Stagecoach in Preston
A Stagecoach in Preston East Lancs Esteem
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| Slogan | Preston Citi - "City Travel, Made Easy", Preston Citi - "City Life, Citi Travel" |
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| Parent | Stagecoach Group |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Defunct | 19 January 2011 (Rotala) |
| Headquarters | Preston/Carlisle |
| Service area | Lancashire |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Destinations | Preston, Southport, Blackpool, Wigan |
| Depots | Deepdale Rd, Deepdale, Preston and Selbourne St, Preston |
| Fleet | 221 |
| Operator | Stagecoach North West |
| Website | www.stagecoachbus.com/northwest |
Stagecoach in Preston was a network of bus routes running within the city of Preston, Lancashire and into the surrounding area. It was founded in 2009 after Stagecoach Group acquired Preston Bus that was founded in 1904. The company operated from the main depot on Deepdale Road and their other depot on Selbourne Street.
Preston Bus was founded in 1904 as Preston District Travel, and as was bought from the local authority by its employees in 1993 as part of deregulation. It became a limited company.
In 2006, Stagecoach North West set up various services using a fleet of new & old Optare Solos, Dennis Enviro 400s and new & old Dennis Dart SLFs in order to compete with Preston Bus. They were branded as "Preston Citi" Competition grew into a bus war. Stagecoach offered lower fares on the busiest routes.
Both companies accused each other of unprofessional behaviour, with some Stagecoach drivers reported to have thrown eggs at Preston Buses.
On 10 June 2008, both companies were agreed to a code of practice by the traffic commissioner. Competition continued, Stagecoach operating routes within Preston and Preston Bus operating a route between Preston and Penwortham.
On 30 December 2008, it was announced that Stagecoach had approached Preston Bus to negotiate a possible sale. This was agreed and on 23 January 2009 Stagecoach North West purchased Preston Bus for £10.4 million. From March 2009, the combined network of routes was rebranded as Stagecoach in Preston.
On 28 May 2009, the Office of Fair Trading announced that it was referring the purchase of Preston Bus by Stagecoach to the Competition Commission. Their provisional findings are that the purchase has reduced competition and may potentially harm the interests of passengers. Possible remedies may involve the sale of part or all of the business, measures to encourage new entry by other operators, as well as controls on fares and requirements to maintain service levels. The final report is due by 12 November 2009.
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