Stagecoach Nominated for 3 Top Coach Industry Awards

Stagecoach has been short-listed for three top industry awards at the 2018 UK Coach Awards.

The transport group’s Express City Connect network has been nominated for the Top Express Operation at the UK Coach Awards.

Stagecoach East Scotland are hoping to retain the Top Express Operation award at the 8th annual event held in Blackpool, as the company has been awarded the prestigious accolade for the last three years in a row.

This year the network has also been short-listed for the 'Making Coaches a Better Choice' award, as well as the 'Coach Marketing Award'.

Stagecoach East Scotland’s Express City Connect network operates high-quality coach services across Fife and into Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow. Facilities such as leather seats, on board toilets, power sockets, air conditioning and free wi-fi have helped make the services an attractive alternative to the car, achieving increased passenger numbers.

The network offers a high standard of customer service. Staff are available at all connecting bus stations in Fife, Dundee and Edinburgh to provide information and assistance for passengers.

Following a total investment of over £9.2m in the past 5 years, high specification coaches now operate on all the Express City Connect networks between Fife, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The company has been recognised for continued marketing campaigns and targeted communication to promote the range of coach services available and for the high quality information provided to customers.

With the reopening of the Forth Road Bridge creating a dedicated public transport corridor across the Forth, Stagecoach East Scotland recently worked in partnership with Transport Scotland and Scotrail on an extensive marketing campaign titled 'Fife in the Fast Lane' and will also be working together on a project to create full smart ticketing interoperability.

In recent years the all new website, stagecoachbus.com was launched, providing detailed journey planning, real-time bus tracking, fare information and the ability to save and receive updates about regular journeys and the StagecoachBus app was introduced last year to provide real-time journey tracking and mobile ticketing.

Stagecoach East Scotland Managing Director Paul Thomas said: “We're delighted to have been nominated for not only the prestigious 'Top Express Operation' award but also in the 'Making Coaches a Better Choice' and 'Coach Marketing' categories. To have been shortlisted four years running is a significant achievement for us and is a testament to the continued hard work of our employees who make our express network the award winning operation that it is.

We carry around 5 million passengers a year on our Express City Connect network and by continuing to invest in new vehicles and delivering excellent customer service, we aim to continually attract even more people on to our greener, smarter coach services in the future.”

The UK Coach Awards recognises the dedication and professionalism of individuals and operators across the UK coach industry, with awards covering 18 categories.

Stagecoach East Scotland won the Top Express Operation award in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The winners are set to be announced on Thursday 10 May at a ceremony in Blackpool.

For more information about Stagecoach bus services visit www.stagecoachbus.com