Magic Bus (Stagecoach)

Magic Bus is a brand of Stagecoach applied to local no-frills bus operations in the United Kingdom, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators.

History
The name was first introduced in Glasgow in 1986, where ex London Transport AEC Routemasters were used on a route to Castlemilk. In 1992 this operation was sold to Kelvin Central Buses.

The brand was used in Newcastle around 1997 also when trying to eliminate smaller companies operating in the area. The buses were prone to breaking down due to their age and broken down Magicbuses in Newcastle were common sights.

The Magic Bus brand was reintroduced to Glasgow by Stagecoach West Scotland in 2002. At its peak it was used on three routes; one was withdrawn in 2005, and the remainder in 2006. It was also used more recently in Liverpool by Stagecoach Merseyside.

The Magic Bus brand was introduced by Stagecoach Manchester to the Wilmslow Road bus corridor where Bullocks Coaches, Finglands and UK North competed.

In 2006 the Magic Bus brand was introduced in Manchester on route 192 to counter a bus war started by UK North. Following UK North being delicenced, the Magic Bus ceased operating on route 192 with all services provided by Stagecoach liveried buses.

Buses used in Manchester have been older buses from the Stagecoach Manchester fleet including Leyland Olympians, Volvo B10Ms, Volvo Olympians, Scania N113NRBs as well as some 3-axle Leyland Olympians imported from Stagecoach's operations in Hong Kong (via a stint with Megabus) and Kenya.

Present operations
As at September 2013 the Manchester Magic Bus fleet consisted of 67 1999 to 2003 built Dennis Trident 2s operating on Wilmslow Road routes 142, 143 and 145. In April 2010 Stagecoach Manchester purchased competitor Bullocks Coaches, however the proposed sale of Fingland's to First Manchester will ensure competition remains on the corridor.

In April 2012 Magic Bus was introduced in Rotherham by Stagecoach Yorkshire on route 22 to compete directly with First's service of the same route number, albeit a slightly different route terminating at Manvers instead of Barnsley. Dennis Darts are used on this service.

Magic Mini
The brand was also used in Ayrshire for a time to compete against Ayrways in Ayr and T&E Docherty in Irvine. The Ayr operation used minibuses and larger single-deck buses branded as Magic Mini, which were introduced in February 2004. The brand has since been dropped in Ayrshire when the competing operators withdrew their services.

The Magic Mini brand was also engaged in a miniature bus war on the Black Isle to Inverness route in the Scottish Highlands with local operator Scotbus, with Stagecoach in Inverness adopting aggressive tactics such as scheduling buses five minutes before the rival operator and undercutting fares. Competition between the two operators was acrimonious, climaxing in an arson attack on Stagecoach's Inverness depot.