Stagecoach North East

Stagecoach in Newcastle is the largest division of Stagecoach North East, and one of the three major bus operators in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, alongside Arriva North East and Go North East. Stagecoach provides local services within the city proper although a small number of services do extend beyond out city limits into other parts of Tyne and Wear.

Stagecoach in Newcastle also operated the NewcastleGateshead City Sightseeing tour; however, the franchise agreement was ended in 2018.

In 2019, Stagecoach in Newcastle launched "The Seasider" open-top service. The launch of the coastal service coincided with the end of the company's City Sightseeing franchise agreement, with the open top double-deckers being deployed onto this new route, in order to engage with a new customer base in North Tyneside, which takes in the sights of the North East's coast. The route serves North Shields, Cullercoats, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay.

Other Stagecoach services operating in the city belong to different subsidiaries including the X24 and X34 express services between Newcastle and Sunderland which are part of the Stagecoach in Sunderland brand; and the 685 Cross-Pennine route between Carlisle and Newcastle which is operated by Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire.

Stagecoach in South Shields operates mostly local services within South Shields, with further services linking the town with Gateshead, Jarrow, Newcastle and Sunderland.[4]

Stagecoach in South Shields is the eventual successor to South Shields Corporation Transport.

Stagecoach in Sunderland operates a large network of local services in the city, with Arriva North East and Go North East also operating in and around the city.

Only one of the routes operated by Stagecoach in Sunderland's Wheatsheaf depot leaves the city's boundaries, this being the X24 express service (running from Sunderland to Gateshead and Newcastle).

Services E1, E2 and E6 also operate beyond the city's boundaries (running from Sunderland to Seaburn, Whitburn, Marsden and South Shields), however this group of services are ran from the depot at South Shields.

Stagecoach in Sunderland is also home 40 Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 bodied Scania Gas Buses. These are currently the only batch of this type within the Stagecoach group.[5] The vehicles run primarily on routes 3, 12, 13, 16 and 20.

Stagecoach in Hartlepool operates a small network of local services in and around the town of Hartlepool. It also operates route 1 (from Hartlepool to Seaton Carew and Middlesbrough).[9]

From February 2020, the area is also served by Stagecoach's Tees Flex network, a pre-bookable service running in and around Teesside, Stockton on Tees, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland. Services are operated by a dedicated fleet of branded Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibuses.

An Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 branded in The Zone livery, seen in Stockton-on-Tees.

Stagecoach on Teesside operate a number of local services in the Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees areas, as well as route 36 (running from Middlesbrough, Stockton and Billingham to Greatham and Hartlepool).[10]

Arriva North East also provide services in Teesside, extending out in to North Yorkshire and the Tees Valley, as well as Tyne & Wear and County Durham.

Go North East also operate a limited number of services in the area, serving Teesside with the X9 & X10 express (running from Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Billingham to Peterlee, Dalton Park, Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne).

From February 2020, the area is also served by Stagecoach's 'Tees Flex' network, a pre-bookable service running in and around Teesside, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington and Redcar & Cleveland. Services are operated by a dedicated fleet of 'Tees Flex' branded Mercedes Sprinter minibuses.

After being purchased by Stagecoach, Busways became a key participant in the Darlington Bus War, with the establishment of Stagecoach in Darlington. In 1995, the operation of Stagecoach in Darlington passed from Busways to Cleveland Transit.[8]

In August 2007, Stagecoach's Darlington depot was sold to Arriva North East, along with 28 step-entrance Dennis Darts.[11][12][13] Arriva North East's original Darlington depot was closed, with operations consolidated at the former Stagecoach depot, before moving to a new facility at Faverdale.

An Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Hybrid in the company's special green livery operating in Newcastle City Centre.

Stagecoach North East currently operate a fleet of 437 single and double-deck vehicles (as of April 2019).[3]

Most Stagecoach North East vehicles are branded in the now 20-year-old Beach Ball design corporate livery, originally launched in 2000.[14] The livery consists of vehicles painted white, with a blue skirt, and red and orange swoops.

Since 2007, Stagecoach North East have invested heavily in hybrid buses. Stagecoach in Sunderland is also home 40 Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 bodied Scania Gas Buses. These are currently the only batch of this type within the Stagecoach group. The vehicles run primarily on routes 3, 12, 13, 16 and 20. Stagecoach in Newcastle is served by large fleet of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker buses including the Enviro400 Hybrid and more recently the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses. These double decker buses operate on many of the city's high frequency routes.

The new Stagecoach livery was launched in January 2020, and features three different liveries, based on the type of service operated: local, long-distance and specialist.[15]

Stagecoach North East operate services from six depots:

• Hartlepool: Brenda Road, Hartlepool, County Durham
• Slatyford: Slatyford Lane, Slatyford, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
• South Shields: Dean Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear
• Stockton: Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
• Sunderland: North Bridge Street, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
• Walkergate: Shields Road, Walkergate, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear