Megabus.com Offers 10,000 Free Seats in Winter Promotion

SUNDERLAND, England, October 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

megabus.com, the market leading budget coach provider, is helping to beat the winter blues by offering thousands of free seats on its services.

The low-cost operator - which is part of Stagecoach Group - is offering more than 10,000 free seats on its coach networks in England and Wales between 14 January and 28 February 2013 in a huge giveaway.

Free bus travel seats are available for travel from Monday - Thursday each week during the promotional period and can be booked now by visiting the megabus.com website*.

megabus.com offers fares from just £1 (plus 50p booking fee*) and operates to dozens of destinations across England and Wales, serving large cities as well as smaller towns, including Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester, Preston, London, Birmingham, Norwich, Swindon, Plymouth, Newport and Swansea.

General Manager of megabus.com, Ian Laing said: "Everybody loves a bargain and we hope this huge seat giveaway will help our passengers beat the winter blues. We have a loyal customer base and we're delighted to be offering them this special promotion. We also hope it will encourage new customers to give our services a try and make the switch to greener, smarter and better value coach travel."

megabus.com was launched in the UK in 2003 and revolutionised travel by offering fares from just £1 (plus 50p booking fee) via a simple online booking system. Almost five million passengers now use megabus.com services in the UK every year, which operate to more than 60 locations across the country.

In 2006, Stagecoach launched megabus.com in North America where it has now been used by more than 18 million passengers and serves 90 locations.

Further information about megabus.com services and about the terms and conditions of the seat giveaway can be found at http://www.megabus.com.

Notes to Editors:

*The 50p booking fee still applies on seats booked through the promotion. Full terms and conditions for the promotion can be found at the following link http://megabus.com/wintersale-terms

About Stagecoach Group:

Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services. Around 3 million customers use the Group's transport services every day.

Stagecoach is one of UK's biggest bus and coach operators. Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach's 7,700 buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The company's business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. It also operates the market-leading budget coach service megabus.com, which links around 60 key cities and carries 5 million passengers a year in the UK.

Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.

Stagecoach also operates the Supertram network in Sheffield.

In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,700 buses and national coaches in the United States and Canada. Budget coach service megabus.com links more than 90 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter and transit services, as well as tours, charters, sightseeing tours and a small number of school bus services.

PR Contact:
Jodine Milne
UK Bus Marketing Manager
Stagecoach Group plc
Wheatsheaf
Sunderland
SR5 1AQ
+44(0)191-5675251
uk.megabus.com

SOURCE Stagecoach Group plc