location now and get the most relevant ticket and travel information available clear go we will not share your location information with any third parties sign up log in 0 basket 0 ticket location close please set your location set your location now and get the most relevant ticket and travel information available clear go we will not share your location information with any third parties please note we will use cookies to store your location and provide a better website experience . by continuing to use this website you consent to this and you can view our cookie policy here . 0 basket menu home plan a journey maps tickets timetables service updates help & contact sign up log in search close search go home more about us about stagecoach north east find out all the information you need to know about how stagecoach north east operates including details of passengers staff and services . our environmentally friendly local bus services operate in newcastle south shields sunderland hartlepool and teesside . we are based locally at our head office in sunderland and are a subsidiary of stagecoach group plc. this report covers our activities over the year up to the end of april 2015 . you can also find out more about our parent company stagecoach uk bus . download our annual report stagecoach north east annual report 2015 2016 pdf 2.83 mb key facts key facts our people our customers our environment our buses our services our community our team key facts may 2015 april 2016 over 65 million passenger journeys were made on stagecoach north east buses 21 million miles operated across the north east 1 436 staff employed across six stagecoach north east depots 477 buses across newcastle south shields sunderland hartlepool and teesside 99.4 % reliability 93.5 % punctuality 4.5 million investment in new buses follow us and tweet your questions and comments to stagecoachne our people we are a major employer in the local economy with 1 436 staff of whom 1 123 are drivers 212 are engineers and 101 are administration and managerial staff . the majority of our employees live within the local communities in which our buses operate . in the 2015 uk bus awards stagecoach north east s sunderland depot won gold in the top national depot category which is testament to the hard work and dedication of this local team . over the past year we have recruited and trained 172 new staff . our drivers also attend certified classroom courses during the year to maintain their driver qualification card which requires them to maintain and improve their skills through regular training updates . we also work with drivers continuously to improve driving skills and use a monitoring system on the buses called green road . using a traffic light led system on the dashboard greenroad gives drivers instant feedback on their driving manoeuvres encouraging smoother safer and more fuel efficient driving . in the last year 276 drivers 25 % received fleet elite awards for their exceptional driving standards . an impressive 170 these drivers achieved the gold badge for consistently maintaining the fleet elite driving standard for three consecutive years . we are active in getting more young people into our company through the stagecoach apprenticeship scheme and currently employ 15 engineering apprentices from within the local community . many of our employees have shown impressive commitment and loyalty to stagecoach and the bus industry in general . each year we hold long service awards and in 2015 16 65 of our north east team achieved milestones of 20 25 30 35 40 and 45 years service with us . our customers our customers made a total of over 65 million journeys on our buses through the year . in the same period we received a total of 2 657 complaints equivalent to one complaint for every 24 595 passenger journeys . an independent customer satisfaction survey by passenger focus published in march 2016 showed that bus users in the north east are some of the most satisfied in the uk with stagecoach rated highly for value for money . however we continue to strive to do better and welcome feedback from our customers . we work hard to improve the experience of our customers with disabilities and in february 2016 we launched an internal campaign to help our drivers better recognise and assist people with hidden disabilities . challenging perceptions was developed with jo milne campaigner and author from gateshead who has usher syndrome and uses eye catching posters asking drivers not to judge customers on what they can see . our established twitter account provides regular service updates from our depot teams and also a contact point for enquiries and comments . we also have a central customer communications team to maintain and improve customer services through social media telephone email and web based channels . our environment we are making some real progress in becoming a greener smarter bus company ; not just on the road but in our depots workshops offices canteens kitchens toilets everywhere new types of fuels and fuel additives are being tested across the uk and this includes a fleet of 40 gas buses in sunderland a first for stagecoach . the rest of our buses in the north east now run on b30 diesel which blends 30 % biodiesel with normal diesel reducing harmful exhaust emissions . during stagecoach green week north east depots get heavily involved with schools events recycling and energy saving competitions . at christmas green santa visits schools to award environmentally friendly prizes and community groups are given the opportunity to apply for eco grants . additionally staff at the depots are encouraged to reduce reuse recycle and even cycle all year round with hundreds of employees signed up to the company s cycle to work scheme . our buses we operate a fleet of 477 buses and have invested millions in new buses for local areas over the last couple of years all of which are fully accessible and meet the latest euro emission standards . in the last year we have introduced 36 brand new buses into our fleet for services operating in teesside and south tyneside . all buses have state of the art fuel efficient engines improved seating for customer comfort and free wi fi . this included 19 on services which link south shields town centre locations and harton nook and 17 on services around stockton town centre with links to fairfield hardwick norton and billingham . featuring a connecting the dots theme the bus designs highlight the connections available along the routes and the flexibility on offer for passengers when travelling in the region . a total of 116 buses in the north east are now fitted with free wi fi for the convenience of our customers and more will follow during 2016 17 . our services we operated over 21 million miles over the last year on 2.18 million journeys . our key measure of performance is the reliability and punctuality of our journeys . in the past year we operated 99.4 % of our scheduled services and of the 0.6 % of scheduled journeys that we did not operate 0.04 % was due to factors within our control such as driver and vehicle allocation and 0.56 % was due to factors out of our control such as bad weather road closures and traffic congestion . we monitor our services for punctuality and in the past year we monitored 6.1 % of all scheduled journeys . despite another year of an exceptional number of road work schemes across the region of these 93.5 % operated within 5 minutes of their scheduled time . we continue to seek improvements both through rescheduling services and in discussions with our local highway authorities . investments in the last year we invested 4.5 million in 36 new buses for stockton and south shields . we ve also continued to invest heavily in training and the development of our staff . investment in new technology that helps us better manage our operations and provide more up to date travel information continues and customers can now access an industry leading fares finder and real time bus updates on our new website . even more developments are planned including a new app to further improve the bus travel experience . further commitments to smart ticketing have led to the launch of three new multi operator smart card products . smartzone which allows travel on buses operated by all three major bus companies in south tyneside sunderland newcastle and north tyneside now provides unlimited travel from less than 2 per day . this follows a pledge made last year by the country s major bus companies to deliver multi operator smart ticketing to millions of bus customers across england during 2015 as part of the government s smart cities initiative . at the same time young people and the unemployed continue to benefit from our industry leading discount travel schemes ; vip for under 19s and back on board for job seekers . our community we are a major employer in the local community and enable thousands of people to go about their daily activities . we work with many local organisations to improve transport access and information . the north east team is tireless in its dedication to supporting local communities . through campaigns like green santa catch the bus week green week and national customer service week we ve given away goody bags free travel vouchers and grants to local schools individuals and groups . we also support our employees through both funding and practical help in the many and varied ways they fundraise across the region . our depot teams regularly take part in sporting events quizzes and collections to raise money for local charities and community projects . once again bus drivers from across the north east depots raised thousands for charity by spreading some christmas cheer as they drove their buses dressed as father christmas and his festive friends . passengers showed generosity in their thousands and we were able to donate more than 16 000 to local charities . in 2015 we donated a 1995 volvo olympian double decker bus to a local school that were desperately in need of a library . since then the young diy ers have been getting stuck in to give the bus a marvellous makeover stripping out the bus and painting the exterior to prepare it for its important new role . meet some of our team head office scroll table horizontally to view table content managing director clare kavanagh acting commercial director robin knight operations director colin newbury engineering director gary chisholm commercial manager david parker marketing manager helen martin training & development manager paul bradley depots scroll table horizontally to view table content operations manager engineering manager newcastle slatyford malcolm bell keith burlison newcastle walkergate david wakefield bob bootiman south shields janine fowley alan richardson sunderland laura smith colin gardener hartlepool jason astley lee mutch teesside stockton nathan stanislawski neil mcleary contact stagecoach in north east change area close please set your location set your location now and get the most relevant ticket and travel information available clear go we will not share your location information with any third parties show contact information head office and ticket enquiries opening hours our switchboard is open from 09 00 to 17 00 monday to friday . telephone 0191 566 0231 fax 0191 566 0230 email northeast.enquiries stagecoachbus.com disability helpdesk typetalk enabled 0191 566 0248 email northeast.enquiries stagecoachbus.com postal address stagecoach north east head office wheatsheaf sunderland sr5 1aq feedback we really value your opinion on how we are doing please feel free to drop us an email or write to us . closed on bank holidays follow us follow us on twitter stagecoachne to get service updates ask a quick question or tell us