Megabus!

[hkskyline]

Around this time last year, I was searching the web for some cheap bus fares on National Express, and noted many 1 pound trips from London to cities throughout the UK. Megabus is another one of such discount bus operators. I wonder how do they make money?

[Monkey]

^ Same as budget airlines. The tickets get more expensive as more seats are sold. If you book well in advance you can go to Scotland and back from London for just £2.50. They also use more frugal facilities than National Express. Apparently they're making very good profits.

[woodhousen]

but would you really want to?

london to scotland single for £1.50?????? on a bus????????

id rarther book in advance and spend a little more and get 1st class seats on Virgin for the same journey for £17.50.........

[Monkey]

I've been on Megabus to Birmingham and back a couple of times and also to Manchester for £1 each way - no problems.

[RSWB]

Yes I have used it from brighton to london a couple of times - no probs at all, they even have toilets on them - although I prefer to book the 1 pound fun fares on national express as their coaches are more comfortable.

BTW - I do believe that on longer journeys, ie - london - scotland megabus use new double deck coaches like this:

[Monkey]

^ Yeah they even use nice new ones on shorter routes. They are gradually phasing out their first generation of buses that were bought second hand from a Hong Kong bus company.

[dronkula]

Well I'll be finding out next week just how good or bad megabus is. Going from Bristol to London and it was the cheapest option. Booked last night though which meant that it's £8.50 for the return (£7 for the Bristol - London bit, £1 for London to Bristol the following week and then the 50p booking fee).

[Jake_the_Peg]

I've done it to Swansea. Perfectly fine ride, but the er, quality, of the other passengers was a a little low for my liking It feels a bit strange hurtling down the M4 on the top deck of a double-decker bus.

[samsonyuen]

I've taken the National Express a lot for their funfares and Megatrain, but not Megabus. Are they packed? If fares go up as seats are sold, are the last/most expensive seats always sold? They'd make a loss on some of their buses, right?

[nicksanderson]

Just wondering if there's anywhere for luggage on these buses or do you have to have you bag on your knee? (I guess they have to pay for the cheap fares somehow!)

[Monkey]

^ The newer coaches have overhaead luggage space.

[2020]

the older double deckers such as the one shown in the first photo on this thread are now used by magic bus in manchester as normal buses. its really wierd hopping on a bus to find it has coach seats, air conditioning units and toilets, although the air conditioning and toilets are out of use.

[Martin G]

Originally Posted by 2020

the older double deckers such as the one shown in the first photo on this thread are now used by magic bus in manchester as normal buses. its really wierd hopping on a bus to find it has coach seats, air conditioning units and toilets, although the air conditioning and toilets are out of use.

Yeah - I caught one of the very same between ASHTON and Manchester recently (around last September) - I too remarked on the air con inside and the sealed windows and the driver told me it was a former "Megabus" vehicle. Fancy that!

[nicksanderson]

Originally Posted by Monkey

^ The newer coaches have overhaead luggage space.

Ta!

[jonjon]

One of my best mates moved down to Manchester earlier this year so iv used the megabus about 4 times from Glasgow and the difference between them and National Express is noticeable. However, surprisingly not to the credit of National Express!! Megabus that operates from Glasgow to England are comfier, newer and actually have shorter journey times. £2.50 return to Manc for a 4hour journey - cant beat it.

[2020]

i think having a viable competitor for national express will be of massive benefit to coach passengers nationwide. national express will have to change to keep its share of the market, whether that is on price, quality of fleet, or journey times. they have dominated the market for too long and i think passengers have suffered as a result. i recently paid nearly £40 return from manchester to exeter (with a special student rate) and it took nearly 8 hours each way on old, cramped coaches. megabus do not operate that route yet, but with their current success surely it is only a matter of time.

[hkskyline]

[jorgen]

I've taken the Megabus from London to Portsmouth and return. Think it was £2. Only 6-7 other passengers, so I can't believe they made much (or any at all..) money on that specific trip...

Nice and comfy trip though.
Our only trip outside London since we moved to the UK in 2002...

[gothicform]

try london to lincoln via bus which i did once. 4 and a half hours. it only takes 2 and a half hours to drive! this is because stagecoach run the bus via grantham, stamford and so on picking up no extra passengers but adding miles to the journey. the grantham detour is particularly useless as its both cheaper and quicker to take the train to london from there - its half the price and takes 50 mins. lol.

[Martin G]

I have a rather amusing story about Megabus - centred around the last time I took a trip down to the Capital (October 13-16th, 2004) using the great National Express Funfare that cost me a whopping £1 each way (yowsa!!). I was deciding which one to take as both were offering the same super-cheap fare, but I was informed that (as of 2004) Megabuses had no on-board toilets and were less salubrious vehicles than the ones they now have.... so I plumped for "better the devil I knew" which was NX. The journey took just over 5.15 hours going down, which wasn't too bad all told (it was a Thursday).

Anyway it was soon discovered that the equivalent (rival) Megbabus service departed Manchester for London about 20 minutes before our NX coach left .... but of course, the Megabus had to make a few requisite "toilet" stops during its intermediate pick up points, so eventually it lost ground on us around the Midlands, and we arrived about 35 minutes ahead of the Megabus. I recall walking across the busy road junction outside Victoria train station some time after arrival and saw the very same Megabus service finally pull in...so we were the quicker service all round!