• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Independent long-distance coach services

Status
Not open for further replies.

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
Is there anywhere where one can find information on the vast array of long-distance scheduled coach services that are operated by independent operators? For example I recently discovered by seeing it drive past that Evergreen Coaches (who I'd never heard of before) operate several express coach routes that link Milton Keynes to a variety of destinations like Gravesend, Wolverhampton and Leamington Spa, as well as the company's native Smethwick. But their website is next to useless, giving one-way timetables with no fare information and an old date stamp. Is there anywhere that services like this are listed? Like a complete compendium of 7xx services? Another example would be Marshalls' Leighton Buzzard - London routes.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

anthony263

Established Member
Joined
19 Aug 2008
Messages
6,518
Location
South Wales
Coach travel wales operate the 701 Aberystwyth - Cardiff service although I think it is is now 1 trip in each direction daily instead of Monday wednesdays etc like it was before.

There used to be a Aberytwyth - Manchester service at one time as well and I know someone started a Holyhead - Liverpool airport service which didnt last long (Although it wasnt due to lack of passengers)
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
A company called 'Minibus Executive Travel' runs a daily coach from Aylesbury to London, route 793: http://www.minibusexectravel.co.uk/index.php?doc=route

Yeah I know about that one, Bucks CC were good enough to include it in the one guidebook they ever did. For some reason the MK books make no mention of the Evergreen services, despite them providing pretty unique connections.
 

westcoaster

Established Member
Joined
4 Dec 2006
Messages
4,223
Location
DTOS A or B
Is there anywhere where one can find information on the vast array of long-distance scheduled coach services that are operated by independent operators? For example I recently discovered by seeing it drive past that Evergreen Coaches (who I'd never heard of before) operate several express coach routes that link Milton Keynes to a variety of destinations like Gravesend, Wolverhampton and Leamington Spa, as well as the company's native Smethwick. But their website is next to useless, giving one-way timetables with no fare information and an old date stamp. Is there anywhere that services like this are listed? Like a complete compendium of 7xx services? Another example would be Marshalls' Leighton Buzzard - London routes.

Those evergreen services sound a lot like thandi coach services that run the same sort of routes. http://www.thandiexpress.com/
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
Those evergreen services sound a lot like thandi coach services that run the same sort of routes. http://www.thandiexpress.com/

Yeah that's the kind of thing. They miss out MK though... :-x

Evergreen run the 751 which takes a fascinating route from Birmingham through Leamington and Towcester to reach MK. They give their MK pick up point as 'Milton Keynes bus station' - I can't figure if they mean the coachway, or the central rail station, or are just the only company left that actually picks up from the old bus station.
 

Mojo

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
7 Aug 2005
Messages
20,382
Location
0035
'New Bharat' operates daily services to/from Wolverhampton, Smethwick, Handsworth & Coventry; and Bradford, Derby & Leicester to Slough, & the interestingly named 'New Bharat Coach Station' in Southall.

http://www.newbharat.co.uk/timetable.html
 

westcoaster

Established Member
Joined
4 Dec 2006
Messages
4,223
Location
DTOS A or B
All the services listed above operate to areas of areas/towns of high Asian population.
 
Last edited:

WestCoast

Established Member
Joined
19 Jun 2010
Messages
5,574
Location
Glasgow
Classic Coaches (of County Durham) have 'Blackpool Express' services, which is basically one route from the Tyne & Wear Area to Blackpool and one route from various points in County Durham to Blackpool. They operate Fridays and Sundays, with additional services at peak times of the year. It's kind of a tour coach which also offers seat only bookings.

http://www.classiccoachesholidays.co.uk/ItemOverview.aspx?Type=WebHeading&ID=14
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
How do passengers find out about these services? I can't even figure out where in MK the 751 picks up. I might email Evergreen for some info on that. Ask them to update their site while they're at it. Here it is in case anyone wants an exercise in how not to do a website - http://www.evergreencoaches.co.uk/express.html

Marshalls on the other hand offer good info on their site about their Leighton-Dunstable-London routes. I just wish there was somewhere where all of these services could be viewed together. We seem to be creating that on this thread mind!
 

martinsh

Established Member
Joined
27 Jan 2011
Messages
1,743
Location
Considering a move to Memphis

34D

Established Member
Joined
9 Feb 2011
Messages
6,042
Location
Yorkshire
Fascinating thread. I'd imagine that many of the services listed (in the whole thread) will be registered for part of their length (for fuel duty rebate purposes) and this would entitle them to things such as serving highway bus stops, putting up timetables, and potentially being included on LCD display screens.
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
Fascinating thread. I'd imagine that many of the services listed (in the whole thread) will be registered for part of their length (for fuel duty rebate purposes) and this would entitle them to things such as serving highway bus stops, putting up timetables, and potentially being included on LCD display screens.

For some reason the Evergreen services are not listed in any Milton Keynes public transport guides, on any bus stop signs or mentioned at all anywhere. Same is true for the Megabus route that comes through Kingston Centre though.
 

34D

Established Member
Joined
9 Feb 2011
Messages
6,042
Location
Yorkshire
For some reason the Evergreen services are not listed in any Milton Keynes public transport guides, on any bus stop signs or mentioned at all anywhere. Same is true for the Megabus route that comes through Kingston Centre though.

Could I trouble you to pose this question to the council?

Out of interest do they appear on any realtime system (text, or web URL) at all?
 

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
Could I trouble you to pose this question to the council?

Out of interest do they appear on any realtime system (text, or web URL) at all?

I think the council's transport department is already sick of hearing from me :p

No they literally appear in nothing that I know of - I don't know about traveline and the like though.
 

Smethwickian

Member
Joined
9 Feb 2011
Messages
666
Location
Errr, Smethwick!
No they literally appear in nothing that I know of - I don't know about traveline and the like though.

Thandi and New Bharat services are in the Traveline South East and East database at www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk.

From 'find timetables' just type in Thandi or New Bharat as the operator without any location.

The journey planner will also give them as options - search for an appropriate journey (Slough to Wolverhampton, for example) by coach only.

Evergreen and Thandi are connected somehow - not sure if it's a simple case of Thandi owning them or they have joint directors/shareholders or family links.

It can be a bit confusing in this neck of the woods as there are quite a number of small bus and coach companies which have in the past few years changed hands/merged/closed/shut down suddenly/started operating old vehicles on random services, many of them based in the same/adjoining/nearby premises in the Rolfe Street/Alma Street/London Road/Bridge Street area of Smethwick. Not that I am suggesting in any way shape or form that they're in any way dodgy, of course. It's just been a bit, erm, varied round here at times.
 
Last edited:

MK Tom

Established Member
Joined
31 Aug 2011
Messages
2,421
Location
Milton Keynes
Thandi and New Bharat services are in the Traveline South East and East database at www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk.

From 'find timetables' just type in Thandi or New Bharat as the operator without any location.

The journey planner will also give them as options - search for an appropriate journey (Slough to Wolverhampton, for example) by coach only.

Evergreen and Thandi are connected somehow - not sure if it's a simple case of Thandi owning them or they have joint directors/shareholders or family links.

It can be a bit confusing in this neck of the woods as there are quite a number of small bus and coach companies which have in the past few years changed hands/merged/closed/shut down suddenly/started operating old vehicles on random services, many of them based in the same/adjoining/nearby premises in the Rolfe Street/Alma Street/London Road/Bridge Street area of Smethwick. Not that I am suggesting in any way shape or form that they're in any way dodgy, of course. It's just been a bit, erm, varied round here at times.

Yeah you get the same thing down here. Anyone who knows two things about the bus industry knows that Redline, Z&S and Vale Travel are all the same people.

What you said about Evergreen and Thandi might explain why the vehicle I saw on the 751 wasn't wearing Evergreen livery - neither's website seems to give any reliable, up-to-date info though and Evergreen's classically only gives times for all its services in one direction. Not sure if I should email one of them for more info... or which it should be!
 

causton

Established Member
Joined
4 Aug 2010
Messages
5,504
Location
Somewhere between WY372 and MV7
Round here we have a similar situation, with Logic Bus, Roadrunner Coaches and Olympian Coaches all presumably being the same people as they mix and match stock all the time!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top