FACE TO FACE › MICHELLE HARGREAVES
More than just a bus service There is a revolution taking place within Stagecoach’s East Midlands business as Managing Director Michelle Hargreaves explains to Steven Knight
Michelle Hargreaves (second left, front row) at the launch of the Skegness Seasiders. STAGECOACH EAST MIDLANDS
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rior to meeting Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands Michelle Hargreaves, I make sure that I have some recent experience of her product and with ‘wall to wall’ sun promised for two days, I opt for the Lincolnshire coast and Skegness. Earlier this year, Stagecoach East Midlands re-launched its seasonal open top service which links Skegness town centre with the coastal holiday camps through to Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards. It also serves the Butlin’s holiday camp and the popular Fantasy Island theme park. Working with the local depot team under Operations Manager Mark Magean, staff were asked for their views on how the route could be re-launched for 2014.
Buses with characters
“There was an overwhelming view that it should become a holiday attraction in its own right rather than just a bus service,” Michelle told me. “There was a real ‘buy-in’ from staff at Skegness and in the Lincoln HQ who suggested that each of the buses should be given its own identity. Once they had the
ators, here’s
Perhaps most striking of the Seasider liveries is that carried by ‘Rocky’ but all of them are eye catching in different ways. DAVID BELL 18 | COACH & BUS WEEK | August 20, 2014 018_021_CBW1151_Michell Hargreaves.indd 18
Re-launched this year was the X62 service linking Hull and Leeds via Goole, now marketed under the ‘Love Your X’ brand. STAGECOACH EAST MIDLANDS www.coachandbusweek.com
18/08/2014 09:14