Why no TV series about coach services operations yet?

[Class 33]

It is surprising that we've not had any TV series about coach services operations yet. We've had various programmes over the years about the London Underground(The Tube, versions made by both ITV and the BBC), buses(currently On The Yorkshire Buses on C5 and there was a series about London buses on the BBC back in 2005), trains, airports/airlines, ferries, cruise ships. But nothing about coach service operations yet. I wonder if the likes of National Express and Megabus have been approached by TV producers about such programmes, but they declined?

 

[bussnapperwm]

Or maybe ones being looked at?

 

[radamfi]

There was a series about historic coach operations e.g. Yelloway, Red & White etc. a few years ago. It started in the heyday of scheduled coaches, then the decline but then described the subsequent interest in private hire coaches, including football coaches. It then got us to the present day with the interviewing of a well known spotter at VCS.

There was also one episode in the TfL Surface Transport series 'The Routemasters' last year with one programme about VCS.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

There was also a BBC Wales series that focused on Ferris Holidays (international coach holidays) about 10 years ago

 

[Ploughman]

Maybe the camera crew revolted.

 

[Volvodart]

There was a series about a now gone coach operation some years ago on the BBC. I think they were based in the London area and it closed not long after the series was shown. I am sure it was a quite famous long established company. I think it was Frames Rickards.

 

[notadriver]

Would an intercity coach service be considered a 'high speed' form of transport ? After all national express has the express in its name.

 

[extendedpaul]

I reckon Megabus operations would make for an interesting documentary and raise the company's profile.

There's the Gold services and overnight travel with sleeping bunks, the international routes with one ticket per coach for £1 (London to Barcelona for £2.50 return anyone ?), the £5 flat fares on Wednesdays,the Christmas Day services, the local bus drivers who cover stretches of the longer routes ,the consequences of motorway delays, the many students who use the services to/from uni etc etc.

Maybe not a whole series but plenty for a single documentary.

 

[Class 33]

There was a series about historic coach operations e.g. Yelloway, Red & White etc. a few years ago. It started in the heyday of scheduled coaches, then the decline but then described the subsequent interest in private hire coaches, including football coaches. It then got us to the present day with the interviewing of a well known spotter at VCS.

That sounds like the two part series The Golden Age of Coach Travel from a few years ago on BBC4. It was a good nostalgic show.

Who was the well known spotter at Victoria Coach Station?

 

[fowler9]

The fact the one time I used Megabus gave me back ache would be a reason to put me off. Hell I'd still watch it. Ha ha.

 

[Class 33]

I reckon Megabus operations would make for an interesting documentary and raise the company's profile.

There's the Gold services and overnight travel with sleeping bunks, the international routes with one ticket per coach for £1 (London to Barcelona for £2.50 return anyone ?), the £5 flat fares on Wednesdays,the Christmas Day services, the local bus drivers who cover stretches of the longer routes ,the consequences of motorway delays, the many students who use the services to/from uni etc etc.

Maybe not a whole series but plenty for a single documentary.

Is it really only ONE ticket per coach for £1 on the international routes? I thought it was more like just six tickets per coach at that price. I've been able to grab some £1 singles to Amsterdam and Brussels a good several times now.

 

[fowler9]

To be fair the market for people who need such a low fare, the need to go there and the flexibility is probably tiny,

 

[extendedpaul]

Is it really only ONE ticket per coach for £1 on the international routes? I thought it was more like just six tickets per coach at that price. I've been able to grab some £1 singles to Amsterdam and Brussels a good several times now.

I've seen a £1 fare and tried to book two international tickets several times but it's always come up at £1 for the first and then £25 for the second. On the UK routes too when I bag the £1 seat the fare then jumps to between £4 and £8. On Wednesdays I believe £5 is both the minimum and maximum fare on standard services within England and Wales tickets although occasionally a few cheaper ones slip through.

They did publicise that there were at least six tickets per coach at £1 when Megabus first launched and sometimes service buses were used and I think that may still be the case on some Scottish routes.These days the coaches are mainly double deck and less than three years old.

 

[White shadow]

I always find people don't distinguish between coach, bus, they just lump them all I together.

Shame though, I'd love to see a documentary on national express, I think they are a fascinating company.

Very much liking the new channel 5 documentary for now though!

 

[vicbury]

I've seen a £1 fare and tried to book two international tickets several times but it's always come up at £1 for the first and then £25 for the second. On the UK routes too when I bag the £1 seat the fare then jumps to between £4 and £8. On Wednesdays I believe £5 is both the minimum and maximum fare on standard services within England and Wales tickets although occasionally a few cheaper ones slip through.

They did publicise that there were at least six tickets per coach at £1 when Megabus first launched and sometimes service buses were used and I think that may still be the case on some Scottish routes.These days the coaches are mainly double deck and less than three years old.

Clear your cookies, use a different account, or a different Internet connection, and watch the cheap fares come back. At least that's how it works with airlines, they track your interest and increase the prices when they know you're interested.

 

[Class 33]

I reckon Megabus operations would make for an interesting documentary and raise the company's profile.

There's the Gold services and overnight travel with sleeping bunks, the international routes with one ticket per coach for £1 (London to Barcelona for £2.50 return anyone ?), the £5 flat fares on Wednesdays,the Christmas Day services, the local bus drivers who cover stretches of the longer routes ,the consequences of motorway delays, the many students who use the services to/from uni etc etc.

Maybe not a whole series but plenty for a single documentary.

I reakon they could easily stretch a series about Megabus(Europe) to about one series of say six 1 hour(or about 46 minutes if on ITV, Channel 5 or Sky) episodes. Starting with a look back to how Megabus began back in August 2003 with just a single route from London-Oxford, and with initially old double decker buses. And how it's grown to the extensive network of UK routes and some continental routes today. Then proceeding to a "fly on the wall" type content of the day to day operations of Megabus services. Would make for a great series!

 

[extendedpaul]

Going a bit OT I appreciate, but as an illustration of how Megabus has grown I travel on one of the two 14.00 services from London to Cardiff one day most weeks. There's a standard service to Swansea via Newport and Cardiff and a gold service direct to Cardiff. Both are well loaded - between 80 and 100 passengers combined I'd say.

I usually see the 13.30 National Express to Cardiff depart with around 25 on board.

 

[notadriver]

And you get to see drivers at work more often than on railway documentaries.

 

[David Barrett]

There was a series for a while back in the late 1960s/early 1970s where the late Reg Varney did the commentary. I was told it was a comedy by my parents but I learned from my eight years employment on the buses that it was a gritty, no nonsense fly on the wall documentary.

 

[anthony263]

Certainly I am a coach documentary would be a good success the same could be said of First doing a documentary on their bus operations

 

[Titfield]

I thought that the On The Yorkshire Buses gave DVSA and the TC cause to investigate the EYMS operation.