Europe’s leading low-fares coach operator megabus.com launches new domestic coach journeys in France

• Company to offer nine journeys covering five locations, with prices from €1*
• Tickets on sale now at www.megabus.com

PERTH, Scotland, 2015-8-18 — /Travel PR News/ — Europe’s leading low-fares coach operator megabus.com today (17 August 2015) announced the launch of new domestic coach journeys in France following the decision to liberalise the coach market.

New legislation means that people in France can travel more freely by coach between cities in France. The new ‘Macron Law’ allows operators to offer domestic services on any routes that are over 100km, including journeys that are part of existing international routes**.

As a result, megabus.com is now launching its first domestic journeys since the new law was passed, offering nine new journey options covering five key locations in France, with fares from just €1*.

The new journeys are already underway and tickets are on sale now at www.megabus.com.

The news means that people in France can travel with megabus.com between the following locations:

• Mulhouse – Lyon
• Mulhouse – Avignon
• Mulhouse – Montpellier
• Mulhouse – Perpignan
• Lyon – Avignon
• Lyon – Montpellier
• Lyon – Perpignan
• Avignon – Perpignan
• Montpellier – Perpignan

 megabus.com also already provides domestic travel between Paris and Toulouse.

megabus.com Managing Director Edward Hodgson said: “The new law brings the prospect of more exciting travel opportunities for millions of people across France. As Europe’s leading low fares and high quality inter-city coach operator, we are well placed to help the government meet its objectives to grow what is a key sector of the economy.

“Our low fares will help put millions of euros back into the pockets of consumers through savings on their travel and our investment in France will also support new jobs. This is the first phase of our plans for domestic services within France and we look forward to expanding our operations further in the future to benefit people across the country.”

Fares on every megabus.com journey start from just €1* – less than the price of a cup of coffee.  All services operate using state-of-the-art vehicles with free Wifi, power sockets, air conditioning and a toilet.

megabus.com recently announced the launch of a new base in France, with the creation of 35 jobs at an operating base in Belleville-sur-Saône, north of Lyon.

megabus.com, part of Stagecoach Group in Scotland, has operated since 2003. It expanded from the UK to North America in 2006 and has served mainland Europe since 2012.

There are now almost 150 destinations on the megabus,com network in Europe,  including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lyon, Toulouse, Barcelona, Lille, Luxembourg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Rome, Milan and Naples.

megabus.com carries more than 15 million passengers a year across Europe and North America. The number of passengers using the company’s growing coach network in Europe is up more than 330% in the past year. The current average fare on the megabus.com network in mainland Europe is around €15.

megabus.com offers French, Italian, German, English, Spanish and Dutch language websites. Services are popular with families, students and tourists looking to save money on travel and spend extra on entertainment when they arrive at their destination.

All megabus.com drivers undertake a detailed operational and customer service training programme. It includes route familiarisation and driving assessments and this is in addition to meeting all of the EU standard qualifications for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers. megabus.com ensures full compliance with relevant EU working time legislation and has stricter maintenance standards than legal requirements as part of its commitment to safety.

The success of megabus.com’s services has seen it create more than 500 jobs over the past decade in the UK and Europe and a further 1,000 jobs in North America.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:  Stagecoach Group Communications on 01738 442111 or email: media@stagecoachgroup.com

Notes to Editors:

*All bookings are subject to a 50cent booking fee

** Under the new law, less than 50% of seats can be sold for domestic travel on international journeys.

Stagecoach Group

• Stagecoach Group is an international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, continental Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,300 buses and coaches. Around 2.8 million passenger journeys are made on Stagecoach’s buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.
• 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 rail franchise. It also has a 90% shareholding in Inter City Railways Limited, which has been awarded the contract to operate the East Coast rail franchise from March 2015.
• Stagecoach operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, contracted, charter and sightseeing services.

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