Magic Bus (Stagecoach)

Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Trident 2 at Manchester Piccadilly bus station in April 2010
Parent	Stagecoach
Founded	1986
Locale	Manchester
Hubs	Manchester Piccadilly bus station Wilmslow Road bus corridor
Fleet	Alexander Dennis Enviro 400
Operator	Stagecoach Manchester

Magic Bus is a brand of Stagecoach Group for local bus operations in the United Kingdom, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators.

The name was first introduced in Glasgow in 1986, where ex London Transport AEC Routemasters were used on a route to Castlemilk. In 1992 this operation was sold to Kelvin Central Buses.

The brand was used in Newcastle 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 were common sights.

The Magic Bus brand was reintroduced to Glasgow by Stagecoach West Scotland in 2002. At its peak it was used on three routes; one was withdrawn in 2005, and the remainder in 2006. It was also used more recently in Liverpool by Stagecoach Merseyside.

The Magic Bus brand was introduced by Stagecoach Manchester to the Wilmslow Road bus corridor where Bullocks Coaches, Finglands Coachways and UK North competed.

In 2006 the Magic Bus brand was introduced in Manchester on route 192 to counter a bus war started by UK North. Following UK North being delicenced, the Magic Bus ceased operating on route 192 with all services provided by Stagecoach liveried buses.

Buses used in Manchester have been older buses from the Stagecoach Manchester fleet including Leyland Olympians, Volvo B10Ms, Volvo Olympians, Scania N113NRBs as well as some 3-axle Leyland Olympians imported from Stagecoach's Citybus operation in Hong Kong (via a stint with Megabus) and Kenya.