STAGECOACH South West has unveiled a special commemorative bus to mark the Coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

The local bus operator has kitted out one of its Double Decker E400 buses from its Torbay Fleet in a livery fit for a King. 

The striking design features the official emblem and colours of the Coronation, with the red, white and blue theme boldly celebrating this important event in British History.

The bus was designed and painted in house at the company’s head office in Exeter. The high-tech facility, based on Marsh Barton, features its own paint shop, where livery work for the South West bus fleet is carried out by the local experienced team. 

The newly unveiled bus will soon be out on the road, operating the company’s flagship 12 bus route.

The service connects Brixham with Paignton, Torquay and Newton Abbot up to every 10 minutes. Customers will be able to travel on the special Coronation bus from this weekend to take in views across the English Riviera or visit a variety of attractions enroute. 

As many events take place across the region, to mark the King’s Coronation, the team at Stagecoach South West will be celebrating with a variety of activities including customer giveaways and special cream tea days for their staff. 

Customers will be able given the opportunity to win FREE bus travel for a year in the Stagecoach King of The Bus competition.

Passengers will simply need to take a picture of the special crowns dotted on buses across the country and share on social media using the hashtag #KingOfTheBus to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize.

Stagecoach will also be handing out special seeded cards across some services to celebrate the Coronation, allowing customers to plant beautiful blooms to remember the occasion. 

Stagecoach also plan to decorate staff rooms across the South West and treat its teams to a cream tea as well the opportunity to take part in a series of royal themed quizzes with a number of prizes up for grabs. 

The Coronation is an exciting and important event for communities across the country.

The event is particularly special for a select number of staff in the South West, who had the opportunity to meet the then Prince Charles at the opening of Exeter’s new bus station on July 19, 2021.

King Charles met with staff including long service drivers, members of the company’s cleaning and engineering teams and local managers to discuss their work over the pandemic.

This was a once in a lifetime experience for the Stagecoach staff in attendance, many of whom cite it as the proudest moment in their career. 

"Stagecoach South West Managing Director Peter Knight said: Stagecoach is proud to join the community in Commemorating the Coronation of King Charles III.

"This is an important event for our country, and it is great to be able to mark this special occasion with some festive activities and a commemorative bus.

"We hope that our customers across the South West, and visitors to our region will enjoy spotting the bus out on the road." 

Buses will continue to operate across the weekend of the Coronation, allowing people to connect to street parties and celebrations in the region.

Buses will operate the normal Saturday timetable on Saturday, May 6, with a Sunday service offered on Sunday, May 7 and the Bank Holiday, Monday, May 8.

• For more information on the Stagecoach King of The Bus competition visit here: www.stagecoachbus.com/coronationcelebration .