Sidmouth resident Mary King leads Stagecoach parade

Stagecoach South West today announced the purchase of eight new double decker buses for the 52 route, representing a total investment of £1.5 million and demonstrating its continued commitment to Devon’s public transport services. The new buses all meet latest Euro 5 low emissions standards.

The 52 route runs between Exeter, Sidmouth, Seaton and Honiton and is popular with both local and tourists alike.

A launch event for the buses was held today on The Esplanade in Sidmouth featuring a very special guest: Olympic equestrian (and Sidmouth resident) Mary King as well as a vintage horse-drawn omnibus from Stagecoach co-founder and Chief Executive Sir Brian Souter’s personal collection. Mary and the omnibus led a procession of the new vehicles along The Esplanade, allowing invited guests and media to choose between a vintage or 21st century bus travel experience. All four buses present also sported a special livery depicting a variety of Sidmouth scenes, making an altogether eye-catching display.

Michelle Hargreaves, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, said “Once again I am delighted to announce further investment in our South West fleet. Again and again we have been able to demonstrate that, despite the challenging economic climate, we are still spending on new buses to provide an even better service to our customers.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation and Chairman of Sidmouth Town Council, added: “The Service 52 has been a real success story with increasing patronage on an important link across East Devon. This new investment from Stagecoach is very welcome and shows confidence in this thriving route. These are state of the art buses which should attract more passengers to explore and see what Sidmouth and other towns along the route have to offer.”

Photos by Matt Austin.