Hello, I know that in the long history of the forum this question has probably been asked many times, but I'm asking again. Where do we draw the line between coach and bus travel? is it the vehicle type, concessionary pass acceptance, or something totally different. I think Scottish Citylink(Specifically the 915/916) is a good example. Would you count this as a local bus journey (It accepts concessionary passes and has regular stops) or a coach journey (It is operated by a coach and runs over a long distance)? Any answers and opinions appreciated.
Would you like a tin opener to go with that can of worms?
Firstly, the acceptance of concessionary passes isn't really a good indicator; the rules in England and Scotland are different (I have no knowledge of the schemes in Wales and Northern Ireland, so I can't comment on them). My dad used to travel on the Citylink/Megabus Gold services with his pass and they certainly couldn't be classed as bus routes.
Regarding Citylink, while it more or less functions as a local stopping service in some rural areas, it was intended to be a coach network that provided a common brand to the network of longer-distance services that were operated by Scottish Bus Group subsidiary companies. The name "Scottish Citylink Coaches" also reflects this. A coach service doesn't necessarily have to be "express", and indeed many of the Citylink services that I travelled on in my younger days were "stoppers", particularly heading south from Aberdeen and Inverness where they stopped at most of the smaller towns along the A92 and A9 respectively. "Flyer" services along those routes weren't very common at the time and, if I recall correctly, those that did usually only operated on Fridays and Sundays, presumably catering for the student market.
The line I would draw is whether advance ticket purchase (for a specific journey)/reservation is required or expected - in which case it's a coach service - or not (either not available, or not expected) - in which case it's a bus service.
Perhaps that should read "available", rather than "required or expected". I've booked coach journeys in the past when I've known my travel plans in advance, but much of the time I've travelled "standby" and tickets were always available from the driver. The advent of web bookings and demand-based pricing has obviously changed the situation over the years. I wouldn't expect to turn up and go these days because I'd be paying much more for the journey on a walk-up basis than I would if I'd booked online.
Personally, I'd say that it's the choice of vehicle that really determines what makes a bus or a coach service. On a coach service you'd expect to have a vehicle that has high-backed, reclining seats; a toilet is probably desirable, but not strictly necessary.
Let's take the Stagecoach Bluebird 10, Inverness to Aberdeen service, as an example. In my living memory this has always been a coach service, having been Citylink 540/960 and then 560 when the route was no longer operated as a Citylink route. There was always a mixed bag of vehicles that were used, but it was more or less guaranteed that you'd get one that had recliners, even though they were no longer in the prime of their lives.
I wouldn't class it as a coach route now, though. Despite introducing batches of dedicated vehicles such as the original Volvo B10M/Plaxton Interurban and the more recent Volvo B11R/Plaxton Elite, these are more "dual purpose" specification and there is no guarantee that one will turn up. The last few times I've been in town, I've noticed that the 10 has had Enviro 400s on it; I certainly wouldn't enjoy a trip on one of them all the way to Aberdeen!
