Stagecoach Group announced today (9 October 2008) that its budget inter-city coach service megabus.com has placed a $60million order for nearly 100 new state-of-the art double-decker coaches.

The fleet of 96 coaches will go into service on megabus.com routes in the Midwest and Northeast United States as consumers ditch their cars and get on board the budget carrier due to continuing high fuel prices.

It follows a $10 million investment by megabus.com in 17 new vehicles in September last year, which were America's first inter-city double-decker coaches.

megabus.com began offering fares for as little a $1 in the United States in April 2006 and now covers 13 US states and one Canadian province, attracting commuters, students, business and leisure travellers.

More than 1.8 million passengers have now travelled with the market-leading budget carrier, which is now carrying around 150,000 customers a month, a year-on-year increase of more than 200%.

The new 81-seat wheelchair accessible vehicles are equipped with comfortable reclining seats with safety belts, reading lamps, power outlets, free wi-fi, and toilets.

Manufactured by the Belgium-based company Van Hool, the coaches are just over 13 feet high and will go into service from this month through to August 2009.

Dale Moser, President and Chief Operating Officer of megabus.com, said: "We have the market-leading budget coach service in North America and the new vehicles will help meet the expanding customer demand in what we believe is a market with huge growth potential.

"We are seeing growing numbers of people ditch their cars for high-quality, low-cost coach travel as higher fuel prices continue to hit consumers' wallets. The new vehicles are a greener, smarter way to travel, with far lower carbon emissions per passenger than the car and free wi-fi to allow commuters to work on the move."

megabus.com research shows that 90 percent of customers have used the budget service as an alternative to the car, train or plane. Some 60% are former car users, 19% previously travel with an airline and 11% used to take the train.

The new double-decker vehicles are significantly more environmentally-friendly than car or air travel. A full megabus.com vehicle is up to 10 times more fuel efficient than a 737 aircraft and up to 25 times more efficient that a single occupancy car*.

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

ENDS

For further information, contact:
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications
Stagecoach Group
Tel: 01738 442111 (office) or 07764 774680 (mobile)
email: steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Full details of routes, timetables and fares are available online at the secure e-commerce website www.megabus.com.
• Passengers can quickly book their travel and purchase tickets from the comfort of their home, office or wireless handheld device. They can also sign up for mobile phone text alerts providing updates on travel reservations and schedules.
• * The megabus.com double-decker fuel consumption, based on a full loading, is 0.002 gallons per passenger mile, while a 737 aircraft is 0.02 gallons and a single-occupancy car is 0.05 gallons.
• East Coast cities served include: New York; Atlantic City, N.J.; Baltimore; Boston; Buffalo, N.Y.; Philadelphia; and Washington in the United States; and Toronto, Canada.
• Midwest cities served include: Ann Arbor, Mich.; Bloomington-Normal, Ill.; Chicago; Champaign, Ill.; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Columbia, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Madison, Wis.; Memphis, Tenn.; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; St. Louis and Toledo, Ohio.