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Study, work or travel in the UK. British
culture and life.
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Travel by coach (long-distance bus) within the UK and
Europe
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INTRODUCTION
This page explains how to travel by coach (long-distance bus) in the UK. Coach
travel is usually cheaper than going by train, but journey times are longer (up
to twice as long). To plan journeys, buy tickets, and to check for any travel
disruption, visit the website of the company operating the service (see below).
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Buy products for travel by coach in the UK/Europe:
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NATIONAL EXPRESS
For detailed instructions about how to book coach travel with National Express
(the company which operates the largest coach network in the UK), see: Shop/Company/NationalExpress.
This page also explains about the Young
Person's Coachcard (the discount coachcard for full-time students
or young people aged 16-26).
Click here if you wish to go directly to the website of: National
Express
National Express |
Green Line |
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MEGABUS
Megabus offer a service to about 50 destinations in the UK (as at December
2009):
Aberdeen, Aviemore, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bristol, Camborne, Cambridge,
Cardiff, Cheltenham, Chester, Coventry, Cwmbran, Dundee, Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Airport, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Halifax, Huddersfield, Inverkeithing, Inverness,
Kinross, Leeds , London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Newport, Newquay,
Oxford, Penzance, Perth, Pitlochry, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston , Reading, Redruth,
Rugby, Scotch Corner, Sheffield, Southampton, Stirling, Sunderland, Swindon, University
of West England, Wakefield, Winchester
Fares start from £1 + 50 pence booking fee. (booking fee is per booking
not per ticket). Ticket prices rise as the date of travel gets nearer and booking
numbers increase.
Tickets can be booked up to 6 weeks in advance.
In London most journeys leave from Victoria Coach station, which is a fully
equipped station with seating areas, a mobility assistance lounge, refreshments,
toilets, retail outlets and electronic information screens.
All coaches have capacity for passengers to store one piece of luggage and one
holdall.
All coaches have toilets and we have a number of wheelchair accessible coaches
in the fleet (please note wheelchair bookings must be made over the phone with
at least 24 hours notice see website for further details).
Students at UK universities are able to get a discount by booking online and
inputting their NUS card number in the relevant field.
The on-line booking system means booking is ticket-less and you will receive
and e mail with your booking number or a text message if you leave your mobile
phone number (texts cost 10p). With a mobile number you will also receive a
text if your coach is delayed and running late.
For more details and to book tickets, go to the website of: Megabus
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SCOTTISH CITYLINK
Scottish Citylink provides a large range of coach services between towns in
Scotland. Their website is at: http://www.citylink.co.uk.
If you are a full-time student you can get a Student Discount Card (which
lasts one academic year). If you are aged 16-25, you can buy a Citylink Young
Persons Smartcard. These cards will allow you to save up to 20% on many adult
fares across the Citylink network and on National Express journeys within Scotland.
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ULSTERBUS
Ulsterbus provides most of the coach services in Northern Ireland. Their website
is at: http://www.ulsterbus.co.uk.
If you are a full-time student you can get a Translink Student Discount Card.
These cards will give discounts on rail and coach services in Northern Ireland.
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VICTORIA COACH STATION
Location
It is easy to get confused between Victoria Coach Station, Victoria Bus Station
and the Green Line Coach Station - they are all in different locations (shown
on the simple map below; for a more detailed map click
here).
Victoria Coach Station is on Buckingham Palace Road: it takes 5-10 minutes
to walk there from Victoria train station, underground station or bus station.
This is where you go for coach services departing from London - arrivals go to
a different location which is a short walk from here.
Victoria Bus Station is where many of the local London bus services arrive
and depart, and is directly outside the main exits of the train and Tube stations.
Green Line Coach Station is in Bulleid Way and is the departure point for
most Green Line services: there is a pedestrian passage leading to it from Buckingham
Palace Road (it is also possible to get there from Eccleston Bridge).
Note that there are two frequent coach services to Oxford: the Oxford Espress
leaves from Victoria Coach Station, but the Oxford Tube leaves from Grosvenor
Gardens (the first stop is at stop 10 on Buckingham Palace Road).
Buying tickets
There are several ways to buy tickets from Victoria Coach Station:
- By internet from a provider such as National Express (see details above).
You can print e-tickets, or have paper tickets sent to you.
- Telephone: Call the Telephone Sales Office (020) 7730 3499 between 9am and 7pm
Monday to Saturday, at least 1 hour before your departure. You can pay by debit
card or credit card. This will save you time queuing.
- By going to the ticket office.
Collecting tickets / checking in
Note that there may be long queues at busy times, such as during public holiday
weekends. In general, arrive at least an hour before your departure time, unless
coaches to your destination are frequent. Make sure that you join right queue.
For UK destinations, go to the main ticket hall. There is a long queue for the
counters for buying tickets, and a separate queue on the side to collect tickets
for telephone reservations.
If you are travelling to Ireland or continental Europe using Eurolines (or another
similar company), there is a check-in desk behind Gate 19; again, make sure you
join the correct queue for your destination (this is shown on boards above each
check-in desk).
Before departure / after arrival
Services in the departures terminal include left luggage, toilets (not open early
in the morning), telephones and internet access.
Be aware of the following safety points while waiting in Victoria Coach Station:
- Ignore people who come up to you offering cheap hotels or accommodation
- Do not accept offers of a cab; use a black cab, or book a taxi by phone or by
visiting the office of an authorised minicab company
- Beware of people pretending to be passengers
- Beware of baggage thieves and pickpockets
- Never leave your luggage unattended
For futher information about Victoria Coach Station: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/vcs
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EUROPEAN COACH TRAVEL
Travelling to Europe by coach can be the cheapest option, although journey
times are much longer than for train or air travel.
Eurolines operate coach services throughout Europe. To book a ticket, see
the Eurolines
website. Further details about Eurolines services are given on the page:
Shop/Company/Eurolines.
Busabout offer a limited service for backpackers, with pickups at a chosen
hostel, campsite or cheap hotel in each location. There are 3 loops:
Northern loop: Paris - Bruges - Amsterdam - Berlin - Dresden - Prague - Cesky
Krumlov - Vienna - Salzburg - Munich - Stuttgart - Paris
Southern loop: Munich - St Johann - Venice - Ancona - Rome - Siena - Florence
- Pisa - La Spezia (Cinque Terre) - Nice - Lauterbrunnen - Lucerne - Munich
Western loop: Paris - Bern - Lauterbrunnen - Nice - Avignon - Barcelona - Valencia
- Madrid - San Sebastian - Bordeaux - Tours - Paris
There is also a London-Paris linking service. See: http://www.busabout.com
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LINKS
Buying coach tickets for National Express: Shop/Company/NationalExpress
Buying coach tickets for Eurolines: Shop/Company/Eurolines
Go on a tour in the UK or Europe: Travel/Tours
Home page: Home
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© UK Student Life 2002-2011
* Search this website (www.ukstudentlife.com) or the web:
