Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Coaches

  • National Express and Trustpilot

    National Express and Trustpilot

    As another one of my irrelevant asides that are of interest to only me, I wondered last week how National Express were getting such high marks on Trustpilot.

    National Express manage 4.2/5 which is “great” according to Trustpilot’s scheme, whereas Flixbus score 2.1/5 which is “poor” and Megabus score 2.0/5 which is also “poor”. Given that I can’t believe National Express are actually any better than their rivals, this felt a bit strange.

    It becomes clear from these feedback e-mails that National Express send to customers. If you click on the green happy icon (as I was a few weeks ago) you’re taken to a long questionnaire about how great National Express are, with the facility to leave feedback on external sites. If you click the red unhappy icon (as I was last week), it just says how sad they are that you weren’t happy. No attempt to collect feedback why and of course, no forwarding onto any external sites.

    Nothing wrong with all of this (indeed I’m sure National Express are very impressed at what they’ve done to skew the results), just a reminder of how bloody useless Trustpilot is at measuring anything.

  • National Express : Newcastle to London Victoria Coach Station

    National Express : Newcastle to London Victoria Coach Station

    I fear that I’ve been lulled into a false sense of confidence about National Express following a rather brilliant journey a few weeks ago from Norwich to London. This is the National Express bus station in Newcastle, which was perhaps not unsurprisingly closed at 22:45 which was when the bus was leaving to get me to London. Although on this point, I recall in the United States that the Greyhound bus stations I went to remained open if there were services going out. What was more surprising was that National Express haven’t bothered putting more than a couple of benches in the area, leaving most people to stand up.

    Here we are waiting for the service, which was due to arrive into London at 06:30.

    The coach turned up twenty minutes early, but this was mostly so that the drivers could stand in the entrance to the vaping. I have no interest in what they do, but it takes a little away from the National Express message not to smoke or vape on their vehicles if their drivers are doing it. The staff member was greeting customers by, well, saying nothing and just looking at their tickets or phones to ensure that they were meant to travel on that service. He wasn’t impolite to me, but it was all a bit cold. Although I was fortunate, he was quite abrupt with some customers behind.

    I felt sorry for the lad who was about 18 and had managed to buy a coach ticket for the wrong day and he then resorted to trying to buy a ticket from other passengers. I’m not sure what happened there in the end, but I don’t think he was able to travel. Nor indeed were a couple of customers at other stops further down the line who had turned up on spec in a bid to get to London.

    I boarded first and so had the full choice of seats although the first couple of rows on the right of the above photo were reserved. This is always a dilemma, there’s a better seat which is the emergency exit seat at the rear near the toilets, but there were a few groups of friends visible and I thought they’d probably want to chat and the like at the back, so it might be quieter at the front. So I picked the seat behind the two closed off for the drivers, so at least no-one could recline into me.

    Being used to not annoying coach drivers I had already put my bag on the floor and put my seatbelt on, so the driver meandered by me to announce loudly to a few people further back “get your bags off the chairs as this service will be full and you will have people sitting next to you”. It’s probably sensible to tell people to make it easier for later customers to board, but I did wonder how personable this approach was.

    That’s also the difference between the Caledonian Sleeper service I took last week and this coach service. There the stewards were wearing masks, there were big gaps between customers and there was a level of professionalism to the whole arrangement. National Express didn’t bother faffing around with that convenience and safety, they filled every seat. There was a slight disregard from the drivers over customers wearing seatbelts, but I think it did say to wear them on the pre-recorded announcement.

    On this, I note a swathe of negative reviews of National Express for returning to full seating with no social distancing, but their argument is that the Government said they could from 29 May 2021, so that’s what they were going to do. And I can’t much complain about that given the low price of the ticket that they charged me.

    The service isn’t the easiest to sleep on, as every stop the driver turns on all the lights so that customers can board. There’s probably not much that can be done about that, otherwise people would be tripping down the aisles when boarding, but it’s not the most conducive with regards to being a restful environment. At 02:30 we also had the added excitement of stopping at a service station for thirty minutes, although this was handy to use their facilities.

    As for the seats, they were crammed in to the point of being entirely unsuitable in my mind for an overnight service. With every seat full, it was all far too cramped for my liking, although since I seem to be able to sleep anywhere, I didn’t much let it bother me. I’m not sure that National Express themselves would even claim they’re going for comfort here (if they were being honest), it’s simply a way of getting people from A to B. For anyone taller than me (so over six feet) they’d likely be distinctly uncomfortable.

    The drivers didn’t worry about both coming in at the same time to use the toilets at the service station and leaving the coach open and unlocked. I imagine at some point someone will board the coach and nick passenger belongings, or indeed the entire coach, and then some more care might be taken. There were two drivers who took it in turns to drive the coach and although there was no real effort at customer service, they were professional drivers at the wheel and it all felt safe and secure en route. I suppose that I’d rather have this than a driver who is very friendly but yet collides with numerous things during the journey.

    Here we are in London Victoria Coach Station, a few minutes before the expected arrival time. On the plus side, this journey only cost £12 to get me from Newcastle to London. It was also on time, the driving was safe, the USB points worked and the coach was clean. On the negative side, it was cramped, uncomfortable and the drivers were grumpy. I’m not really a fan of coach travel, so the positive here for me is that I’m going to try and take the train in the future, it’s a better way to travel as far as I’m concerned. Although I might try Flixbus now they’re in the UK, as although they used to annoy me, I’ve become something of a fan of theirs.

  • National Express : Norwich to London Victoria Coach Station

    National Express : Norwich to London Victoria Coach Station

    Tonight I’m offering some variety to my usual Greater Anglia stories about my trips from Norwich to London and back. Indeed, I haven’t bothered even writing those up recently unless something has annoyed me. I’m not really a coach person, not least because people like Liam will make an Inbetweeners reference. Anyway, the cheapest rail ticket to get from Norwich to London were £15 today and I’m not made of money, so I looked for alternatives. I discovered that National Express have got rid of booking fees for those with an account (I like this, as booking fees annoy me), and they were offering this journey for just £4.60. I think that’s a bargain, so I bought it.

    Gone are the days when customers needed to print out National Express tickets, it’s possible now just to show the driver your phone with the ticket on it (or print it out if you want). And I have some words about the driver today. He was simply brilliant and was just one of those personable and warm people that could lift the journey of a customer. Someone wanted to board without a ticket and they didn’t have time to buy it. He suggested they buy a ticket online from Thetford to London when onboard the coach so that they didn’t have to wait a few hours for the next service. He didn’t have to do that, but he made someone’s day much easier and National Express got some money for the trip that they might have lost. The driver engaged with enthusiasm and, as might be evident, I thought he was a shining role model of customer service. I did post on Twitter about the friendly driver and National Express have at least liked what I put, so I’m pleased they’re aware of the whole situation (specifically their friendly driver rather than me being happy, which I imagine isn’t at the top of their corporate list of worries).

    Then I had to choose a seat after boarding. This is tricky, the two with the most legroom are at the back. But, they’re near the toilets. That’s a convenience for me in some ways (no pun intended), but also a danger if the toilets don’t smell too fresh. Fortunately, the gamble paid off today, all was pleasant and lovely. The bus set off on time and the air conditioning worked. The power sockets didn’t, but I was content as the coach wasn’t too hot and everything was clean. The service runs from Great Yarmouth to London (NX491) and it was relatively empty throughout, maybe 15 people on board at its busiest.

    I liked the emergency exit seats where I was located, they reminded me that I might be on an aircraft in a couple of months. Now, that’s a nice thought for me.

    This is the best photo I could get after arriving into Victoria Coach station. We arrived pretty much on time and I could hear the driver was still being friendly. I remember a Megabus a few years ago where the driver spent most of his time in London shouting at other road users and I’m surprised he didn’t give himself a heart attack or similar with the level of anger he had. The driver today seemed calm, even when confronted by idiotic other drivers, including one in Thetford who seemed perplexed on how to deal with an oncoming bus on a narrow road.

    It would be hard to fault a service that only cost £4.60 and achieved its aim of getting the customer to their destination. But, National Express did this with style, with a clean coach, easy to book service and a driver who was simply a decent guy doing a job he gave the impression that he loved. This was an impeccably run coach service, and I’m very impressed at National Express. How very lovely.

  • National Express : Cambridge to Norwich

    National Express : Cambridge to Norwich

    And, that’s the end of my little adventure in Cambridge. The National Express pick-up is clearly signed at the edge of Parker’s Piece and there’s a covered bus stop there.

    Another packed service….. I think there were five people on board, including the driver. Unlike the coach on the way to Cambridge, there was no hand sanitiser on this coach, it looks like it has got knocked off the panel where it was behind the driver’s seat. There were also no announcements to passengers, although I joined mid-journey, so perhaps they’d already done it. My wrist wasn’t checked on entry this time, instead my forehead was measured for temperature. I still have no idea if that actually works, but I’m happy with it if the driver is.

    It’s not quite as exciting as getting the exit row on an aircraft.

    This is the television screen at the front of the coach, which I quite enjoy watching. Even when I could just look out of the front window, I still find myself watching the screen. Anyway, the driver was more than competent and the journey was trouble-free. The power worked, the toilet was clean and the temperature was a little cold, just as I like it.

    And safely into Norwich, a few minutes ahead of time. The journey cost around £10 including the booking fee, which is good value compared to the price of the train.

    As an aside, and something I forgot to mention before. I try to avoid coaches because I prefer trains, but I find National Express just a little odious with their NX Rewards scheme (and here’s the Trustpilot reviews about it). I know some people (well two – and they were idiots to fall for it) caught by this, they try and get people to claim a discount of £17 off their next National Express fare, but there’s then a charge of £15 per month for anyone who forgets to cancel as it’s a subscription thing. And the cancellation system is rather unusual, involving a PDF form rather than an on-line cancellation. Having never joined up, I’m not quite sure what people get for their £15, but not a great deal is the sound of it, it seems to be less a loyalty scheme and more some Quidco type set-up. It looks though like anyone who complains on Trustpilot is getting a refund, but this isn’t really the look of a professional company.

    National Express can do what they like, but I think it cheapens their brand and if Flixbus (OK, I’ve grown to like them) include Norwich in their expansion plans, I can switch entirely away from them.

    Incidentally, Flixbus currently have these routes in the UK:

    London – Birmingham
    London – Bristol
    London – Portsmouth
    Guildford – Portsmouth
    London – Brussels
    London – Paris

    And just in time to get to Tesco in time for their discounting. How lovely.

  • National Express : Norwich to Cambridge

    National Express : Norwich to Cambridge

    One of the very exciting things that Jamie Burles has done in his tenure of Greater Anglia is to oversee a near-doubling of the price of the rail rover ticket in just a few years. I’ve never understood this and the Greater Anglia press office admitted he had no answer or comment, because that rover ticket can helpfully fill trains up a bit during quieter periods of the day. As it stands now, Greater Anglia need people on the trains during the quieter periods of the day, but I’m sure Burles knows what he’s doing so I’ll stay positive. But, it has meant that the cost of an open return ticket to Cambridge has reached such levels as to make it much cheaper by coach.

    So, here’s the National Express coach from Norwich bus station, moved over to its new boarding location by the YMCA. The driver was jovial and welcoming, but it wasn’t a particularly packed service with only four of us boarding. The driver measured the temperature of each customer’s wrist, which I didn’t know was a thing. Anyway, he seemed happy with the results, so that made me happy.

    A packed service. The automated announcement went wrong and so the driver did his own version, still in his friendly style. All very welcoming.

    The coach was spotlessly clean and there were hand dispensers on board, all pointed out by the driver. The temperature on the coach was also just as I would want it, slightly chilled, although I note that the seat-back tables have all been removed. A customer was complaining on the coach before ours, which went to London, that he wanted to sit next to his wife but the seating didn’t allow. The driver was helpful, as apparently people can’t manage to sit on their own for more than three minutes.

    Megabus have taken out a lot of their seats, on the grounds of they can’t use a lot of them, so they might as well make customers feel more comfortable. National Express haven’t done this. The leg-room on these coaches really isn’t very good and it would be unbearable for many if sitting behind someone who reclined. Fortunately, this isn’t a problem on a service with four customers.

    And safely into Cambridge, all on time. It’s not the faster service as we went through Thetford, Mildenhall, Newmarket and some random stops along the way, but it all took less than two hours. The fare was £10, which seems reasonable to me, although I’d still preferred to have got the train as it’s infinitely more comfortable. The bus was the NX727 service which went to the airports and I was a little jealous of the customers going there….

  • Buses – How Hard is It?

    Buses – How Hard is It?

    Before it looks judgemental, I’ve edited the above photo as I’m not interested in social shaming. I can be judgemental, but that’s normally about chicken bakes and craft beer. To be honest, I must admit that I thought First’s solution to make it obvious where to sit was pretty clear and simple. They’ve put wraps around the seats they don’t want used and huge signs saying that. It seems that perhaps that they might need to do more when one younger member of the public came to sit on a wrapped off seat… To be fair, they’d probably had a long day and just wanted to sit down, I find the directional arrows in Tesco to be entirely confusing so I can’t complain about mistakes by others.

    Anyway, my post isn’t about that, it’s that I was more humoured by the reaction from two other passengers nearby, both who tutted relatively quietly (they were moderately annoyed, but not enough to say anything out loud) and stared at the person for a good number of seconds before moving to other seats themselves. That seemed a particularly British solution that satisfied everyone.

    As an aside, there’s something moderately nice about sitting down and knowing that I’ll have lots of space around me, it’s making public transport feel much more comfortable. Although financially unsustainable….

  • Flixbus Coming to UK

    Flixbus Coming to UK

    It’s fair to say that Flixbus (above photo is of their coach which took me from Torun to Warsaw a few months ago) for some time considerably annoyed me, managing to leave from the wrong coach stop at the wrong time with coaches that rarely worked properly. Much of this is because they partnered with coach companies across Europe who were of varying quality, but my more recent trips have been much better. I now like them and feel reassured by them.

    But, anyway, the company have now announced that they’re coming to the UK and this is likely bad news for National Express and Megabus. Although it’s probably more devastating for National Express, who have been charging ridiculous fares on some routes for years because they could and stinging passengers with little extra costs all over the place.

    Anyway, Flixbus are starting from routes to and from London, but will likely expand. They are also experienced in running open access rail networks in the European Union, and they will probably make public transport better integrated. All told, it’s all good news for passengers and might kick National Express into focusing a little more on customer service.