May 1st 2020: Fleet Ramblings Special: recently announced Oxford Tube new vehicle order now confirmed as deferred

1/5/2020

Stagecoach UK Bus
Stagecoach Group has confirmed to Steven Knight Media today that the recently announced order for 34 new coaches Stagecoach Oxfordshire has been deferred. The company was planning to upgrade its Oxford Tube fleet with 14.5m Volvo B11R/Plaxton Panorama coaches. Delivery was due to start at the end of this month but the order has been removed from the company’s 2020/21 Capital Expenditure budget.
Stagecoach announced last month that for the time being, it had scaled down planned expenditure to around £40m of cash capital expenditure and around £20m of new leases.
It explained that the scaled down plans reflected vehicles ordered which are either already built or largely built, vehicles required for new London bus contracts secured, electrical infrastructure work required for new London bus contracts secured, completion of some ongoing land and buildings work, and a reduced spend on technology and change projects.”
Stagecoach Group has also confirmed to us that the order for 52 Enviro 400MMC double decks for Stagecoach Manchester, for which three vehicles have already been delivered, forms part of the revised expenditure plan and deliveries of the remaining 49 vehicles will take place. .