That appears to be a bit of a bigotted view of bus passengers..not ALL passengers are pushing buggies... in fact most aren't!
and following the criteria of average joe the Greyhound coaches ARE luxury coaches... leather seats, extra legroom and wifi... as I said you only have to see what happens when a school coach turns up to see what passengers think... God knows what would happen if a dennis dart appeared on the Greyhound! (it hasn't happened yet to my knowledge but with First anything is possible)
Sorry. Quick rewrite ommitted the "If" at the beginning of the sentence. When an operator has marketed a service as "Buggy Friendly" the substitution by a coach will not be appreciated by those passengers and others such as those with mobility issues who benefit from low floor buses. On a recent bus journey I made 3 buggies were part of a group of 12 adults and children.
Luxury is above and beyond the basic level. I expect an air vent above my seat as standard and the failure to line seats up during the refurbishment which reduced the seating capacity negates other features.
Neil WilliamsI personally believe it should be illegal to use those 3+2 seated coaches for transporting adults (be that on a coach/bus route or as rail replacement). It is impossible for anyone even of average height to sit properly in the seats (both in terms of width and legroom), and therefore to wear the belts correctly.
It would perhaps make sense to have a couple of rows of 2+2 at the front for any teachers being transported.
I am sure First Cymru did not do it deliberately and through whatever circumstances, traffic, staff, mechanical issues had reached the point of that or nothing. I don't believe the passengers were forced on at gunpoint. As an adult of average height who has made a number of journeys on 70 seater 3+2 coaches I can assure you it is possible to sit properly in certain seats. The spacing can be a bit random but by the emergency exit is a good bet. While 3+2 seating did exist on a few buses, usually towards the rear over 20 years ago the widescale conversion of coaches came about due to the abolition of the 3 to a seat rule for children up to a certain age and pressure by BUSK on local authorities regarding the use of double deckers with school children.
From a coach forum I occasionally look at there are a number of drivers who will not turn a wheel if the teachers are all up the front. They insist, sadly but quite rightly in my opinion on lead teacher up front and a responsible adult by the emergency exit.