Ryder Cup Europe has announced that Stagecoach South Wales and Arriva have been appointed Official Coach Suppliers to The 2010 Ryder Cup, to be played at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales from 1-3 October.
Stagecoach in South Wales, which is part of the Stagecoach Group, one of the largest bus operators in the UK, is based in Cwmbran, Torfaen, and will provide a fleet of 150 double decker buses to and from the East and West Ryder Cup Park and Ride sites, just off the M4 motorway, during the week of the event.
Arriva, one of Europe’s leading transport groups with operations in 12 countries, will co-ordinate and deliver a fleet of at least 120 single decker coaches to transfer VIPs, Ryder Cup Travel Services, hospitality clients and members of the media to and from their official hotels to The Twenty Ten Course.
Arriva’s Tellings Golden Miller (TGM) coach business will deliver on-the-ground services, which are expected to carry more than 150,000 golf fans and VIPs to the tournament over the match and practice days, while the group’s Cardiff-based Road Transport Section will use its contacts, local route knowledge and management expertise to commission the additional high quality, third party coach operators required to complement TGM’s coaches and fulfil the contract.
Richard Hills, Ryder Cup Director, said: “It is a huge operation to transport in the region of 45,000 people daily to and from the golf course during the week of The Ryder Cup. We are delighted that Stagecoach and Arriva – two companies with strong attachments to South Wales – will facilitate these transfers and ensure the smooth arrival and departure of the spectators at The Celtic Manor Resort.
“We employed a similar procedure in Ireland four years ago by contracting two companies to carry this extremely important role and the operation was a massive success. With Stagecoach and Arriva providing a fleet of almost 300 coaches between them, visitors to The 2010 Ryder Cup will be able to enjoy a comfortable and pleasurable journey.”
John Gould, Managing Director, Stagecoach Wales said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to operate the bus services for the Park & Ride sites for The 2010 Ryder Cup, which is such a prestigious sporting event and being held in Wales for the first time.
“Stagecoach has wide-ranging experience of providing transport services for major sporting events including the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, The Open Championship at Hoylake (2006) and Royal Birkdale (2008), the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for a number of years and the annual Cheltenham National Hunt Festival.
“Locally we have undertaken Park & Ride operations for the Millennium Stadium and The Celtic Manor Wales Open at The Celtic Manor Resort. We will be calling on the significant resources of the 19 regional companies within our UK Bus division, which in total operate a fleet of around 7,000 buses and coaches and employ around 18,000 people throughout the UK, to help ensure the success of the operation.”
Martijn Gilbert for Arriva said: “Securing a contract for a major event like the Ryder Cup is a fantastic achievement. We have brought together the extensive experience of Arriva’s TGM business, which delivers premium coach services and sports team transportation, with our Cardiff-based Road Transport Section, to create a team that has the skills and local knowledge to deliver the professional, co-ordinated transport services our client requires for this prestigious sporting event.”
The 2010 Ryder Cup www.rydercupwales2010.com