There's not many bus fares high enough to do that.
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Airport services and how do fares vary around the UK
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cactustwirly
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Heathrow airport is just £1.65 if you get a TfL bus
miklcct
On Moderation
In my case the fare difference is already enough to attract me to Luton despite a higher airfare compared to flights from Stansted.
busestrains
On Moderation
Indeed but you can only do this at night time when the N9 runs. So if you arrive during the day you have to wait until night until this is possible. It is a shame that the day time 9 does not run to the airport. I think it is too far for the hopper fare to work. Especially now it has been reduced from 70 minutes to 62 minutes so very difficult to do this journey during the day time.
miklcct
On Moderation
It's also possible to reach there by tube on off-peak fare from zone 2, which is also nearly as cheap.
Cloud Strife
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How is it possible to avoid the premium bus fare at Luton Airport?
busestrains
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Either by walking from Luton Airport to Luton Airport Parkway (a quick and easy walk to do and the cheapest option) or by taking the Arriva bus (A/100/757) which is almost half the price of the shuttle bus (888) service.
Cloud Strife
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A quick and easy walk up that hill?!
Thanks for the heads up on the Arriva services, I didn't know about them before. Looks like they're an excellent alternative to the bus-train combination.
busestrains
On Moderation
I have done the walk quite a few times and found it quick and easy but obviously it depends on the person and what you are carrying. I like walking and go for long walks in the countryside most weekends so maybe not everyone likes walking as much as me. If you have a large amount of suitcases or are elderly or disabled or have lots of children than maybe it is not ideal. It all depends on the person.
Yes the Arriva option is an excellent choice. Just go out of the other side of the station and the bus stop is there. It is so much cheaper and a more pleasant experience as the Arriva buses are generally quieter and two or three minutes quicker. It is slightly more frequent too with up to 10 buses an hour with the Arriva A/100/757 compared to six buses an hour with the 888 shuttle bus. The 888 shuttle bus is always so crowded and take ages for all the passengers to get onboard so it is not a great experience.
Last time i took it quite recently the fare on Arriva was £1.40 Single or £2.20 Return so a lot cheaper (compared to £2.40 Single or £3.80 Return on the 888 shuttle bus) so definitely a good option and it normally works out cheaper than the combined train and bus ticket too.
That depends where you're coming from. The TfL fare also allows you to change up to an hour after you start your journey - you don't have to complete the journey in 62 minutes, just make your last connection in that time.
busestrains
On Moderation
Indeed but i think if you are going to or from Central London (any of the areas where most tourists and visitors go, Baker Street, Green Park, Hyde Park, Marble Arch, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, Regents Street, Trafalgar Square, Victoria, Waterloo, Westminster, etc) than it would be very difficult to board your last bus to Central London or to Heathrow Airport within 62 minutes (even with the previous 70 minutes it would have been very difficult). It might be possible though if the traffic is good. I am not sure which way is the quickest during the day. I have lost track of the TFL bus routes with all the constant route changes in the last five or ten years and the fact there is no bus map available any more.
Indeed. However the only reason it may cost more than £1.65 is because of the need to change routes, not because the start point or destination is an airport.
busestrains
On Moderation
Yes of course it is not more expensive because it is an airport service. It is the same situation anywhere on TFL buses. £1.65 is incredible value compared to anywhere else in the country. You can still get the £1.65 fare all the way to Central London at night.
The First Berkshire buses at Heathrow are expensive but again that is nothing to do with going to an airport as they charge the same rip off fares across their entire network. £5.00 Single and £7.00 Return from Heathrow to Colnbrook or Staines. £6.00 Single and £8.00 Return from Heathrow to Slough or Windsor. Compare that to Carlone Buses who have much cheaper £3.00 Single and £5.00 Return from Heathrow to Staines. I have never really understood why First Berkshire are so much more expensive than all other operators in the area.
The only airport surcharge rip off buses at Heathrow Airport is the Hotel Hoppa service that Rotala run. That bus service is a complete and utter joke. They charge the extortionate fares of £6.00 Single and £11.00 Return for the short journey between the airport and the hotels. But yet you can reach all of the hotels on the TFL buses for just £1.65 Single (or for £1.40 Single and £2.40 Return on the Rotala 555 bus) and the TFL buses are far more frequent and much quicker too.
Why is it 'a complete and utter joke'? As you say, people could travel on ordinary service buses between their hotels and the terminals for much cheaper fares. But they don't - they would rather spend the extra money on the Hotel Hoppa. Not everyone is looking for the dirt cheap - (otherwise only Poundland and Saver type shops would be in existence). Those who want to go by TfL bus - fine, but clearly the Hotel Hoppa offers something that people are prepared to pay extra for.
johncrossley
Established Member
There is still an independently produced bus map at www.busmap.co.uk.
Obviously journey planners are an option these days, and the preferred option for most, regardless of whether maps exist or not.
busestrains
On Moderation
No i think the reason most people use the Hotel Hoppa is because they are unaware that the ordinary buses can be used to get to or from the hotels. On all of the airport websites and publicity and all of the hotel websites and publicity the Hotel Hoppa buses are heavily publicised but there is almost no mention anywhere of the fact that you can just use the local buses. So most people will just use the Hotel Hoppa buses as they are not aware any other options exist.
It is a joke of a service as well. They use tiny buses that get full up quickly (mainly 8.9m E200 buses). Every time i see it there is so many standing passengers and it can sometimes take over ten minutes to get everyone and their suitcases onboard.
It has an infrequent service of only one bus every hour on each route which means that if you just miss it you can wait up to an entire hour (compare that to the local buses which run at least every ten minutes and for many hotels even more frequently).
It is very slow as most of the routes serve about six or seven hotels and spend ages loading and unloading at each hotel so it can regularly take up to thirty or fourty minutes to reach your hotel (compare that to the local buses which reach most hotels within ten minutes or less).
The bus fares of £6.00 Single and £11.00 Return are extortionate for such a short distance especially when you compare it to the fares of the local buses. Just because people have money it does not mean that they are happy to spend it on extortionate bus fares.
So i think most people are using the Hotel Hoppa solely because they are unaware of the other options. If the fact that the local buses serve the hotels was widely publicised and advertised to everyone then the Hotel Hoppa would probably go out of business.
Good find. I shall order one of those. Good to see there is at least an independently produced map still available. That looks good.
I do not like using journey planners. Maybe i am just too old fashioned. They are too complicating and confusing for me. I find it much simpler using maps and timetables to plan my journeys.
I really doubt the people using the hotels and then catching a plane would use local service buses. If the Heathrow Hoppa didn't run, they would go by an even more expensive taxi instead.
Of course, there will always be some people who will search out the cheapest option - they can use the service buses. They are on all the electronic journey planners in plain sight, and there for people use. But (by and large) they don't.
The Heathrow Hoppa is a commercial service, bespoke to hotels, not a highly highly subsidised local service bus that happens to go past.
danielcanning
On Moderation
I used to work on reception at a hotel on the Bath road and we would always direct guests to use the TfL routes.
Increasingly I see airport users catching the service buses. When the Hoppas ran every 15-20 minutes and only served a couple of hotels each and so could be easier to use for non-locals I could see the point in them.
Some hotels earn commission on the tickets so promote them. The first time I caught a TfL bus at Heathrow T5 I asked a member of airport staff where the bus I wanted went from (asking by route number). He asked where I was going and then directed me to the Hoppa stops. I did manage to find it using signs, but there seems to be a presumption people want to use the Hoppa. Many will be using phone apps that direct them to TfL services (some apps will show prices for the different options).
Heathrow - Firstly it has become a major transport interchange for west London independent of the airport and is within the urban area. I have used it many times that way when I lived at Hayes. Thus it is different to most airports. You can get a reasonable way into/around London for a £1.65 fare; examples X140 to Hayes Grapes and 607 to Shepherds Bush (the reverse might be traffic dependent), X26 to Kingston / Croydon. The standard bus is slow and does not have large luggage racks.
Bristol - It is rural and naturally has no local bus. The A1 is a limited stop service running 24/7 and from October up to every 12 minutes. The A3 from Weston super mare is similar but only hourly and not all night. Unsurprisingly and justifiably a premium fare is charged and being outside the Bristol fare zone, the local fares to the few local stops it does serve are higher. The airport issues discount fare cards for airport staff and some local residents. The A2 local service to Bristol has been discontinued.
Exeter airport is currently served by the hourly 56 from Exeter to Exmouth via the villages, thus on a standard route. In October it is replaced by the 4a every 20 mins, which will be part of the 4/4a shuttle service every 10 mins from the main St David's station to the city centre, the Honiton road P&R, then either Cranbrook new town or the airport. It is currently in the Exeter Plus fare zone, but as it won't be on a through route it could get a premium fare. The new service will certainly be an over provision for the airport, but will connect with whatever flight or train you arrive / depart on regardless of delays. The rest of the 4/4a will be a welcome improvement. (The dedicated P&R bus will be discontinued.)
Newquay airport in Cornwall gets the local 56 hourly in passing. The few flights don't justify anything special.
Doncaster airport is closing, thus the withdrawal of the current local bus (57a/c ?) in October won't be a problem (replaced by X4). The airport only has TUI holiday flights and WizzAir to Eastern Europe, but with flights spread over 24/7.
Bristol - It is rural and naturally has no local bus. The A1 is a limited stop service running 24/7 and from October up to every 12 minutes. The A3 from Weston super mare is similar but only hourly and not all night. Unsurprisingly and justifiably a premium fare is charged and being outside the Bristol fare zone, the local fares to the few local stops it does serve are higher. The airport issues discount fare cards for airport staff and some local residents. The A2 local service to Bristol has been discontinued.
Exeter airport is currently served by the hourly 56 from Exeter to Exmouth via the villages, thus on a standard route. In October it is replaced by the 4a every 20 mins, which will be part of the 4/4a shuttle service every 10 mins from the main St David's station to the city centre, the Honiton road P&R, then either Cranbrook new town or the airport. It is currently in the Exeter Plus fare zone, but as it won't be on a through route it could get a premium fare. The new service will certainly be an over provision for the airport, but will connect with whatever flight or train you arrive / depart on regardless of delays. The rest of the 4/4a will be a welcome improvement. (The dedicated P&R bus will be discontinued.)
Newquay airport in Cornwall gets the local 56 hourly in passing. The few flights don't justify anything special.
Doncaster airport is closing, thus the withdrawal of the current local bus (57a/c ?) in October won't be a problem (replaced by X4). The airport only has TUI holiday flights and WizzAir to Eastern Europe, but with flights spread over 24/7.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
Some interesting points here
Equating Heathrow to many other airports isn't a true comparison. As you say, it's a major interchange - in fact, it's a town in it's right in that 76,000 people work there. Not some slightly isolated provincial location.
I posed the question, and so did @RT4038, that there is a business model pursued by various airports whereby landing fees are disproportionately low (so as to attract the flights/operators) but then the money is recouped from stuff like parking, concessions, transport etc. Various people have complained about being rinsed for premium bus fares or parking but the money has to be found somewhere. Would people prefer it simply to be added onto their fares but with the risk that it might lead to fewer flights as airlines head elsewhere?
I commend @busestrains on his fitness and ability to access airports via a hike to the terminal from the public road. However, I'd question how many airport passengers are really in a position or likely to do this. Business passengers? Families? Bunch of beauticians on a hen weekend to Edinburgh? Older travellers? People with suitcases?
These premium services, and the Heathrow Hoppa, work on the basis of convenience. Yes, you can do things cheaper but do most people really want to... experience would suggest not and that is why these services prosper.
Southampton - It has a train station with 10 services per hour off peak. Bluester/Unibus U1 serves the terminal between the main university and the station every 7 mins off peak; it is a university service, including across town, to its nearest station and not an airport service as such. Normal fares.
Bournemouth - There are a few works journeys to the Aviation Business Park on 737 which start/finish at the terminal, but of little use to airport passengers. Zone B fares. (The few airport specific journeys have been withdrawn - all holiday flights.)
Bournemouth - There are a few works journeys to the Aviation Business Park on 737 which start/finish at the terminal, but of little use to airport passengers. Zone B fares. (The few airport specific journeys have been withdrawn - all holiday flights.)
Sounds like a huge improvement tbh. Generally I walk to the airport, but it's not an especially nice 5 mile walk, and it's getting nastier all the time.
We used the Hoppa from Hilton T5. We were prepared to pay the higher price for convenience. For this trip the tfl buses involved a change, not ideal when you're not familiar with the local stops or the First Berks bus which was every hour and a short walk from the Hotel. Cheaper than the £30 taxi back thanks to a delayed inbound flight arriving after midnight when there are no buses.
This is not a business model pursued by airports but in fact a business model forced on airports by the "do it our way or we wont come" highly aggressive model of many of the low cost airlines.
The airports have to achieve a certain "contribution" per passenger to ensure it is a viable business. The revenue comes from ensuring that they take money from every passenger who comes to the airport ie by making a charge to all forms of transport providers whether that is "bus station use" charge, a car parking or car drop off pick up charge, a taxi / private hire concession fee, hire car fee etc etc. Every catering concession has to pay some form of levy whether that is "rent" (though airports avoid getting into landlord and tenant act agreements) a fee for the issuing of security passes, a levy on utilities (though most of these are cost controlled) the list goes on and on.
Given how much travel / holidays etc have become a must have not a nice to have it is hardly surprising at how airport and airline commercial behaviour has evolved.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
You're right - I meant pursued (or follow) on the basis that if they don't, then the decline of airports such as Prestwick, Teesside and Cardiff is what you get. They HAVE to follow that course if they want to survive.
Hilton T5 is probably the worst of the dedicated Heathrow hotels to get to using normal public transport. My wife was once booked in there by an employer. The Hoppa buses were supposed to run every half hour but were running every 2 hours. Taxis refused to take her from Heathrow. Now I book her hotels, that one isn't on the list.
And why it was the cheapest of the lot to park and stay overnight on the return. I did prefer the park and take your keys / go to your room set up, rather than a shuttle bus which don't run 24 hours or an out of hours fee. Of course we should go by train next time!!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Half hourly on the 703 (Reading Buses operated Greenline) by the looks of it? Though you do have to walk half a mile first. Surprisingly bad but not impossible. Probably an Uber job.
Parking a car on a friend's drive in Manchester, getting the local bus to the airport (free for ENCTS pass holders), not using a luggage trolley and getting a Boots meal deal is to me the ideal way to start a foreign holiday. Had a night flight from Terminal 2 once and they'd even reduced all the sandwiches shortly before closing so I was in holiday heaven.
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