06/09/2007

• Budget coach service takes delivery of 17 wheelchair-accessible vehicles
• New 79-passenger coaches raise quality of expanding low-cost network
• Online booking engine welcomes 500,000th United States customer

Stagecoach Group is investing $10 million in America’s first inter-city double-decker coaches.

The first of the fleet of 17 new closed-top double-deckers is being introduced tomorrow (7 September 2007) at the Group’s expanding budget inter-city coach operation megabus.com in the United States.

Double-decker coaches are in regular service in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, but these are the first on inter-city services in the United States.

Manufactured by the Belgium-based company Van Hool, the new wheelchair- accessible vehicles have been produced to meet US specifications.

The 79-passenger state-of-the-art coaches will run on megabus.com Midwest routes operated out of Chicago, with all vehicles in service by January 2008.

Equipped with two wheelchair spaces and seatbelts for all passengers, the 2007 Van Hool TD925 coaches are just over 13ft high. They have two doors and also feature toilets and air conditioning.

Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, said: "These new state-of-the-art double-decker coaches are a first for the United States and will support our strategy to develop the megabus.com brand in North America.

"The high-quality double-decker coaches we already operate in the UK have been a big hit with customers. By providing a low-cost high quality alternative to the car, we are confident we will get a tremendous response from passengers in the US."

More than 500,000 passengers have now travelled with megabus.com in the United States since the network was launched in April 2006.

megabus.com now links around 20 key locations in the United States following the launch of a new West Coast hub out of Los Angeles earlier this month.

The new West Coast base has added Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oakland, Phoenix/Tempe, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose to the existing 12 Midwest cities served through megabus.com’s Chicago base.

Research last year showed that megabus.com USA is winning over passengers from cars and trains. Some 45% of megabus.com passengers previously travelled by car and 24% are former train users. A further 17% used to travel by another bus service, while 13% are former airline passengers.

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.

megabus.com’s secure e-commerce site provides full information on arrival and departure times. Passengers can quickly book their travel and purchase tickets from the comfort of their home, office or wireless handheld device.

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

• Midwest cities served by megabus.com include: Ann Arbor, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Toledo.
• West Coast cities served by megabus.com include: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix/Tempe, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose.
• Full details of additional routes to and from the listed cities, as well as timetables and fares, are available online at www.megabus.com.