Stagecoach Yorkshire invests in 14 new buses to mark 10th year in business

Bus company Stagecoach Yorkshire has marked 10 years of running services in Barnsley.

Stagecoach took over from Yorkshire Traction in 2005 and now operates a fleet of 159 modern, low-floor, easy-access vehicles, which carry 17.7 million passengers 8.4 million miles every year.

Over the last decade, Stagecoach Yorkshire has invested more than £14m in 122 new buses for Barnsley and across the Dearne Valley.

The company has also ordered 14 new buses at the cost of £1.9m, which are due to arrive later this year for two key Barnsley routes.

As well as featuring CCTV, all vehicles contain Green Road telematics software.

Paul Lynch, managing director, Stagecoach Yorkshire, said: “We’re very proud of our success in Barnsley. When we first took over in 2005, the network was not in a good state, the buses were old and tired and reliability and punctuality were very poor.

“In 10 years, we have completely transformed Barnsley’s buses. Ongoing investment, continual service reviews using passenger feedback, value-for-money ticketing and a community-focused ethos have all combined to create a modern, award-winning network.”

In 2013, Stagecoach became the first operator to achieve a 4 star Care4Air ECO Stars Fleet Recognition rating.

Paul added: “We are a community-focused business and our success is very much down to engagement and communication with passengers. Listening to what our customers think is very important and helps to shape our network and services.

“In fact social media is now a large part of our operation and we have a dedicated Twitter team @stagecoachyrks which answers questions about services and tweets live bus information to keep customers informed.”

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