Lancaster Bus Launch January 2019

 Stagecoach announce new bus fleet for Lancaster

• £3.8 million investment into 18 brand new double deck buses 
• High-spec vehicles feature free customer WiFi and USB charging points
• British built with latest ‘Euro 6’ cleaner and greener engines
• Ultra-convenient smart phone tickets and contactless payment available

Local bus operator Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire are set to launch 18 brand new double decker buses on the 1 route between Heysham, Morecambe & Lancaster as part of a £3.8 million investment. The new buses go into service on Sunday 13th January and show Stagecoach’s commitment to providing high quality bus travel for people living and working in Lancaster and Morecambe.

The new double deckers provide a modern upgrade to customers travelling on one of the area’s most popular bus routes. Fitted with environmentally friendly Euro 6 engines, they include a new seat design featuring ergonomically formed backrests for added comfort. 

USB chargers are fitted at every seat to keep electronic devices charged. This coupled with the free onboard WiFi means customers have easy access to emails, travel information and social media, all while they are on the move.

The new buses will be used on route 1 which runs between Heysham, Morecambe, and Lancaster, and is the the fastest way from Lancaster to the University. Buses run 7 days a week, including bank holidays, with a bus every 10 minutes for the majority of the day

From Sunday 13th January Stagecoach are also making some changes to timetables to improve the services provided:

• Services 1 and 2 will be given more time during the morning peak to allow on time arrivals at Lancaster and the University.
• There will be extra evening journeys added to service 1, with the last bus to Morecambe Battery leaving Lancaster Bus Station at twenty past midnight Monday to Saturday all year round.
• Double deck buses will be used on service 2, this means that this route will no longer travel under Torrisholme Road Railway Bridge. All service 2 buses will now run via Morecambe Road and Scale Hall Lane.
• So that an evening service continues on Torrisholme Road, to the east of the bridge, service 7 will now run from the bus station at 19:15, 20:15, 21:15 and 23:00 on Monday to Saturday evenings.

The new buses follow other recent improvements from Stagecoach to make bus travel even easier including the launch of contactless payments, including Apple Pay and Google Pay in October 2018. Stagecoach also introduced a smartphone app in 2016 which offers journey planning, live bus tracking, and mobile tickets delivered straight to a mobile phone.

Mark Whitelocks, Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire Managing Director said,

“The introduction of these new buses following an investment of £3.8 million in the business builds on the improvements we made to services in 2018. As well as the new buses the changes to timetables will improve punctuality and mean we offer an even better service to our customers.

Traffic and congestion continue to be a real issue for Morecambe and Lancaster and the new buses and improved timetables, together with the bus lane on Greyhound Bridge are all helping to make the bus a better choice. This will reduce the impact of congestion as we continue to attract new customers.”