bussnapperwm
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And Birmingham to Worcester/Bristol/Oxford
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Snap (Coach travel agency)
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Used their Birmingham to London service a few weeks ago there was only me and another passenger on the service!
However the driver was very pleasant and the coach was almost brand new, no complaints from me, especially as the trip was free!
Sam
However the driver was very pleasant and the coach was almost brand new, no complaints from me, especially as the trip was free!
Sam
I'm travelling from Bristol to London tomorrow morning. My booking confirmation suggests that the coach will be operated by Andrew James. Does anyone know what sort of vehicle this might be? Hopefully it'll be something I've not experienced before!
Hi all, I travelled to London using Snap for the first time last weekend and wanted to share my experience, and comparison to the return journey with Megabus.
I travelled on the early morning departure from Bristol to London that was operated by Andrew James (Andybus) using a 17-plate Mercedes Tourismo. Now, I usually hate coach travel and use it as a last resort when the train is ludicrously expensive or driving is not feasible.
However, on this occasion, I can genuinely say I had a really pleasant journey.
The good:
All in all, Snap has converted me to coach travel, so much so that I have booked a return journey to London next month. It looks like on that occasion the outbound will be operated by Andrew James, with the return by Centurion.
I feel that there may be a gap in the market for premium coach travel for several reasons. Firstly, younger people have far lower levels of car ownership than previous generations, increasing the market for intercity public transport as a whole. Secondly, rail fares are really ridiculous - £33 for a single journey on a late night train from London to Bristol - really?! Thirdly, Megabus truly is awful and will only every attract those for whom price outweighs absolutely everything else i.e. students but less so young professionals.
With people squeezed by rocketing property prices and unaffordable train fares, decent comfortable coaches priced, say, a third higher than Megabus / National Express could be a winner and I am intrigued to see how well Snap does in the coming months and years.
I travelled on the early morning departure from Bristol to London that was operated by Andrew James (Andybus) using a 17-plate Mercedes Tourismo. Now, I usually hate coach travel and use it as a last resort when the train is ludicrously expensive or driving is not feasible.
However, on this occasion, I can genuinely say I had a really pleasant journey.
The good:
- Easy booking system
- Convenient drop-off in London (St Pancras Coach Station) that is far superior to Victoria Coach Station
- Modern comfortable vehicle with an effective heating ventilation system that kept us warm without being stuffy (why do coach builders and train builders struggle so much to achieve this?!)
- Well-designed interior with a decent toilet, comfortable seats, and a tasteful interior decor of grey with yellow accents
- Pleasant, helpful driver who kept us informed on journey time, interchange options in London, and collection points for the return journey.
- The coach appeared to have a gearbox problem whereby it would repeatedly drop in and out of gear at crusing speed
- Journey time compared to the train (which is of course to be expected)
- Really naff green LED lights on the ceiling.
All in all, Snap has converted me to coach travel, so much so that I have booked a return journey to London next month. It looks like on that occasion the outbound will be operated by Andrew James, with the return by Centurion.
I feel that there may be a gap in the market for premium coach travel for several reasons. Firstly, younger people have far lower levels of car ownership than previous generations, increasing the market for intercity public transport as a whole. Secondly, rail fares are really ridiculous - £33 for a single journey on a late night train from London to Bristol - really?! Thirdly, Megabus truly is awful and will only every attract those for whom price outweighs absolutely everything else i.e. students but less so young professionals.
With people squeezed by rocketing property prices and unaffordable train fares, decent comfortable coaches priced, say, a third higher than Megabus / National Express could be a winner and I am intrigued to see how well Snap does in the coming months and years.
Travelled with Travel De Courcey down to London on Friday, the journey would have been fine except for the fact that the front door kept flying open on the motorway meaning that we had to make frequent stops onto the hard shoulder.
The driver finally solved this the third time it flew open by manually locking the door from the inside.
The driver was fairly polite and the coach was comfortable.
Travelling back from London tonight on Johnsons coaches this time, so I will update you all as to how this goes.
Sam
The driver finally solved this the third time it flew open by manually locking the door from the inside.
The driver was fairly polite and the coach was comfortable.
Travelling back from London tonight on Johnsons coaches this time, so I will update you all as to how this goes.
Sam
Victoria isn't a great destination from the North unless your final destination is close by.
Where is St Pancras Coach Station?
MCR247
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My snap coach from Nottingham dropped us somewhere not too far from Wembley Park tube station IIRC - much better than trying to get through london to Victoria
Go into St Pancras International and aim for the North west corner. As I recall toilets and Excess Baggage Company were nearby. Vehicle exit on Midland Road as shown here. https://goo.gl/maps/rUFYMVWReqG2
Yep that's exactly where it is. Toilets right next to it, free to use too, unlike Kings Cross, and Victoria. Handily located for direct transfer to the tube and Thameslink, unlike Victoria Coach Station which is a bit of a chore.
My Snap from Bristol to London last weekend was similarly busy, but yes you're probably right that the rail works are helping coach companies!
My journey back to Birmingham was excellent, the coach itself was operated By Johnsons Coaches and was an 18 plate Scania which had USB sockets. In terms of passenger numbers this one did much better with there being about 30 people in total on board.
The driver was also much better, courteous and informative. If only there was a way to see who would be operating your coach on the booking page!
Sam
The driver was also much better, courteous and informative. If only there was a way to see who would be operating your coach on the booking page!
Sam
You get a chance to say that when they text you asking you to leave a review of the service that you have received from them. That then apparently influences who they use for their next trips.
Sam
heart-of-wessex
Established Member
I did that run earlier in the year with Andy's 17 plate Tourismo, only then the heating didn't work and was cold but I did mention that in the Snap feedback, at least they have fixed it. Not sure I remember the gear problem or not I remember it absolutely flying down the motorway, it might have had that gear problem though.
Our VDL Bova has a similar problem, the gear ratio for 5th and 6th seems to be set at 62mph (or probably 61.8mph) so keeps changing up and down at the limiter, apparently annoying when at cruise speed!
The Centurion one is very likely to be a 17 plate Irizar i6, and your Andrew James will no doubt be the same 17 plate Tourismo
That's exactly how the Tourismo felt - switching back and forth between fifth and sixth when cruising. Seems a bit of a design flaw if the gearbox does not know what to do at the vehicle's max speed! Glad to hear that they have fixed the heating, the set up seemed pretty perfect with plenty of fresh air and warmth.
That's interesting to know what Centurion will be operating. Are the i6s any good? I've never been on one!
No.
Sam
heart-of-wessex
Established Member
Well as a courier and shunter on some i6's, I get to travel on them a lot as a passenger too, we also have a 17 plate Irizar integral and it is actually better than the older ones. From a drivers point of view they are better than the old ones, however they all still have the A/C whereby it will warm up the saloon to the set temperature and if it goes over that it will blast out cold air through the little vents, though you can close these on the overhead panel to stop you getting blasted by cold air (which will sound like a jet engine
).I believe the Centurion ones are very similar seats to our 17 one, in which case they are ok, not something I'd sit on for a long ride but London is manageable (I find). I'd like to hear your experience on both when you do it again though
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
This is the problem with these new style agency services - like with Uber or Airbnb you have relatively little control over the quality of the operation.
Bwsbro
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Snap is to suspend all operations from Tuesday 18th due to failing to secure funding. They hope to return in september
All passengers have been notified and received a refund.
All passengers have been notified and received a refund.
That's surprising. Only this week they were advertising new journeys to Bristol Airport from Swindon and elsewhere. If this does happen, I can't see them returning under the same brand as customer trust will be lost.
A shame as they really were better than Megabus for the journeys I made.
A shame as they really were better than Megabus for the journeys I made.
It's the worst time of year for this to happen to them too, since you'd think there'd be more recreational travel in the summer (which is probably their main market). So it's hard to see them recovering very well.
Do you have a source for that? I can't find anything that says Snap is suspending operations, certainly not on their website.
Bwsbro
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A email recived from the company today. They also texted and phoned all customers today
Hi,
Unfortunately Snap has so far been unable to secure funding to continue to run and expand the business.
That means we are having to suspend all operations from Tuesday 18th June 2019. Regrettably this means we have no choice but to cancel your current booked trip.
You will, of course, receive a full refund. Please allow 5 to 10 business days for the refund to reflect in your account.
We are in the process of finding alternative sources of funding and we plan to relaunch Snap in September. So please check our website as we will be running trips again in the future.
If you would like to help us, please register your support for our campaign to revolutionise intercity travel at getasnap.com from Wednesday next week - and share with your friends and network.
With our grateful thanks for your kind support and best wishes.
Kind regards,
The Snap Team
PermitToTravel
Established Member
The website will sell tickets for journeys on Monday but finds no journeys for any later dates
Equally it's the time of year when coach companies would have less leeway on availability/prices.
Joe Paxton
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I'm guessing university student market was also significant, and that will be largely moribund over the summer until September.
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