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NEW INDEPENDENT RESEARCH CONFIRMS STAGECOACH IS BRITAIN’S BEST VALUE BUS OPERATOR

• Stagecoach provides regular passengers with lowest cost weekly bus travel

• Weekly travel on average 17.5% cheaper, saving passengers £150 a year

• Major survey of nearly 1,100 bus routes in England, Scotland and Wales

Stagecoach has again been confirmed as Britain’s best value bus operator, according to new independent research1.

Research just published by transport specialists TAS found weekly bus travel with Stagecoach is on average 17.5% cheaper than other bus operators. The difference could save passengers an average of nearly £150 a year.

Stagecoach's average weekly ticket price of £13.27 - the lowest in the survey - was nearly £3 cheaper than the £16.09 average for other operators. TAS also found Stagecoach was up to 20% cheaper than other operators for weekly travel.

The findings come only weeks after research by Stagecoach showed that travelling by bus instead of commuting by car could save drivers around £150 a month2.

TAS analysed nearly 1,100 fares across different regions, area types and operators for its National Fares Survey 2011. The research covered Stagecoach, First, Go Ahead, Veolia Transdev, National Express, Arriva, independent operators, and municipal bus companies.

The last TAS National Fares Survey, published in 2009, also found Stagecoach was the best value major bus operator.

Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Sir Brian Souter said: “This independent survey proves what our own regular passengers have known for a long time – Stagecoach is Britain’s best value bus operator.

“At a time when sky-high motoring costs and rising household bills are squeezing living standards for many families across Britain, it makes more sense than ever to switch to the bus. We are leading the way in providing good-value, high-quality travel and making sure the bus is an affordable transport option, particularly for people who are less well off.”

The TAS 2011 survey also found that Stagecoach has:

• Six out of seven of the lowest single fares in the sample

• Half of the 12 lowest day ticket prices

• Seven out of 11 of the lowest weekly ticket prices

• The lowest average urban and non-urban single fares of the other major UK bus groups - Arriva, First, Go Ahead and National Express - and also lower than Veolia Transdev

• Lower than inflation fare increases over the last two years

TAS also carried out more detailed analysis of a sample of fares in its main report. It looked at bus fares charged by Stagecoach, Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, Veolia Transdev UK, and municipal bus companies on journey lengths of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 miles.

It found that Stagecoach has the lowest average fare of any of the main major operators (Arriva, FirstGroup and Go-Ahead) on nearly all journey lengths. This includes journeys of 5 miles, which the Department for Transport’s most recent National Travel Survey found is the average local bus journey distance.

The TAS report adds that “Stagecoach consistently has the lowest weekly ticket price and gives the highest discount compared to single fares" over two miles.

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