# Stagecoach in Preston

Stagecoach in Preston was the primary bus operator within the city of Preston, Lancashire and its surrounding areas. It was established in 2009 following the acquisition of Preston Bus by the Stagecoach Group that was founded in 1904. The company operated from the main depot on Selbourne Street. In January 2011, the company was sold to Rotala, which reinstated the Preston Bus brand.

## History

Preston Bus was founded in 1904 as Preston District Travel and became a limited company in 1993 when its employees bought it from the local authority as part of deregulation.
In 2006, Stagecoach North West introduced various services with a fleet of new and old Optare Solos, Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, and Dennis Dart SLFs, branded as "Preston Citi," to compete with Preston Bus. This competition escalated into a bus war, with Stagecoach offering lower fares on the busiest routes.
Both companies accused each other of unprofessional behaviour, with reports of Stagecoach drivers throwing eggs at Preston Bus vehicles.
On 10 June 2008, both companies agreed to a code of practice by the traffic commissioner. Despite this, competition persisted, with Stagecoach operating routes within Preston and Preston Bus maintaining a route between Preston and Penwortham.
On 30 December 2008, Stagecoach approached Preston Bus to negotiate a potential sale. This was finalised on 23 January 2009, when 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. The provisional findings suggested that the acquisition reduced competition and may potentially harm the interests of passengers. Possible remedies included the sale of part or all of the business and measures to encourage new entry by other operators, as well as controls on fares and requirements to maintain service levels. The final report was due by 12 November 2009.
On 12 November 2009, the Competition Commission submitted that Stagecoach would have to sell a "reconfigured" (i.e. profit making) Preston Bus. Stagecoach had some freedom over what it sells, although it had to be approved by the Competition Commission.
Stagecoach appealed to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, stating that the Competition Commission's decision was "perverse and irrational" and that the commission had committed an error in law with its use of the counterfactual argument and handling of Stagecoach's responses.
When the Competition Appeal Tribunal announced their verdict, Stagecoach began actively looking for a buyer. The result was that Stagecoach retained route 11. Things reverted to how they were before the takeover, with services transferring between Stagecoach and Preston Bus. Service 7 was withdrawn, and service 4 revised among other changes. Services 19, 22 & 8 reverted from giving change to fast fare. The 19-22 system was replaced by the original system operated by Preston Bus, and smaller buses were now used on the 19.
From the moment the Competition Commission announced it was investigating, Stagecoach stopped repainting buses out of Preston Bus livery. Some of those that were painted in Stagecoach colours were later returned to Preston Bus livery before the sale.
In January 2011, the company was sold to Rotala, which now operates the services under the Preston Bus brand.

## Services
### Brands

Stagecoach in Preston had 6 different brands for services.
* Preston Citi - 1, 2, 3, 3A, 3B, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 19A, 22, 23, 29, 31, 35, 44, 81, 87, 89
* Preston Orbit - 88A, 88C
* Fylde Coastliner - 61, 68
* Stagecoach Express - X61
* Boomerang - 150, 151
* Route 113 - 113
* X2 - X2
* Park & Ride - 1 Portway, 2 Walton-le-Dale, Orbit serves Bluebell Way
* Others - 2B, X59

### Preston park and ride

All park and ride buses operated by Stagecoach in Preston were "Easy Access" Optare Solos. Services 1 & 2 primarily used Solo SRs, while conventional Solos were additionally used at peak periods.

## Depots

Stagecoach in Preston used two depots. The main depot was located on Deepdale Road, acquired by Stagecoach with the purchase of Preston Bus and capable of holding over 150 buses. A smaller depot was on Selbourne Street, which was previously owned by Stagecoach in Lancashire, and before that Ribble Motor Services.

## Fleet

Before Preston Bus was sold to Stagecoach, the fleet had originally had only consisted of double-decker buses, but latterly the company moved to single deckers and midibuses, with the most common vehicle as of 2008 being the Optare Solo midibus.
When Preston Bus was sold to Rotala in January 2011, the Stagecoach in Preston fleet consisted of 221 buses.