Flixbus Discussion

[miklcct]

Also much of Scotland's Citylink network is similar.


Granted I don't think every single diversion is needed but Brent Cross is on the way and northbound, the only cost is time penalty loading any passengers.

Southbound though I guess it can cause issues if luggage isn't separated it could cause quite a dilemma. I think it's also not popular with passengers stopping too often.

It's a balance. For some routes where it's worthy of a 'day trip' like Leicester yes, that may work but Glasgows would be wasted I think.

By stopping close to motorway entrance coach travel can be competitive with long-distance car travel for those living on the edge of the city as there is no longer a time penalty.

 

[Wolfie]

By stopping close to motorway entrance coach travel can be competitive with long-distance car travel for those living on the edge of the city as there is no longer a time penalty.

But there is such a penalty, albeit small, for those wishing to get to the city centre as a result of the additional stop.

 

[markymark2000]

By stopping close to motorway entrance coach travel can be competitive with long-distance car travel for those living on the edge of the city as there is no longer a time penalty.

But you may also suffer a time penalty which puts off city to city passengers.


How do you think people in Leicester feel. Most of their buses like Mega and Flix go to Fosse Park, not the city. The people in the city have no city to city bus and have to get to Fosse Park (which doesn't have the best local bus links to where the coaches stop)

Or Milton Keynes where people are forced to swap onto a local bus to make city-city trips.

Reading most coaches use Mereoak, not the centre.

Both points for and against are valid.

 

[miklcct]

But you may also suffer a time penalty which puts off city to city passengers.


How do you think people in Leicester feel. Most of their buses like Mega and Flix go to Fosse Park, not the city. The people in the city have no city to city bus and have to get to Fosse Park (which doesn't have the best local bus links to where the coaches stop)

Or Milton Keynes where people are forced to swap onto a local bus to make city-city trips.

Reading most coaches use Mereoak, not the centre.

Both points for and against are valid.

I'll say that rail is the generally the best option for city to city travel where a car is generally not competitive, nor a coach. As a result those taking a coach between cities are mainly those who accept that coaches are slow, but want to travel at a cheaper price.

However, rail is generally not a good option for suburb-to-suburb travel and a car is the dominant mode for such travel. Because coaches are cheap, if we put a stop just before and just after the motorway, those driving all the way may swap the bulk of their journey onto the coach due to high fuel cost when the time penalty of a coach vs a car is minimal, and as a result we can move cars off the motorway to reduce traffic congestion.

 

[GusB]

Let's not drift too far from the main topic, which is Flixbus. Any discussion about which mode of transport is more competitive should be in its own thread.

 

[Flying Snail]

Yes, took me a while to find a date it was running. That is a somewhat interesting routeing though, not even going through Victoria Coach Station.

Presumably M6 - A14 - M11 (with other links in between).



Seems to have a different departure time on different days of the week. Manchester to Cambridge tickets are available.

Manchester to Greenwich via Birmingham and Cambridge looks like quite an interesting journey to do.

Just looking at the bookings and no matter what dates entered they are only offering the window seats on the direct Manchester - Paris including for short journeys, so only 2 pax per row. Anyone any idea what coaches they are using on this?

 

[Dfatcontroller]

Just looking at the bookings and no matter what dates entered they are only offering the window seats on the direct Manchester - Paris including for short journeys, so only 2 pax per row. Anyone any idea what coaches they are using on this?

Whippet have just taken delivery of two new Neoplan Tourliners. Presume they'll be used rather than a knackered Levante.

 

[Magicake]

We've booked the flixbus from London to Birmingham at midnight on Saturday night and just had a text from them today saying we'll have to change buses at Leicester. Any idea what's happening there? Are they trying to combine services due to light loadings or something?

 

[JonathanH]

We've booked the flixbus from London to Birmingham at midnight on Saturday night and just had a text from them today saying we'll have to change buses at Leicester. Any idea what's happening there? Are they trying to combine services due to light loadings or something?

I was planning to take the 2359 from London to Sheffield tonight. Coach turns up at Victoria at 0010, driver says it won't be leaving until 0050.

While waiting the coach gets changed from N02 to N23, so now going to Manchester.

Text and email from from Flixbus at 0042 saying the N02 is cancelled.

Dear FLIX customer, we are very sorry but we had to cancel your ride. You can book an alternative trip for free or ask for a cashback here

Driver boards N23 around 0100, eleven spare seats for the fifteen people seemingly catching the N02.

Driver reasonably apologetic but nothing he can really do. Coach leaves 86 minutes late at 0125.

It seems one of those things at the current time that drivers may not be available but cancellation 40 minutes after scheduled departure doesn't exactly give passengers a lot of time to make alternative arrangements.

The repeated refrain in this thread is that Flixbus want to be a major player in the coach business but not being able to tell passengers in advance that their coach isn't running isn't exactly endearing them to their passengers.

 

[Flying Snail]

I was planning to take the 2359 from London to Sheffield tonight. Coach turns up at Victoria at 0010, driver says it won't be leaving until 0050.

While waiting the coach gets changed from N02 to N23, so now going to Manchester.

Text and email from from Flixbus at 0042 saying the N02 is cancelled.



Driver boards N23 around 0100, eleven spare seats for the fifteen people seemingly catching the N02.

Driver reasonably apologetic but nothing he can really do. Coach leaves 86 minutes late at 0125.

It seems one of those things at the current time that drivers may not be available but cancellation 40 minutes after scheduled departure doesn't exactly give passengers a lot of time to make alternative arrangements.

The repeated refrain in this thread is that Flixbus want to be a major player in the coach business but not being able to tell passengers in advance that their coach isn't running isn't exactly endearing them to their passengers.

To be honest you sound a lot less angry than I would be in that situation.

Book a different journey or a refund is sod all use to someone stranded in London at 1am and lets face it most people aren't taking a coach because their Bentley is in the garage, just paying walk-in rates at a central London hotel is going to be well out of the reach of many.

 

[JonathanH]

To be honest you sound a lot less angry than I would be in that situation.

Who am I going to get angry with? I just got a text message and the driver did his best to take passengers to places on the other route.

Book a different journey or a refund is sod all use to someone stranded in London at 1am and lets face it most people aren't taking a coach because their Bentley is in the garage, just paying walk-in rates at a central London hotel is going to be well out of the reach of many.

I can just sit time at Victoria Coach Station watching passengers leaving on airport coaches and get a (fortunately not that expensive) train in the morning to continue my plans.

Not what I would have chosen to do obviously.

 

[johncrossley]

This popped into my Facebook timeline

New coach to Paris cheaper than Eurostar launches from London

Fares start from £27.99 on the new route as Flixbus continues to capture the UK travel sector

www.mylondon.news

From North Greenwich, you can usually get a bus to such exotic destinations as Woolwich, Bexleyheath and Lewisham but starting this Wednesday (July 13), the list of locations will also include the city of love. That's because German-run international travel giant Flixbus is continuing its expansion into the UK with a brand new overnight route between Manchester and Paris, which makes stops at Stratford and North Greenwich, five days per week.

So maybe this is partly how they promote their routes.

 

[route101]

This popped into my Facebook timeline

New coach to Paris cheaper than Eurostar launches from London

Fares start from £27.99 on the new route as Flixbus continues to capture the UK travel sector

www.mylondon.news

So maybe this is partly how they promote their routes.

I have had Youtube adverts for Flixbus. I don't know if they are showing on the TV.

 

[Mikw]

I have had Youtube adverts for Flixbus. I don't know if they are showing on the TV.

Me too! In fact i watched a vlog the other day of London to Paris on Flixbus, and that advert came on just before it.

 

[buscontroller]

This weekend Whippet's start the Manchester to Paris Run; let's see how long that lasts.

 

[JonathanH]

This weekend Whippets start the Manchester to Paris Run let's see how long that lasts.

Hopefully they have enough drivers not to have to cancel the service at short notice.

 

[buscontroller]

Hopefully they have enough drivers not to have to cancel the service at short notice.

Yep Whippets do like to pull coaches with no warning, leaving you stranded in places. I was stuck in Sheffield overnight with no place to stay due to them.

 

[Bristol LH]

Swansea-based Cymru Coaches is now the Flixbus contractor for Service 046 (Swansea-London), with two journeys per day in each direction.

 

[markymark2000]

Also from tomorrow (14th July), the Birmingham stop is moving to Colmore Row stop SH9 rather than Dudley Street

 

[route101]

This weekend Whippet's start the Manchester to Paris Run; let's see how long that lasts.

Will be interesting to see the passengers making the journey from Manchester, Birmingham and Cambridge to Paris.

 

[Frothy]

Hello forumers,
I just stumbled across this thread as I was looking for info on whether Flixbus served Folkestone? It's listed on the drop down menu on the app, but not sure there are any services stopping there.

Someone told me Flixbus used the motorway service area just off the M20 by Westenhanger.

 

[route101]

Hello forumers,
I just stumbled across this thread as I was looking for info on whether Flixbus served Folkestone? It's listed on the drop down menu on the app, but not sure there are any services stopping there.

Someone told me Flixbus used the motorway service area just off the M20 by Westenhanger.

Must be one of the Paris or Brussels services that stop there, if they do.

I was looking at fares for London to Paris this weekend. £154.99 one way I kid you not.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Must be one of the Paris or Brussels services that stop there, if they do.

I was looking at fares for London to Paris this weekend. £154.99 one way I kid you not.

Peak summer season remember. Ryanair are very expensive at the moment too. (Granted they are an airline, but they offer dirt cheap fares like Flixbus)

 

[Flying Snail]

Must be one of the Paris or Brussels services that stop there, if they do.

I was looking at fares for London to Paris this weekend. £154.99 one way I kid you not.

Eurostar is full right through until next Tuesday and after that there's little other than Business Premier available. Airlines are no better. Flix aren't fools, better to sell a handful at premium rates to those who have no other option than try to fill a coach with bargain hunters.

 

[markymark2000]

Peak summer season remember. Ryanair are very expensive at the moment too. (Granted they are an airline, but they offer dirt cheap fares like Flixbus)

The coaches with those higher fares are marked by Flixbus as 'almost full' and so that is typical for higher fares when it's a nearly full bus.

It's also worth noting, how many people book an international trip 2 weeks before travel?

 

[route101]

The coaches with those higher fares are marked by Flixbus as 'almost full' and so that is typical for higher fares when it's a nearly full bus.

It's also worth noting, how many people book an international trip 2 weeks before travel?

When you have a free weekend and up for doing something!

 

[duncombec]

When you have a free weekend and up for doing something!

The first weekend of the school summer holidays, and the final weekend of the Tour de France, ending in Paris. I'm not even slightly surprised it was expensive!

 

[Martin1988]

Something I'm curious about with the London to Europe services. The itinery on the Flixbus website currently suggests that all journeys cross the channel using the ferry however someone recently uploaded a Youtube video of their journey from London to Paris which showed them going via the tunnel.

Is it common for international services to be marked as using the ferry and then using the tunnel instead? Or vice versa? Or is it maybe a case of Flixbus showing the timings on the basis of the journey involving a ferry crossing to cover themselves in case they need to switch from using the tunnel?

 

[route101]

Something I'm curious about with the London to Europe services. The itinery on the Flixbus website currently suggests that all journeys cross the channel using the ferry however someone recently uploaded a Youtube video of their journey from London to Paris which showed them going via the tunnel.

Is it common for international services to be marked as using the ferry and then using the tunnel instead? Or vice versa? Or is it maybe a case of Flixbus showing the timings on the basis of the journey involving a ferry crossing to cover themselves in case they need to switch from using the tunnel?

I took the Flixbus from Paris to London and it used the tunnel but the timetable said ferry. I think it may of been down to the P&O fiasco at the time. I think the coaches can rock up to tunnel and there is always space for them.

 

[Martin1988]

Thanks for explaining.