Further to my earlier post
I was on the 11.09 from Crewe to Edinburgh. We arrived in Preston at just after 12noon. Several coaches arrived after about 35-40mins. I joined the queue which to be honest ( and to my surprise) was not too long. Once the destinations were sorted, Avanti staff came down the queue asking if people were going to Lancaster, there were not too many takers. With hindsight, is it possible they were faced with the dilemma of either sending half-empty coaches to Lancaster straight away, or waiting at Preston for an hour or so while other trains arrived??
As I was going to Carlisle I missed the first coaches as they were full, but as I mentioned another coach arrived and we were away by around 14.00 ( nor 13.15 as i mentioned old age is catching me up lol) .
It is also worth noting that quite a number took up the option of travelling to York ( with Northern trains) and then on to Edinburgh. When i saw the queue for that I decided the coach was the best option!