Stagecoach New Zealand
Encyclopedia
NZ Bus, formerly Stagecoach New Zealand, is New Zealand's largest bus
company, operating in Auckland
, Wellington
and Whangarei
, with a fleet of around 1,000 vehicles. It owned 96% of Fullers Ferries in Auckland but has sold this shareholding. It is owned by Infratil
.
Stagecoach New Zealand was part of the British Stagecoach Group
, and began operation in 1992 by purchasing Wellington City Transport, the largest bus operator in Wellington, from Wellington City Council. WCT had recently purchased the Auckland, Hutt Valley and north Wellington suburban bus operations of New Zealand Railways Road Services
, then branded CityLine.
Stagecoach greatly expanded its Auckland operations in 1998 by purchasing Transportation Auckland Corporation (trading as The Yellow Bus Company) from the Auckland Regional Council.
Infratil bought the firm from Stagecoach in November 2005. The Stagecoach Group agreed to let Infratil use the name and livery for five years from the sale.
In January 2008 the company brought Whangarei school and charter business Adams Travelines, which has since won the tender to provide the urban bus service for Whangarei as Citylink Whangarei, using super low floor buses.
, and is based on RFID technology embedded in cards or portable devices such as USB sticks. The system was introduced on Friday April 4, being piloted on GO Wellington bus route 17 over the following two months. The supplier of the technology is Korea Smart Card. Established in 2003, it is a joint venture between Seoul Metropolitan Government and LG Group, and has introduced T-money
to six major cities in Korea.
NZ Bus will be fitting out the Auckland fleet with Snapper in 2010, despite losing an contract to provide Smart Card Ticketing to all public transport services in the Auckland Reigon. NZ Bus are going ahead with their Snapper roll-out in Auckland despite no other public transport providers signing up to Snapper. The Auckland Regional Transport Authority plans rolls out their own smart card ticketing system. All public transport operators in Auckland, including NZ Bus, will be required by law to accept smart cards issued by the Authority. NZ Bus have suggested that their Snapper system will be able to accommodate the Authority's smart cards. However it is not known whether Snapper's cards will be able to be used on services operated by operators other than NZ Bus.
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
company, operating in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Whangarei
Whangarei
Whangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...
, with a fleet of around 1,000 vehicles. It owned 96% of Fullers Ferries in Auckland but has sold this shareholding. It is owned by Infratil
Infratil
Infratil Limited is a New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company. It owns several airports, electricity generators and retailers, and a public transport business, with operations in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Infratil was founded by Lloyd Morrison, a Wellington-based merchant...
.
History
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, and began operation in 1992 by purchasing Wellington City Transport, the largest bus operator in Wellington, from Wellington City Council. WCT had recently purchased the Auckland, Hutt Valley and north Wellington suburban bus operations of New Zealand Railways Road Services
New Zealand Railways Road Services
The New Zealand Railways Road Services was a branch of the New Zealand Railways Department and later the New Zealand Railways Corporation. It operated long-distance, tourist and suburban bus services and freight trucking and parcel services.-History:...
, then branded CityLine.
Stagecoach greatly expanded its Auckland operations in 1998 by purchasing Transportation Auckland Corporation (trading as The Yellow Bus Company) from the Auckland Regional Council.
Infratil bought the firm from Stagecoach in November 2005. The Stagecoach Group agreed to let Infratil use the name and livery for five years from the sale.
In January 2008 the company brought Whangarei school and charter business Adams Travelines, which has since won the tender to provide the urban bus service for Whangarei as Citylink Whangarei, using super low floor buses.
Company rebranding
| Former Name | Depots | New Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stagecoach Auckland | North Shore North Shore, New Zealand North Shore City was the name of a city that existed in the Auckland region of New Zealand from 1989 until 2010. The city had a population of making it the fourth most populous city in New Zealand prior to November 2010... Hibiscus Coast Hibiscus Coast The Hibiscus Coast is a stretch of the Hauraki Gulf coast located in New Zealand's Rodney District, 10 minutes north of the former North Shore City by car. It contains the northernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area.... |
North Star | Rebranded on 4 December 2006. Blue and yellow livery. |
| Swanson | GO WEST Go West "Go West, young man" is a popular saying about Manifest Destiny popularized by Horace Greeley, but likely originally written by John Soule.Go West may also refer to:*Go West , a 1925 film by Buster Keaton... |
Rebranded on 23 February 2008. Green with graphics |
|
| City Mt Roskill Panmure Panmure Panmure may refer to:Places*Panmure, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland*Panmure , a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate*Panmure, Victoria, Australia*Panmure Island, Prince Edward Island, Canada... |
Metrolink | Rebranded on 12 October 2008. Blue and silver livery. |
|
| City | The Link | Rebranded on 14 September 2007. Pale green livery. |
|
| Wiri | Waka Pacific | Rebranded on 16 February 2009. Silver livery, with multi-coloured patterns influenced by traditional Maori designs. |
|
| Stagecoach Wellington | Various | GO Wellington | Announced in November 2006. Operating since early 2007. Yellow and black livery. |
| Cityline Hutt Valley Cityline Hutt Valley Valley Flyer is the trading name of Cityline New Zealand Ltd, a subsidiary of NZ Bus, an Infratil company. It was part of the Stagecoach Group of companies, trading as Cityline Hutt Valley, and also operated services out of Papakura in Auckland before amalgamation with Stagecoach Auckland... |
Various | Valley Flyer | Rebranded on 21 November 2007. Purple and yellow livery. |
Smart Card Ticketing
On 20 April 2008 NZ Bus confirmed that it would start using a new ticketing system to make bus travel quicker, easier and simpler for passengers in Wellington. The new system is called SnapperSnapper card
The Snapper card is a contactless electronic ticketing card used to pay for bus fares and other small purchases, such as food. It was introduced in Wellington, New Zealand, in July 2008...
, and is based on RFID technology embedded in cards or portable devices such as USB sticks. The system was introduced on Friday April 4, being piloted on GO Wellington bus route 17 over the following two months. The supplier of the technology is Korea Smart Card. Established in 2003, it is a joint venture between Seoul Metropolitan Government and LG Group, and has introduced T-money
T-Money
T-money is a rechargeable series of cards and other "smart" devices used for paying transportation fares in and around Seoul and other areas of South Korea. T-money can also be used in lieu of cash or credit cards in some convenience stores and other businesses...
to six major cities in Korea.
NZ Bus will be fitting out the Auckland fleet with Snapper in 2010, despite losing an contract to provide Smart Card Ticketing to all public transport services in the Auckland Reigon. NZ Bus are going ahead with their Snapper roll-out in Auckland despite no other public transport providers signing up to Snapper. The Auckland Regional Transport Authority plans rolls out their own smart card ticketing system. All public transport operators in Auckland, including NZ Bus, will be required by law to accept smart cards issued by the Authority. NZ Bus have suggested that their Snapper system will be able to accommodate the Authority's smart cards. However it is not known whether Snapper's cards will be able to be used on services operated by operators other than NZ Bus.