Stagecoach Midlands is the name for most bus routes in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. The legal name for the company is United Counties Omnibus Company Ltd in Northamptonshire and Midland Red (South) Ltd in Warwickshire.[1]
In towns, local bus routes are mostly under their own branding. These are Connect Kettering, Connect Wellingborough, Corby Star, and Daventry Dart, while Northampton has no local name but is part of the Buzz[2] fare scheme.[3]
. . . Stagecoach Midlands . . .
- Corby (Station Road)
- Kettering (Northampton Road)
- Northampton (Main Road)
- Leamington Spa (Station Approach)
- Nuneaton (Newtown Road)
- Rugby (Railway Terrace)
- Stratford-upon-Avon (Avenue Farm)
The Matrix brand was used by Stagecoach Midlands Nuneaton depot for routes 55, 56 and 57 between Coventry, Bedworth and Nuneaton from 2008 until 2015 when the brand was dropped due to the age of the fleet of MAN Enviro200s that sported this livery.[4]
PrimeLine 48 was the initial name given to the high frequency service 48 between Coventry and Nuneaton via Bedworth. The route has previously run with Dennis Dart vehicles and Alexander Dennis Enviro200s, until February 2018 when the service became a Stagecoach Gold route, running with long body Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMCs.
The service runs at a frequency of every 10 minutes Coventry to Nuneaton, with every other service extending to either Atherstone or Hinckley, Earl Shilton and Leicester.[5]
In Warwick, the ’’Goldline’’’ service started on 12 November 2007, immediately after the buses were launched by Stagecoach Group chief executive Sir Brian Souter.[6]
The service uses a fleet of 11 Optare Solos, on route 66 which was renumbered G1 following the introduction of Goldline.[6] From mid-2015 this fleet of Optare Solos was displaced by 14 new Optare Solo SR vehicles, with a revised branding and livery to reflect the “Stagecoach Gold” brand name rather than the outdated “Goldline” name. It has since lost its Gold branding and is numbered service 1.
The route operated at a frequency of around every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and every half-hour on evenings and Sundays.[7] With effect from 2 November 2020, the service level was slightly reduced to every 12 minutes.
Services X46 and X47 also run as Stagecoach Gold services, running from Northampton to Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers and Raunds. Buses did once extend further to Thrapston, though this part of the route was dropped due to low passenger numbers.[8] The Stagecoach Gold Brand was Dropped in 2020 with the changes in the brand.
. . . Stagecoach Midlands . . .