All aboard the Stagecoach teddy bear express

Stagecoach West Scotland welcomed some furry customers on board its 43A service to Annbank this week as the operator made a special delivery to the Night Before Christmas Campaign.

Employees across each of the seven West Scotland depots have been making donations and pledges to fill a single-decker bus, including 500 limited edition Stagecoach teddy bears, selection boxes, and hundreds of little red bags of joy to bring some festive cheer to children and young people this Christmas.

Drop-off hubs were set up at Ayr and Kilmarnock bus stations, with members of the public also encouraged to donate anything they could.

Fiona Doherty, Managing Director, Stagecoach West Scotland said: “This year, we’re focusing on the gift of giving. Our generous employees from across our local depots have donated hundreds of gifts and pledges to the Night Before Christmas Campaign.” 

Through this year’s ‘Little Red Bags of Joy’ campaign, the charity aims to support at least 10,000 families.

Jodie McFarlane from the Night Before Christmas said: “With the cost-of-living crisis getting worse, families are really going to struggle this year and make difficult choices between gifts or heating.  We’ve seen a massive increase in our referrals, and we’re on a mission to give out 10,000 bags of joy this year.  We were over the moon when Stagecoach announced we were their chosen charity for the second year running; their generous donations and support will help us to complete our mission.”

As well as hundreds of donations for charity, the bus operator has been spreading festive cheer with bus drivers dressing as Santa to hand out over 400 advent calendars to children.  A team of elves have been hitting the streets to share festive timetables and free candy canes.

Stagecoach festive timetables will be in place from 24 December until Tuesday 3 January 2023 when normal service will resume.  Services will continue to operate on key routes throughout the festive break, except for Christmas Day.

Fiona Doherty continued: “There’s no better gift than visiting friends and family over Christmas.  We’re ensuring that our communities are connected over the festive period by operating Monday to Friday between Christmas with Saturday and Sunday timetable service levels, this will also allow our teams to have a well-earned break and spend time with their loved ones.”

Stagecoach has released its festive timetables from 24 December until Tuesday 3 January 2023 when normal service will resume.  Services will continue to operate on key routes throughout the festive break, except for Christmas Day. To plan and download a copy of the Stagecoach West Scotland festive timetables click here https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/west-scotland/christmas

Pictured: 500 teddies and hundreds of ‘Red Bags of Joy’ being delivered to the Night Before Christmas campaign aboard the 43A Stagecoach bus.