Stagecoach to acquire Liverpool’s Peoplesbus employees, vehicles and bus services

Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire has announced that it will be acquiring the bus services, contracts, the majority of vehicles and employees of Liverpool independent bus operator Peoplesbus on 9 July 2023.

21 Peoplesbus employees and 23 vehicles will relocate from Peoplesbus’s Aintree depot to Stagecoach’s nearby Gillmoss site, along with all tendered local and school bus services and a network of commercial school and football services. The acquired operations will operate as Stagecoach and the vehicles will initially be rebranded and gradually repainted.

Peoplesbus was founded by Andrew Cawley in June 2001, with one Leyland National bus that operated a number of weekend-only services. In April 2002, the first Merseytravel school service was secured. The operation grew to a peak of 32 vehicles, with school contracts forming the core of the operation, supported in later years by tendered local bus services. Peoplesbus recently expanded with new tendered services in St Helens.

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Managing Director of Stagecoach Merseyside, Matt Davies, said: “Peoplesbus is a local quality independent operator. This acquisition is a good strategic fit for our business, as we expand our portfolio of Merseytravel tendered operations across the city region. It also makes for an excellent bolt on for our Gillmoss depot in Liverpool. We are delighted to be welcoming new colleagues to our Stagecoach team and we will be doing our best to ensure that they quickly feel at home.”

Managing Director of Peoplesbus, Andrew Cawley, said “After 22 amazing years of service to the people of Merseyside, I am delighted that we have been able to secure a deal that will see our employees and vehicles moving over to Gillmoss. This feels like things have come full circle, as Gillmoss is where my passion for the industry started, with my dad having spent 26 years driving buses from here and where I have some extremely fond childhood memories. It feels like coming home. I still have a huge passion for this fantastic industry and, in the short term, I’m looking forward to assisting Stagecoach with the smooth transition of our operation.”