Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

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RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
Stagecoach will have done it's homework when re-diagraming services 1 & 2 to operate from RF and also with the imminent introduction of the new X8. They are in the business to make money, not lose it & as has been said by others (on this forum and elsewhere), they have a pretty good track record of turning around loss making operations into profitable ones.

RF won't make huge amounts of money because it's located in Merseyside & therefore Stagecoach don't have full commercial control of all available tickets (for example, Saveaways, Trio & Solo passes). True, they will get a cut of the revenue from these, but it's nowhere near as lucrative as selling more megariders as they can do outside of Merseyside.

I see the X8 as Stagecoach identifying a gap in the Chester - Liverpool market. The notices being placed on the buses highlight the opportunities for faster travel for longer distance customers, a link between Chester railway station & the Town Hall (something that was withdrawn in Chester City days) and a future link from rail operators (hence the calls at Chester & Ellesmere Port railway stations). It may take a while to gather momentum, but I think they've got the nucleus of a potential money-spinner here.

The X8 is also needed to relieve services 1 & 2 between Port Sunlight & Bromborough as services 41 & 42 are being diverted via Croft Retail park. This will make services 1 & 2 busier from Birkenhead & at peak times, they can be full & standing now.

As for future expansion, I suspect Stagecoach will look toward Cheshire rather than North Wales simply because a tussle with GHA would be much easier (and with less likelihood of any serious fightback) than one with Arriva. Arriva have invested heavily in the North Wales coast routes in the last few years & I can't really see Stagecoach wanting to compete on that front.