Stagecoach encourage evening travel with new £2 ticket

Stagecoach East Scotland have launched a brand new ticket to encourage people to travel across the region for less in the evenings.

The company have launched 'nightrider', a new ticket valid for travel after 7pm, for unlimited travel until the last journey of the evening, to an end time of 4am the following morning.

The ticket will cost £2 and is valid throughout Fife, Perthshire, Dundee and Angus, however is not valid for services to Edinburgh, Cumbernauld/Glasgow, Falkirk/Forth Valley, Stirling, or north of Montrose to Aberdeen.

The ticket can be bought from the driver from 7pm on any evening of the week, and can then be used on any subsequent journeys the same evening/early the following morning. A nightrider ticket can also be used on night services N55 and N99.

Douglas Robertson, Commercial Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: "This is a brand new initiative for us and we're really excited to be helping our customers enjoy a great night out for less, especially as we approach the festive season.

"Our new nightrider ticket is designed to be a great value travel option if you're venturing for a night out, taking advantage of all the great night spots we have here in Fife. From the many restaurants and bars available across the Kingdom, to diverse theatre shows and family activities available, we want to encourage people to make use of the local facilities across the region, for just £2!"

The nightrider ticket was officially launched at the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline on 11 October and is now available to buy from Stagecoach East Scotland drivers. Customers can plan their journey by visiting www.stagecoachbus.com or using the free Stagecoach Bus app.

Mark Robson, Facility Manager, Carnegie Hall said: “We often host shows that can seem out of reach for music and theatre fans who don’t drive or have the town centre on their doorstep, so it’s heartening news that this new economical ‘nightrider’ service is now available to help accommodate them. In the week Carnegie Hall celebrates its 80th anniversary, we’re proud to help launch such a community-minded initiative.”

Dunfermline is one of only 4 cities in Scotland with the prestigious Purple Flag accreditation - awarded to towns or cities that meet or surpass the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night time economy. The comprehensive set of standards are set out by the Association of Town and City Management and indicates good practice in providing a safe, diverse and an enjoyable night out.

The announcement follows Stagecoach's celebration of National Customer Service Week, which took place from 2 - 6 October and saw the company carrying out a range of activities to raise awareness of the importance of customer service, day in day out for passengers.

During the week, the company carried out mystery shopping activities, handed out goodies to customers in locations across the East of Scotland, directors and managers went back to the floor to carry out driving shifts and assist customers and Stagecoach also produced some additional customer service training materials for all staff.

Customers were also invited to nominate their customer service stars and the winner was selected as one of the Supervisors at Halbeath/Ferrytoll P&R sites, Thomas McGovern for his consistent and friendly attitude when assisting customers at the P&R sites.