UK Bus/Coach Travel

Unlike other countries, like the United States for example, long distance bus and coach travel is not particularly popular in the UK. There is a company that actually operates a very good service between all major cities of the country (National Express), but people will still tell you that they prefer to travel by rail or even air. 

London is definitely the best served city for the national coach network and there are regular services from all other large cities. Time wise, this is quite a slow means of transportation but this is certainly compensated for through the fact that costs can work out as being reasonable. 

If you are considering the coach to cross a vast proportion of the country, think very long and hard about this and check out the timings for the service and crucially, the number of stops being made along the way. It is not unusual for a journey that normally takes four hours by rail to take double this by coach. 

There are also some commonly reported problems with failing to secure a seat on a coach, even though the tickets may have been reserved long in advance. There are some complicated reservations’  policies in place here and it is therefore imperative that you verify these if and when you place a booking. Bus travel is more commonly undertaken in the UK for shorter journeys. This is especially the case for getting around a town or city. All major cities and large towns has an extensive bus network and there are also a number of companies that operate services on a regional level. Bus services will tend to remain within a particular county and this is down to the fact that they are often subsidised through the applicable county council. 

There have been several initiatives conceived through recent governments to try and entice more and more people out of their cars and onto public transport. However, none of these have proven to be successful and this is primarily down to the fact that short bus journeys are considered as being far too expensive. In fact, there is no incentive to do this when travelling by bus is always dearer than taking the car somewhere, especially when you cost the total price of a family travelling together. 

As far as small villages and the more rural parts of the UK are concerned, this may definitely pose a problem if you are looking to rely on any type of bus or coach service. It is not unusual for some remote villages and hamlets to only have one service to the nearest town per week and some even less fortunate areas may have absolutely no service at all. 

Bus and coach travel in the UK does tend to be sufficiently comfortable. The world famous double-decker buses can still be found on the streets of certain cities of the country but they are gradually being replaced by more modern single-deck vehicles. Your best bet for travelling on a typically British double-decker will always be in London.