Magicbus
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- Magic Bus is also the name of a song by rock band The Who.
Magicbus is the brand Stagecoach applies to local "no-frills" bus operations in the UK, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators.
The name was first used in Glasgow, Scotland in the late 1980s, where ex-London Transport Routemasters were used, but that operation was sold to Kelvin Central Buses in 1994. Today, most Magicbus vehicles are older double deckers cascaded from normal service work in the UK. A number of tri-axle double deckers reimported from Stagecoach's former operations in Kenya and Hong Kong are also used.
The Magicbus brand is used for some Manchester city operations, especially along the Oxford Road corridor, by Stagecoach Manchester and also in Glasgow by Stagecoach West Scotland. The brand was also used in Ayrshire for a time to compete against Ayrways in Ayr and T&E Docherty in Irvine. The Irvine operation used minibuses branded as "Magic Mini", but the brand has since been dropped in Ayrshire when the competing operators withdrew their services.
The brand was used in Newcastle upon Tyne around 1997 also when trying to eliminate smaller companies operating in the area. The buses were prone to breaking down due to their age and broken down Magicbuses in Newcastle upon Tyne were common sights.
The "Magic Mini" brand was also engaged in a miniature "bus-war" on the Black Isle to Inverness route in the Highlands with local operator Scotbus; with Stagecoach in Inverness adopting aggressive tactics such as scheduling buses five minutes before the rival operator and undercutting fares. Competition between the two operators was acrimonious, climaxing in an arson attack on Stagecoach's Inverness depot. [1]
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