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Stagecoach Group plc () is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by current chairman Brian Souter, his sister Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin. The group is based in Perth, Scotland, and has operations in the United Kingdom and North America. With 16% of the bus market and 25% of the rail market, including a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group, and light rail services in Sheffield, the company is the second largest transport group in the United Kingdom, close behind FirstGroup. Stagecoach operates around 8,100 vehicles and covers over 90 major towns and cities in the United Kingdom, carrying around 2.5 million passengers daily. Stagecoach UK Bus employs 18,000 people. In North America, Stagecoach owns the Coach USA and Coach Canada brands. Operations in Australia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Portugal and Sweden have been sold. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. ==History== Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early 1980s, though its roots can be traced back to 1976 when Ann Gloag and her husband Robin set up a small motor caravan and minibus hire business called ''Gloagtrotter''. Ann's accountant brother Brian Souter joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. Robin Gloag subsequently sold his shareholding in the business and ceased any involvement in 1982 with the collapse of his marriage to Ann. The Transport Act 1980, which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by the Traffic Commissioner, brought new opportunities for the Perth based company and services were launched from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan coaches. For a while, they offered a very personal service with Brian Souter doing the driving and Ann Gloag making up sandwiches and snacks for the passengers. Successfully competing against the then state-owned National Express and Scottish Citylink, the company grew significantly between 1981 and 1985, when Stagecoach entered local bus operation with the acquisition of McLennan of Spittalfield, near Perth. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. Several firms were purchased from the National Bus Company, Scottish Bus Group, London Buses and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing ex NBC and SBG bus companies that had been purchased by management and employees when privatised. Stagecoach left the long distance express coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to National Express. During the privatisation of British Rail Porterbrook was formed as one of three rolling stock companies owning around a third of passenger railway locomotives, multiple units and coaching stock running on Network Rail's system which is leased to various train operators. It was sold to a management buyout before being purchased by Stagecoach in August 1996.〔(Stagecoach aims to buy trains Porterbrook purchase would give bus and rail giant one-third of passenger rolling stock ) ''Herald Scotland'' 1 July 1996〕〔(Porterbrook Leasing sale agreed ) ''Railway Gazette'' 27 October 2008〕 In April 2000 Stagecoach sold Porterbrook to Abbey National for £773 million. In 1997 Stagecoach won the franchise to operate the Sheffield Supertram system, from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, who own the system. Stagecoach bought the remaining 27 years of a 30-year franchise, which expires in 2024, and run the operation under the Stagecoach Supertram brand, having responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the tram system. When Stagecoach took over the system, it was struggling, both financially and in terms of attracting passengers, but it now an extremely popular and successful operation.〔(Sheffield supertram falls victim to competition from cheap buses ) ''The Independent'' 10 June 1996〕 Stagecoach took another turn in 1998, when it purchased Scotland's Prestwick Airport for £41 million. By the summer of 1999, the company was rumoured to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. They sold the airport in January 2001 to concentrate on surface transport. On 21 November 2005 Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil. On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group (Yorkshire Traction) for £26m, and also assume Traction's £11m debt. Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire (Yorkshire Traction, Barnsley & District, Yorkshire Terrier), Lincolnshire (RoadCar) and Angus (Strathtay Scottish). Traction was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK. Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside the UK capital, focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options. In September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. After a competition enquiry, in October 2006 Stagecoach was instructed to sell some of the Scottish coach services. Stagecoach are also active in the rail industry, currently operating the South West Trains franchise and having a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group. In 2007 the group won the right to take over the part of the old Central Trains franchise and the Midland Mainline franchise, creating the new East Midlands Trains operation. In July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network.〔 〕 In January 2009, Stagecoach bought Preston Bus, a former rival in the Lancashire area. In November 2009 the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=UK Government: Stagecoach Must Sell Preston Bus Limited )〕 In October 2010, Stagecoach expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent, Stagecoach's former London bus operations. In August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group half way through its ten-year contract to operate the network. In December 2013, Stagecoach bought King's Lynn based Norfolk Green. In March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast, in which Stagecoach holds a 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise.〔(More seats, more services and new trains for East Coast passengers ) Department for Transport 27 November 2014〕〔(Stagecoach and Virgin win East Cost mainline rail franchise ) ''BBC News'' 27 November 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stagecoach Group」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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