Coastliner 700

Coastliner 700 Cruise along the coast
One of the new Coastliner 700 buses at The Hard Interchange, Portsmouth.
Overview
Operator	Stagecoach in the South Downs
Vehicle	Enviro 400, Enviro 300
Livery	Stagecoach livery with Coastliner logos and other images to be explained in the article
Peak vehicle requirement	17 (Enviro 400) , 13 (Enviro 300)
Status	Open
Night-time	N700
Route
Locale	Portsmouth
Landmarks served	Brighton Pavillion, Chichester Cathedral
Start	Brighton
Via	Hove, Worthing, Littlehampton, Arundel, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, Portsmouth
End	Southsea
Length	62.4 miles (100.4 km)
Service
Journey time	4 hours 20 mins
Operates	0505 - 0415
Route map Coastliner 700 Brighton Hove Worthing Littlehampton Arundel Bognor Regis Chichester Havant Portsmouth Southsea ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

Coastliner 700 is a popular bus service operated in West Sussex by Stagecoach in the South Downs between Brighton and Southsea. The route travels via Worthing, Littlehampton, Arundel, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, and Portsmouth; it also has its own livery. The general daytime frequency of the routes is every ten minutes, and the route is a popular tourist lifeline in the summer as it travels between major tourist destinations on the south coast. Double-decker buses are normally used to operate the route, although there are also single deckers. The route has its own website.

History

The bus stop flags at Cambridge Junction, Portsmouth, Hampshire.

The route was introduced in 1975. Passenger numbers increased dramatically in the early 2000s, and by 2010 the service carried four million people per year. New vehicles were introduced by Stagecoach in March 2010. The service has had its own livery from the beginning. It began with a coloured strip along the side of the green Southdown bus; now it is the regular Stagecoach livery, blue, white, orange and red, with the route description on the side, and different buses having livery related to a certain town along the route, and slogans such as 'We took the Coastliner 700 to fun and fashion'.

In Brighton, the bus is often though of as a bit of a 'foreigner' or visitor to the rest of the buses in Brighton with their cream and red livery. It is the only bus route in the UK that stays so close to the shoreline throughout the whole route; for the majority of it the bus is on the very front, so that one could look out and watch the boats on the sea or the beach. It is operated from three Stagecoach depots, Worthing, Chichester and Portsmouth, and normally run with branded Enviro 400s and 300s.

Route

The service operates along the south coast, stopping at several landmarks, among which are Brighton Pavilion and Chichester Cathedral. The Worthing Birdman competition at Worthing pier also attracts lots in the summer, as the route travels right along the road next to the promenade where it is held and takes people back to their various hotels and caravan sites, of which there are many in that region.

Gallery

• 
  An Scania N230UD/Enviro 400 branded for the service pictured at The Square in Emsworth, West Sussex.
• 
  Stagecoach in the South Downs 27511 (GX06 DZF), an Alexander Dennis Enviro300 in Queen Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire on route 700. It is unusual to see this type of bus on the Coastliner 700 service, which is normally operated by branded double-decker buses.
• 
  A Dennis Trident 2/Alexander Dennis ALX400. It is seen standing on Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex, England.

See also

• List of bus routes in West Sussex
• Stagecoach in the South Downs

External links

• Coastliner 700 Website
• Coastliner Map