Stagecoach North East operates both local and regional bus services in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

, England. It is a subsidiary of the

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as ''Gloagtrotter'', a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Dur ...

, 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Busways Travel Services

In July 1994,

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

was acquired by Stagecoach Group, in a deal valued at £27.5 million. Busways Travel Services Limited is now a holding company for the group's operations in the cities of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and town of

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. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

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

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', By ...

– the site of which has subsequently been redeveloped. In July 2005, the company commenced operation of a five-year contract for the

QuayLink QuayLink was a bus service in Tyne and Wear, England, which connected Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne, and later North Tyneside, with the Quayside. Funded by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, the service was launched on 22 July ...

network of services in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

and Newcastle upon Tyne. Award of the contract saw the introduction of a fleet of ten single-deck Designline Olymbus turbine-electric hybrid buses – a project costing £7.7 million. In October 2011, a total of 26 double-deck diesel-hybrid

Alexander Dennis Enviro400H The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400 (from which the Enviro400 was developed). In 201 ...

buses 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 fi ...

were introduced on a series of routes in Sunderland – a project totalling £8 million. In September 2018, weekend night bus services were introduced on five routes (N1, N30, N39, N40 & N88) in Newcastle upon Tyne. In July 2019, the services were withdrawn due to low usage.

Cleveland Transit

In September 1994, Stagecoach Group purchased operator

Cleveland Transit Cleveland Transit was a municipal bus operator based in the former county of Cleveland in northern England, operating from 1974 until its purchase by the Stagecoach Group in 1994. History The non-metropolitan county of Cleveland was formed ...

for £7.7 million. Cleveland Transit Limited is now a holding company for the group's operations in the towns of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

and

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

. In the same month, the company registered a small network in Darlington, with operations commencing in November 1994. The company became a key participant in the Darlington Bus War. The following month, Stagecoach Group acquired Hartlepool Transport. Darlington Transport Company refused to sell to 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 UK competition law, competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competiti ...

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

Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, 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 Kingdom. ...

. Following the takeover, a total of 28 vehicles and 78 drivers were transferred. In January 2022, with subsidy from the

Tees Valley Combined Authority The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) is the Combined authorities and combined county authorities, combined authority for the Tees Valley urban area in North East England consisting of the following five Unitary authority, unitary authoriti ...

, 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 Middle ...

, which aims to assist with employment opportunities in the area. In September 2023, Stagecoach returned to Darlington, following the award of the contract for services 6 & 6A, linking

Hurworth-on-Tees Hurworth-on-Tees is a village in the borough of Darlington, within the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated in the civil parish of Hurworth. The village lies to the south of Darlington on the River Tees, close to its mee ...

Yarm Yarm-on-Tees, or simply Yarm, is a market town in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a meander of the River Tees, extending south-east to the River Leven, North Yorkshire, River Leven and south to the village of Kirklevington. A civil parish i ...

and Stockton-on-Tees with Darlington and

Teesside International Airport Teesside International Airport , formerly Durham Tees Valley Airport, is a small international airport in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It primarily serves Teesside (including Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees), south and ...

. The services provide a replacement for Arriva North East's 12 service, which was withdrawn the month prior.

Tees Flex

Since February 2020, the boroughs of

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Its council has been a unitary authority since 1996. The borough was created in 1974 as Langbaurgh, and was one of four ...

and

have been served by the 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, Dodge, ...

minibuses, branded in a blue livery.

Fleet and operations

Depots

, the company operates from six bus depots across the region:

, Slatyford,

and

Walkergate Walkergate is an area and electoral ward in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it cov ...

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, ...

Branding

The current standard fleet livery was revealed in January 2020, and consists of vehicles branded in a white base with blue, green and orange swirls, featuring the company's updated logo. The former standard fleet livery was introduced over twenty years prior, and consisted of vehicles painted in a white base, with a blue skirt, and red and orange swoops.

References

External links

*
Busways Travel Services Limited
an
Cleveland Transit Limited
on

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...

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