Stagecoach Manchester

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester

(03/01/2015 23:31)Metroline1511 Wrote:  I think the idea is to provide "middle" batch Enviro400s to MagicBus as they are slighly newer and could therefore last there for the rest of their operational lives, maybe 8 years or so. Maybe also, Stagecoach are a bit rattled by First putting new buses on routes 41 and 42. Indeed, I saw 19223 this evening and spotted that it offers WiFi!

To be fair Stagecoach seem to be rolling out Wifi on all buses anyway - most of Ashton's Enviro400's now have Wifi so it's not just for Magic Enviro's.
It's interesting how the concept of Magic Buses has evolved over the years. It was for many years labeled the low cost arm of Stagecoach Manchester - using older vehicles in a no frills blue livery offering cheaper fares than standard stagecoach services. Yet we seemed to have gone full circle where depending which way you look at, when 30 Pressumably 08 reg Enviro400's become Magic buses the 142/143 will see younger vehicles on average than my local service the 168/169. Today being no exception with both 17002 and another from the same batch both passing me within 15 mins of each other.

Getting back to the First debate though. Do most people even realise they are travelling on brand new 14 plate Enviro400's?? I very much doubt it. Infact cynics like me will roll thier eyes and compare Firsts many years of underinvestment in the fleets of depots such as Dukinfield when a steady stream of brand new vehicles rolled into Rusholme virtually overnight.