Megabus: Any experiences from forum users?

[anti-pacer]

My good lady is travelling up to Alloa in Scotland next week, using Megabus between Leeds and Edinburgh. She won't change trains in Edinburgh or Glasgow unless I'm there, so she'd rather sit on a coach for hours on end.

Having worked for National Express, I can't think of anything worse. However, it's cheap.

Any experiences to share, and do they all have toilets on?

 

[telstarbox]

From experience the main thing which can turn a good Megabus run into a bad one is traffic congestion. What time is her intended journey?

 

[anti-pacer]

From experience the main thing which can turn a good Megabus run into a bad one is traffic congestion. What time is her intended journey?

1350-1850 Leeds-Edinburgh on Saturday
1135-1625 return the following Saturday

 

[pitdiver]

My good lady is travelling up to Alloa in Scotland next week, using Megabus between Leeds and Edinburgh. She won't change trains in Edinburgh or Glasgow unless I'm there, so she'd rather sit on a coach for hours on end.

Having worked for National Express, I can't think of anything worse. However, it's cheap.

Any experiences to share, and do they all have toilets on?

I know what you mean re NX, don't know about cheap. Having a Priv Pass for me train is no brainer. The fare quoted for the journey to Fort William in May by NX is £387.50 changing twice. I am paying £126.20 that's including the Sleeper berths for the Wife and me
w

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Most of the times I've used Megabus has been a MegabusPlus service, with fairly rubbish and old vehicles for the coach section. I've used proper Megabus twice: once in their early days when they used what were basically buses (ex-Hong-Kong I believe), and more recently from Huddersfield to London when they massively impressed me beyond my low expectations: a nearly-new double deck coach with nice comfortable seats which reclined... absolutely wiped the floor with anything National Express have ever served up!

 

[radamfi]

The fare quoted for the journey to Fort William in May by NX is £387.50 changing twice.

From where? The most NX would cost from London to Glasgow is £137.80 (buying the ticket from the driver)

https://www.nxagents.com/theguide/590/590F(Jan2018+).pdf

and an Open Return from Glasgow to Fort William on the Citylink site is £42.30

An online return ticket from London to Fort William for next Saturday coming back Tuesday is about £100 on the NX site.

 

[Robertj21a]

I know what you mean re NX, don't know about cheap. Having a Priv Pass for me train is no brainer. The fare quoted for the journey to Fort William in May by NX is £387.50 changing twice. I am paying £126.20 that's including the Sleeper berths for the Wife and me
w

Is this right ???

 

[185143]

I did a Megabus from London to Manchester last week. Bus was nearly empty, seats are alright-though the bottom got a bit numb at one point. I'm a massive fan-though I've only ever travelled for £1, and only had one journey which wasn't great.

 

[pitdiver]

Just checked again at NX

• 
  Standard fare - amendable and not refundable
  £191.50
• 
  Fully flexible fare - amendable and refundable
  £381.40

Booking Summary
Total£382.40
Fully flexible fare - amendable and refundable
£381.40
Passengers

I am ret
2 Adults
Booking Fee
£1.00
Outbound
LONDON Victoria Coach Station
to Fort William, Scotland
Tue 15 May 2018 18h 45m
23:30 18:152 Changes
Return
Fort William, Scotland
to LONDON Victoria Coach Station
Fri 18 May 2018 15h 10m

I am referring to the fully amendable fare which is both flexible and refundable. The same basis as my train tickets. I know what journeys are like on NX I used to be a Coach Station manager for them!

 

[radamfi]

I am referring to the fully amendable fare which is both flexible and refundable. The same basis as my train tickets. I know what journeys are like on NX I used to be a Coach Station manager for them!

You are paying a huge premium for such flexibility that you are unlikely to need. With Megabus, whilst you can't get a refund, you can always exchange for another journey on the same or different route. London to Glasgow on Megabus is usually not much more than £20 each way even at short notice.

 

[Antman]

I've used Megabus on numerous occasions and I've never had any complaints.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Used it once in March 2017 Manchester to Victoria (London)

Paid £1 so it was just a case of "sit up belt up shut up"

I'd go again. Coach was clean and on time.

 

[CJSwan]

I once did the 04:40 Aberdeen to London for just £1! Had also booked a return for the same price... I came back by train though!

 

[BigCj34]

It is a no-frills coach service that does what it purports to do at a low price. It is not super comfortable but it is just like sitting on any other regular coach and it is clean, so for a coach service it is decent. Personally though there have not been many instances where the low cost has justified the time penalty in my case, and considering the majority of my train journeys are on the WCML or ECML that is a lot of extra time in a less comfortable mode of travel.

 

[kevconnor]

It often depends on circumstances. If I am heading to Birmingham early morning on a weekend then the 06:40 from Manchester is a good service as it will normally get into Birmingham at 08:30 so the time penalty is minimal, they go from Shudehill which is on the same side of town as I live on and they are cheap (over the last bank holiday I got to Birmingham for £1.50) and the journey down was far more seemless than the journey back on the train due to the flooding in Birmingham.

I have however had bad journeys. as a student in college going back to home Ireland at Easter the only ticket I could get went Sheffield>Birmingham>Bristol>Fishguard>Rosslare>Waterford>Cork>Tralee>Dingle>Home took 27 hours and inc a 2.5 hour wait in Bristol bus station at 11pm at night. Whilst the ticket was cheap the journey was not an enjoyable one.

 

[185]

Only in the USA, from DC>NY. I ended up turfing one of the Golden Girls out of our (paid for) reserved seats. Brought back memories from long ago - ended up climbing in the luggage hold of the VanHool decker in a packed NYC street as the lazy driver was sat pretending to fill his tacho out. Excellent value, was just a fifth of the nearest Amtrak fare for the same journey, and only 30 mins slower. So mostly, very good.