Stagecoach North East operates both local and regional bus services in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

and

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

, England. It is a subsidiary of the

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom. History Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early ...

, which operates bus, coach, rail and tram services across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It is made up of five sub-division brands:

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County D ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and

Teesside Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Historically a hub for heavy manu ...

Busways Travel Services

Stagecoach's first presence in the region came in July 1994, following the purchase of

Busways Travel Services Busways Travel Services was a bus company, which operated local and regional bus services in Tyne and Wear, England. The company was purchased by the Stagecoach Group in July 1994. History In October 1986, to comply with the Transport Act 1985, ...

from its employees and managers – a deal valued at £27.5 million. Busways Travel Services Limited is now a holding company for Stagecoach's operations in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and

– the three areas in which the former company operated.

Newcastle

Stagecoach in Newcastle is the largest division of Stagecoach North East, operating local bus services within the city. A minority of services extend beyond the city boundary into neighbouring

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered ...

and

. The division operates from two depots: Slatyford and

Walkergate Walkergate is an area and electoral ward in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is in the east of the city, north of Walker proper, east of the Heaton area and west of Wallsend. Areas within the Walkergate ward include Daisy Hill, Ea ...

. In spring 2003, a new depot was opened in Walkergate, at a cost of £6.5 million. It replaced the former

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

depot of

Newcastle Corporation Tramways Newcastle Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Newcastle upon Tyne between 1901 and 1950. History Services began on 16 December 1901. A fleet of twenty ‘A- Class’ tramcars built in 1901 by Hurst Nelson and Co. Ltd. of Mothe ...

– the site of which has subsequently been redeveloped.

South Shields

Stagecoach in South Shields operates local bus services within the borough of

South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear – Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the no ...

, with a network centring around the seaside town of South Shields. The division operates from a single depot, which dates back to the days of the South Shields Corporation Tramways.

Sunderland

Stagecoach in Sunderland operate local bus services within the city of Sunderland, with a network centring around the port city. The division operates from a single depot in the city. In 2014, infrastructure capable of refuelling a fleet of 40 gas-powered

Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro300) is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the first ...

vehicles was installed at the depot.

Cleveland Transit

Busways became a key participant in the Darlington Bus War, after being purchased by the Stagecoach Group. In September 1994, the company registered a small network in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

, with operations subsequently commencing in November 1994. In the same month, the Stagecoach Group purchased Cleveland Transit. Cleveland Transit Limited is now a holding company for Stagecoach's operations in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

and

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimat ...

. In December 1994, Hartlepool Transport was purchased by the Stagecoach Group. Darlington Transport Company refused to sell to the Stagecoach Group, with a subsequent inquiry by the

Monopolies and Mergers Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under ...

later concluding that the actions of Busways were a "contributing factor" in the company's collapse. In August 2007, the company's operations in Darlington were transferred to

Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United ...

. Following the takeover, services, as well as 28 vehicles and 78 drivers (with no changes to pay or conditions) were transferred, with vehicles subsequently repainted.

Hartlepool

Stagecoach in Hartlepool is the smallest division of Stagecoach North East. The division operates local bus services in and around town of

, with services running from a single depot.

Teesside

Stagecoach on Teesside operate local bus services in the

Tees Valley Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was establish ...

, with a network centring around the towns of

and

. The division operates from a single depot, located in Stockton-on-Tees. In January 2022, with subsidy from the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Stagecoach launched a service between Middlesbrough and

Teesport Teesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, Northern England. Owned by PD Ports, it is located approximately inland from the North Sea and east of Middl ...

, which aims to assist with employment opportunities in the area.

Tees Flex

Since February 2020, the boroughs of

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a borough with unitary authority status in North Yorkshire, England. Its main settlements are Redcar, South Bank, Eston, Brotton, Guisborough, the Greater Eston part of Middlesbrough, Loftus, Saltburn and Skelton. Th ...

and

have been served by th
Tees Flex
demand-responsive network – a three-year project valued at £3 million. Passengers can pre-book a bus by app, website or telephone, requesting pick-up and drop-off points within the serviced area, as well as destinations such as hospitals and train stations outside of the area. The network is served by a dedicated fleet of nine 16-seater

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dod ...

minibuses, branded in a blue livery.

Fleet and operations

Depots

As of April 2022, the company operates from six bus depots across the region:

(Slatyford and Walkergate),

and

Vehicles

As of April 2019, the fleet consists of 437 buses. The fleet consists mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by

Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, E ...

, with most recent deliveries being the Enviro200 MMC and Enviro400 MMC models. In October 2011, a total of 26 diesel-hybrid Alexander Dennis Enviro400H were introduced in Newcastle on high-frequency services 39 and 40. Investment totalled £7.2 million, with £2.2 million from the Government's Green Bus Fund. From February 2014, a fleet of 40 gas-powered

Alexander Dennis Enviro300 The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro300) is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the fir ...

were introduced on services 3, 13, 16 and 20 in Sunderland – a project costing £8 million.

Branding

As of April 2022, vehicles in the fleet are in the process of being rebranded into the new fleet livery, which was revealed in January 2020. It consists of a white base with blue, green and orange swirls, featuring the company's updated logo. The former livery was introduced over 20 years prior, and consisted of vehicles painted in a white base, with a blue skirt, and red and orange swoops.

Notes

References

External links

*
Busways Travel Services Ltd
an
Cleveland Transit Ltd
on

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are in ...

Stagecoach North East
website {{Bus companies in North East England, state=collapsed Stagecoach Group bus operators in England Bus operators in Tyne and Wear