ManaBus.com was an

intercity coach service An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public t ...

operator in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The company was owned by

Brian Souter Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, Ann Gloag, he founded the Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Tra ...

's InMotion Group. ManaBus and Nakedbus ceased operation on 15 July 2018, with the bus fleets being sold to Ritchies Transport Holdings, part owner of rival coach company

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

History

ManaBus.com commenced operating express coach services on the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

of New Zealand on 21 November 2014.Souter launches low-cost NZ express service
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 31 October 2014 In May 2015 it took over

Nakedbus nakedbus.com was a provider of low-cost long-distance bus (coachline) transport services around New Zealand. It used concepts such as yield management and no-frills to provide low fares. The company is so-named because "we have stripped out the ...

. On 15 July 2018 ManaBus and Nakedbus ceased operation.

Corporate strategy

Advertised fares started at $1 (plus $1.99 booking fee), using a

yield management Yield management (YM) is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource (such as airline seats, hotel room reservat ...

model as employed by sister companies

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus is an intercity bus service operating in the United States and Canada. It is also the operator ...

OnniBus OnniBus.com is a Finnish express coach operator. It commenced operating in 2011. History In 2011, OnniBus was founded by Pekka Möttö, Lauri Helke, Petteri Rantala and Pertti Möttö. In May 2014, Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport ...

and

PolskiBus PolskiBus was a Polish express coach operator. Owned by Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport, it commenced operating in June 2011.

. ManaBus.com operated at a high load factor using yield management pricing and large

double decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but Open top bus, open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are Coach (bus), coaches too for long-d ...

es to keep capital cost per seat and fuel burn per seat at low levels, similar to how airlines operate. Founder

believed that bus journeys of up to six hours can compete with

air travel Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, Glider (aircraft), gliders, Hang gliding, hang gliders, parachuting, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight.

Services

ManaBus.com operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across the North Island of New Zealand. Key routes include:Timetable
ManaBus.com *

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

–

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

(day services and a sleeper bus service) *Auckland – Whangārei to Paihia *Wellington – Palmerston North, Taupō, Rotorua, Hamilton to Auckland *Auckland – Napier *Auckland – Whitianga *Auckland –

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

*Auckland –

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

– Hamilton *Whangārei –

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

Fleet

ManaBus.com operated a fleet of

Kiwi Bus Builders Kiwi Bus Builders is a New Zealand bus bodybuilder based in Tauranga. History Kiwi Bus Builders was established in 1993. It has built bus and coach bodies for many operators including Go Bus Transport, NZ Bus and Tranzit Group, Tranzit Coachl ...

bodied

Volvo B11R The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR p ...

References

External links

Company website
{{Bus transport in New Zealand, state=collapsed Bus companies of New Zealand Transport companies established in 2014 Transport companies disestablished in 2018 2014 establishments in New Zealand 2018 disestablishments in New Zealand