Record numbers travel by coach

[TheGrandWazoo]

Ultimate revenge on NX, a company who continuously pooped on the operators big and small who held it's contracts.

I don't know if I agree with that. Of the large operators, First had a strategy of costing at a certain level and essentially priced themselves out of the market. Arriva traditionally did very little anyway. What Stagecoach did was to spot the complacency of NX and launch a cheap no frills service that taps into the price sensitivity of coach travel - something that First didn't understand with Greyhound.

For smaller operators, some have used NX work as a lower margin but lower risk with a guaranteed income to underpin their business. Some have been bombed out but often service has been an issue.

The lost years of NX did undoubtedly let Stagecoach in with Megabus, almost as a pre cursor to the decline of First. However, they seem to stronger as a group even if they still need to develop the coach side further

 

[WestCoast]

Birmingham is significantly better served by National Express than by Megabus. Probably the issue with Birmingham is that there is no independent bus station in the city available for Megabus. Megabus is much more competitive on routes to Manchester. There they have access to a decent enough bus station and they now even have their own waiting room and ticket office. They also seem to have an inspector to help with boarding.

That is true, Birmingham is the heartland for National Express buses and a central hub for their coach network. The Coach Station is a pleasant place for passengers to wait for departures and/or change coaches, but of course it's a private NX facility and probably wouldn't be able to accommodate Megabus capacity wise anyway. However, Shudehill in Manchester is quite adequate I agree, probably on a par with NX's facility at Chorlton Street in Manchester.

It's very rare to see more than one Megabus at Hill Street bus stop in Birmingham, whereas the Coach Station is often full of NX vehicles. There simply isn't a station for Megabus to use in/near the city centre at the moment and considering that Birmingham has more rail competition for key flows (e.g. Birmingham-London), perhaps less of a market for Megabus anyway.

 

[nottinghamcity]

Considering that Birmingham has more rail competition for key flows (e.g. Birmingham-London), perhaps less of a market for Megabus anyway.

I wonder if megabus are less keen on routes and areas where stagecoach are the dominant rail operator too?

There doesn't seem to be much appetite in the East Midlands either for parallel megabus services to the MML. In fact they sell train tickets from within the brand.

 

[MCR247]

I wonder if megabus are less keen on routes and areas where stagecoach are the dominant rail operator too?

There doesn't seem to be much appetite in the East Midlands either for parallel megabus services to the MML. In fact they sell train tickets from within the brand.

You can buy Nottingham - London tickets on the Nottingham - Paris megabus

 

[pitdiver]

When I worked for NX we offered Season Tickets between Milton Keynes and London. What a nightmare they were as well.

 

[Bungle965]

When I worked for NX we offered Season Tickets between Milton Keynes and London. What a nightmare they were as well.

How come may I ask?
Sam

 

[radamfi]

How come may I ask?
Sam

There was an experimental commuter coach service from Milton Keynes to Canary Wharf that started in 2007:

http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/media/corporate-news/2008/national-express-targets-commuters/

http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/destinations/Commutercoach.aspx

 

[Bletchleyite]

There was an experimental commuter coach service from Milton Keynes to Canary Wharf that started in 2007:

http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/media/corporate-news/2008/national-express-targets-commuters/

http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/destinations/Commutercoach.aspx

It was never going to work - even with the faff of getting from Euston to Canary Wharf, the train is quicker. They'd have done better trying an origin with a poor train service, not one on the WCML.

 

[Bungle965]

It was never going to work - even with the faff of getting from Euston to Canary Wharf, the train is quicker. They'd have done better trying an origin with a poor train service, not one on the WCML.

Yes i did ponder that myself, i can not believe that NX thought that it would work.
Sam

 

[deltic]

When I worked for NX we offered Season Tickets between Milton Keynes and London. What a nightmare they were as well.

National Express owned Kings Ferry provides season tickets on its commuter services from Kent to London

 

[notadriver]

Why has KF succeeded where NX has failed ?

 

[pitdiver]

The season tickets I referred to were available on any service to and from London. The customer would choose which service they wanted to travel on each day and we would book the seats. Some customers had monthly some had quarterly. The nightmare was the actual booking of the seats.

I remember the special service to Canary Wharf it was known as MK1. The coach was operated by Arriva Mk . It was totally uneconomic as the vehicle would have to sit all day inan Arriva garage in London it couldn't operate any other service as always had to be available. I can remember the first Morning of operation from the old Coachway in MK .

 

[Hophead]

Why has KF succeeded where NX has failed ?

Several reasons:

1. The stations are a considerable distance from much of the housing, adding time, and possibly expense and fragility to the daily commute;
2. The railway through the Medway towns is generally perceived to be expensive and poor quality (plus the coaches are modern and kept clean inside & out);
3. The A2, by contrast, runs much closer to many of the modern estates, so you can be pretty much past Gravesend on the coach before you've even got to Chatham Station by bus or bike;
4. The coach has good access to Canary Wharf: a considerable advantage over the train - the advent of Crossrail may have quite an effect, although commuters will still have to deal with getting to Abbey Wood on crowded trains

.

 

[the101]

The likelihood of all the Kent commuter services surviving until when Crossrail starts to run is unfortunately minimal, as various roadworks between Canary Wharf and the City have destroyed reliability over the past few months. I believe Redwing, Chalkwell and The King's Ferry have all seen a significant drop-off in passengers who are now using the train instead.

 

[pitdiver]

duplicate post

 

[notadriver]

How will Crossrail affect KF passenger numbers ? I thought KFs passenger base was in the Medway towns.

 

[radamfi]

How will Crossrail affect KF passenger numbers ? I thought KFs passenger base was in the Medway towns.

You will be able to change from Kent trains onto Crossrail at Abbey Wood.

 

[notadriver]

If I was travelling to Canary Wharf from the Medway Towns I wouldn't use a stopper train that went that way. I'd use the high speed to Stratford and then the Jubilee line ?

 

[deltic]

The likelihood of all the Kent commuter services surviving until when Crossrail starts to run is unfortunately minimal, as various roadworks between Canary Wharf and the City have destroyed reliability over the past few months. I believe Redwing, Chalkwell and The King's Ferry have all seen a significant drop-off in passengers who are now using the train instead.

Until Crossrail gets extended to Ebbsfleet cant see it having that much effect on coach services and if Silvertown tunnel gets built they will see a major boost with a 20 minute time saving and much improved reliability

 

[the101]

Until Crossrail gets extended to Ebbsfleet cant see it having that much effect on coach services and if Silvertown tunnel gets built they will see a major boost with a 20 minute time saving and much improved reliability

I'm not talking about Crossrail having an effect on commuter coach passenger numbers. I'm talking about the current disasterpiece with horrific congestion between the City and Canary Wharf and vice versa. It is driving passengers away now, and who can blame them? One of the operators has reported that it can take an hour(!) to get from one to the other in the morning peak.

 

[telstarbox]

If I was travelling to Canary Wharf from the Medway Towns I wouldn't use a stopper train that went that way. I'd use the high speed to Stratford and then the Jubilee line ?

The journey times with Crossrail will be comparable and it will be one fewer change (HS1 arrives at Stratford International and the Jubilee line goes from Stratford main), plus HS1 season tickets are not cheap!

The coaches are only viable to Canary Wharf because it's on the same side of London as Medway and the A2 is a fairly reliable route east of the Blackwall Tunnel.