Milton Keynes-Luton... VT99?

[tractakid]

I need to travel from MK to Luton on some weekdays in the future. (Not sure about frequency, perhaps once a week?)

I am aware the best way to do this is probably on the VT99 bus, run by Stagecoach. But i'm confused about what this bus actually is, and how to use it. It would be most convenient to catch it from the 'Point' stop in Milton Keynes and alight at the Railway Station stop in Luton.

Could someone please briefly identify what this bus has got to do with Virgin, and how it came about. Has the bus changed at all since it started? If it's a railway bus, why does it not appear in online journey planners like the Tilbury bus? How does ticketing work? Do I need a train ticket or a bus ticket? I have a 16-25 railcard, can I use this? How much is the fare? I can't seem to find it on the Stagecoach website.

I'm assuming i'd need to travel to arrive roughly 8am, and return approximately 4pm.

I might also occasionally venture out via the Marston Vale line, but this would take longer than I would like most days.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Virgin WC is jointly owned with Stagecoach.

 

[Mike395]

It's now just the 99 - VT have stopped their sponsorship of the service - not sure if through rail ticketing is still available, but you had to start or end with a rail journey IIRC, so probably irrelevant in your case. I'm fairly sure there's no student discount available, but there may be a student rate available, similar to the X5.

The timetable is located here.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

It was a rail sponsored bus link IIRC, the timetable should be on table 65B of the National Rail Timetable.

You can use your Railcard for a discount on a ticket as part of a through journey from beyond Milton Keynes, not sure about just for the bus though. I'm reasonably sure you can buy tickets for it onboard.

Edit: If it is no longer sponsored, this may explain the lack of it being on a journey planner.

 

[tractakid]

Thanks. Is this the fare?

http://www.brfares.com/#fares?orig=MKC&dest=K036&rlc=

Is it the same fare if I start at The Point stop?

Edit: I can't seem to find table 65B...

 

[1E05]

The same fare will apply from ALL stops in Milton Keynes (including Kingston Centre) to anywhere in Luton and the journey takes just under an hour. I've tried it a couple of times and can definitely say I'm impressed with the service.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Hmmmm.......

Doesn't appear to be a 65B in the pdf files either (despite the pdf index listing Luton and Luton Airport as Bus 65B)

 

[Haywain]

The bus hasn't appeared in the NRT for a while now, since Virgin stopped the sponsorship. These days it is purely a Stagecoach operation, but the legacy is that through rail tickets are accepted. The fares shown in the link above are to Luton, but not to Luton Airport, and railcard discounts are available only when the ticket is bought from a National Rail ticket office and not on the bus. Milton Keynes have, to my knowledge, been reluctant to sell tickets for the bus, though.

Oh, and due to ongoing construction of the (mis)guided busway it drops off near to, rather than at, Luton station.

Hope this helps.

 

[tractakid]

So, I go into MKC and ask for a railcard discounted return for the bus to the 99 bus to Luton, and they should sell me the ticket? It is Luton itself and not the Airport that I need.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Luton Bus MK.

 

[bb21]

So, I go into MKC and ask for a railcard discounted return for the bus to the 99 bus to Luton, and they should sell me the ticket? It is Luton itself and not the Airport that I need.

Are you travelling by rail at all?

AFAIK it is meant to be an add-on to your rail journey, so if you are not travelling by rail at all, I am not sure you should be sold this in isolation, or that they would sell you that fare.

 

[tractakid]

It doesn't make sense to do any of the journey by rail.

I would go and enquire at the station... but based on experiences of forum members with unknowledgable staff mades me nervous. I could try tweeting Virgin, but I have recieved incorrect information on twitter before.

What sources of information are there?

 

[Paul Kelly]

BR Fares is quite reliable these days and it shows no fares available for Milton Keynes Central to Luton Bus MK with 16-25 Railcard applied, so I wouldn't be confident of any ticket machines at MKC being able to issue it. The fares database is interpreted inconsistently though, so you could strike lucky.

 

[barrykas]

It's dropped out of the Bus Links section in "The Manual" too, so I wouldn't be confident of it still being available to buy. Tickets to Luton Airport Bus MK (K042) are showing as still available...but refer to being an add-on to tickets with a TOC indicator of VWC or VXC(!)

 

[hairyhandedfool]

It's briefly noted under 'Luton Airport via Milton Keynes' in the 'Airport Links' section of The Manual (it's logical to someone I guess).

 

[tractakid]

I think i'll tweet and enquire at MKC, and report back with my findings.