Flixbus Discussion

[Mwanesh]

Sadly it seems that Whippets have taken on more than they can chew. They seem to often struggle with a driver shortage


Easier said than done. Flix doesn't do like NatEx and Megabus and have an endless supply of coach operators who cover work (including driver shortage or breakdowns). They simply cancel journeys.

As for London operators, White Bus are about to start but depends if they have the resources to also cover other services. Hearns isn't too far away but I am sure that they arent covering random trips for others, just covering full routes/duties if they can, as/when Flix want to expand but other operators can't cover it.

Well said it seems most of their operators are in the wrong locations. Apart from maybe Boudens in Birmingham. Everything else seems to be far from the routes.

 

[markymark2000]

Well said it seems most of their operators are in the wrong locations. Apart from maybe Boudens in Birmingham. Everything else seems to be far from the routes.

Not entirely. There are some operators quite far from their routes but not all.

Berrys in Taunton, easy for driver swaps to save on double manning.
Belle Vue based in Stockport, not too far from Manchester.
Cymru Coaches in Swansea, the end of their line.
Hearns in Watford, not close to their stops but ideal for driver swaps know they do swaps at Toddington Services.
Newport Bus, not far from the Newport stop. Ideal for driver swaps to avoid double manning.
Tiger European in Nottingham, same as their depot.
Turners in Bristol, end of their lines.
Xplore Dundee ideal for driver swaps and not too far from their routes.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Not entirely. There are some operators quite far from their routes but not all.

Xplore Dundee ideal for driver swaps and not too far from their routes.

Albeit because of this it means southbound services from Aberdeen start too late and northbound ones to Aberdeen finish too early.

 

[markymark2000]

Albeit because of this it means southbound services from Aberdeen start too late and northbound ones to Aberdeen finish too early.

Very true. Very good network from Dundee though. Maybe one day we will have a 24hr Flixbus network on the Scotland Domestic routes. Who knows. The McGills operation has been quiet for a while which normally means something is going on somewhere.

 

[MrJeeves]

Overnight Flixbus coach from London to Liverpool and Manchester cancelled this evening. Text message at 5pm tonight at least gave some warning but not the sort of thing that endears an operator to its customers.

Out of interest, what did they do as a result of this? Any provision of alternate transport or options for customers affected?

 

[JonathanH]

Out of interest, what did they do as a result of this? Any provision of alternate transport or options for customers affected?

Free switch to another timetabled coach between the original travel points, or refund.

 

[markymark2000]

Free switch to another timetabled coach between the original travel points, or refund.

No compensation, just rebook or refund? That's not very good.

 

[MrJeeves]

It's not ideal considering you've lost the entire point of the overnight coach, no

 

[M803UYA]

Not entirely. There are some operators quite far from their routes but not all.

Berrys in Taunton, easy for driver swaps to save on double manning.
Belle Vue based in Stockport, not too far from Manchester.
Cymru Coaches in Swansea, the end of their line.
Hearns in Watford, not close to their stops but ideal for driver swaps know they do swaps at Toddington Services.
Newport Bus, not far from the Newport stop. Ideal for driver swaps to avoid double manning.
Tiger European in Nottingham, same as their depot.
Turners in Bristol, end of their lines.
Xplore Dundee ideal for driver swaps and not too far from their routes.

Reading through that list, what's absent (besides Hearns) is a London based operator. Having this would help Flixbus maintain services as then they could deploy spare drivers/vehicles as emergency cover. Maybe this is what Rowgate will bring to the operation? Guess we'll see.

 

[route101]

Do they let you do that if no one is going to sit in the seat next to you?

so you are paying for 2 people really then?

Was an extra tenner, varies on price of ticket. You do get people who don't book seats or people who move from seat to seat during journeys. If someone sits on the seat I will show them my reservation, but if they dont move either you speak to the driver or have to make do.

Albeit because of this it means southbound services from Aberdeen start too late and northbound ones to Aberdeen finish too early.

The 080 starts from Dundee but finishes in Aberdeen on the return.

Out of interest, what did they do as a result of this? Any provision of alternate transport or options for customers affected?

I guess people will try and book on Megabus/National Express. Trouble is they can sell out.

 

[johncrossley]

I guess people will try and book on Megabus/National Express. Trouble is they can sell out.

And even if they aren't sold out, likely the fare would be a lot more than if they had booked with Megabus or National Express in the first place.

 

[route101]

Very true. Very good network from Dundee though. Maybe one day we will have a 24hr Flixbus network on the Scotland Domestic routes. Who knows. The McGills operation has been quiet for a while which normally means something is going on somewhere.

Citylink operate 24 hours a day between Glasgow and Aberdeen, though I think there is a gap between services. Inverness is missing from the network. I am not sure what is next, perhaps some shorter runs from the Central Belt to Manchester/Liverpool.

 

[317 forever]

Overnight Flixbus coach from London to Liverpool and Manchester cancelled this evening. Text message at 5pm tonight at least gave some warning but not the sort of thing that endears an operator to its customers.

After they cancelled my Leicester - Manchester coach last October I committed against using them again for the foreseeable future. In terms of vehicles, I feel tempted to use them on a Scottish service. I reckon McGills would prove reliable. I am just concerned in case they gauge demand and cancel coaches that are not selling well.

 

[markymark2000]

After they cancelled my Leicester - Manchester coach last October I committed against using them again for the foreseeable future. In terms of vehicles, I feel tempted to use them on a Scottish service. I reckon McGills would prove reliable. I am just concerned in case they gauge demand and cancel coaches that are not selling well.

If I am honest, the cancellations seem to revolve mostly around Whippets services because of a lack of drivers. Trips ran by other firms Ive never heard complaints about. Use the Google Sheets timetable in post #859 (post linked below) and this will show you which operator runs each trip.

Flixbus Discussion

To be honest I've never yet entered the flixbus world as it doesn't on the surface anyway appear to present me with anything that's not already being done by somebody else. Why should I choose them? What is the unique selling point? I really wish that somebody else would have another go at a...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[TheSmiths82]

Is there any regulation that means scheduled coaches do need to run unless there is a very good reason? It doesn't seem right they can just cancel and say sort your own mess out, here is a refund. If people are going to airports or St Pancras etc for the Eurostar a cancelled coach can quickly get very expensive. This is one reason I avoid coaches, unless it is a short distance and they have regular services, e.g Manchester to Birmingham. I did get a national express from Bristol to London a few weeks back. It was on time and arrived into London half an hour early. A great service despite the fact the coach was packed. However I knew if it didn't turn up for what ever reason the trains are not too expensive on that route either so I had a backup.

The issue with long distance coach travel for me is there is just no backup when things go wrong. At least with the trains when things go wrong it can be stressful but there is always a way of getting there apart from on strike days etc but people are given notice of them anyway.

 

[johncrossley]

I've never heard of Megabus or National Express cancel coaches like how Flixbus does it is. I've been travelling on coaches regularly for over 30 years. I've travelled on Flixbus in Germany and on cross-Channel services several times before Covid and had good experiences. They were my preferred cross-Channel operator. So I was excited when Flixbus started in the UK but they have been a huge disappointment. I don't use them on UK domestic routes now.

Trips ran by other firms Ive never heard complaints about.

Remember when Ridleys cancelled all services at short notice?

 

[markymark2000]

I've never heard of Megabus or National Express cancel coaches like how Flixbus does it is. I've been travelling on coaches regularly for over 30 years. I've travelled on Flixbus in Germany and on cross-Channel services several times before Covid and had good experiences. They were my preferred cross-Channel operator. So I was excited when Flixbus started in the UK but they have been a huge disappointment. I don't use them on UK domestic routes now.

You've never travelled with Megabus properly then. Depending on the operator, rather than properly cancel journeys, they will delay it forever and then switch you onto another bus which is going a similar way before you switch onto your proper service further up the route when they have found an alternative vehicle. I know this happened on a trip that I did from Cardiff.
If it's one of the outside operators, I've traveled with MP Travel on Megabus and when they had issues of few hours delay due to a crash, they rang Megabus control and Megabus control weren't really bothered one bit. Mostly left MP Travel to sort it out themselves.

NatEx has their big supplier list to call upon for help and now I know they are getting standby buses. They ask operators to have a bus and driver in the yard on standby to just sit there and wait incase of breakdowns.
Flix doesn't do that generally. If it's a certain operators run, it's down to that operator to cover it using their own resources. Flixbus don't have to care about passengers over here because they are the only operator in many other countries, people just see the brand and book. It's evident that they don't care about UK passengers as if you speak English, you have no hope of getting support off them. Phone or email, they don't understand basic English. The only instances Flix will get another firm in to cover is slightly longer term loans like Hearns were running a few of Whippets runs at one point but that was covering the full day duty.

Remember when Ridleys cancelled all services at short notice?

One off in relation to a large scale row between themselves and Flixbus. Ridley's also do not run Flixbus at all and so as of right now, the only domestic trips seeing regular cancellations are Whippets.

Of the cancellations over the past 2 days from London Victoria, 5 were Whippets, 1 was Turners. Whippets has already cancelled 2 trips tomorrow as well. Most affected is their Cambridge, Manchester and Nottingham trips. For Manchester try to use Belle Vue, McGills or Hearns trips. For Nottingham try to use Tiger European or McGills trips. For Cambridge trips you're a bit stuffed.

 

[M803UYA]

NatEx has their big supplier list to call upon for help and now I know they are getting standby buses. They ask operators to have a bus and driver in the yard on standby to just sit there and wait incase of breakdowns.
Flix doesn't do that generally. If it's a certain operators run, it's down to that operator to cover it using their own resources. Flixbus don't have to care about passengers over here because they are the only operator in many other countries, people just see the brand and book. It's evident that they don't care about UK passengers as if you speak English, you have no hope of getting support off them. Phone or email, they don't understand basic English. The only instances Flix will get another firm in to cover is slightly longer term loans like Hearns were running a few of Whippets runs at one point but that was covering the full day duty.

I'm going a little off topic now but National Express had two operators based in London (Chalfont of Southall and Hamilton of Uxbridge) who would turn out on emergency cover for National Express. Chalfont had every outbound London destination on their screens for this reason. The cost of doing this was recharged to the operator concerned who'd had the issue. Where duplicates were required, that'd be a separate list of contractors who'd turn out for them.

When I worked at Yellow Buses we had a 'reserve' roster on the bus side which had to have it's duties constructed to EU hours parameters instead of domestic. We'd then pull drivers off that roster to cover National Express duties internally - meaning we had an excellent reliability record with them. It counted for nothing at the end as the 032 was lost to another operator who bid cheaper, but didn't stay on the work more than a few years. The final nail in that coffin came when Lucketts took on the 035, which they'd wanted for years. The loss of the 032 was one of the reasons Yellow got into trouble, the bus services weren't the profitable part of the operation, it was being held up by two National Express routes out of London.

Very surprised that Flixbus don't have a London based operator who can be thrown onto cover dropped journeys like NatEx - maybe this is what Rowgate's role will be?

All sorts of things can delay an inbound coach, mainly congestion but vehicles like to misbehave at times convenient to themselves.

 

[route101]

You've never travelled with Megabus properly then. Depending on the operator, rather than properly cancel journeys, they will delay it forever and then switch you onto another bus which is going a similar way before you switch onto your proper service further up the route when they have found an alternative vehicle. I know this happened on a trip that I did from Cardiff.
If it's one of the outside operators, I've traveled with MP Travel on Megabus and when they had issues of few hours delay due to a crash, they rang Megabus control and Megabus control weren't really bothered one bit. Mostly left MP Travel to sort it out themselves.

NatEx has their big supplier list to call upon for help and now I know they are getting standby buses. They ask operators to have a bus and driver in the yard on standby to just sit there and wait incase of breakdowns.
Flix doesn't do that generally. If it's a certain operators run, it's down to that operator to cover it using their own resources. Flixbus don't have to care about passengers over here because they are the only operator in many other countries, people just see the brand and book. It's evident that they don't care about UK passengers as if you speak English, you have no hope of getting support off them. Phone or email, they don't understand basic English. The only instances Flix will get another firm in to cover is slightly longer term loans like Hearns were running a few of Whippets runs at one point but that was covering the full day duty.


One off in relation to a large scale row between themselves and Flixbus. Ridley's also do not run Flixbus at all and so as of right now, the only domestic trips seeing regular cancellations are Whippets.

Of the cancellations over the past 2 days from London Victoria, 5 were Whippets, 1 was Turners. Whippets has already cancelled 2 trips tomorrow as well. Most affected is their Cambridge, Manchester and Nottingham trips. For Manchester try to use Belle Vue, McGills or Hearns trips. For Nottingham try to use Tiger European or McGills trips. For Cambridge trips you're a bit stuffed.

I've not had a problem with Flixbus though its mostly McGills operated services I have used. If you were at Glasgow, you would be hope there was cover from the depot. From the London end its different.

I used the N31 service from Glasgow to London and what makes this service interesting is that it uses the A66 to get to Leeds.

 

[Bwsbro]

I've not had a problem with Flixbus though its mostly McGills operated services I have used. If you were at Glasgow, you would be hope there was cover from the depot. From the London end its different.

I used the N31 service from Glasgow to London and what makes this service interesting is that it uses the A66 to get to Leeds.

The A66 then down the A1M would be the fastest way to get from Penrith to Leeds

 

[route101]

The A66 then down the A1M would be the fastest way to get from Penrith to Leeds

Yes, for some reason I thought they would go down the M6, M61 and M62 to get to Leeds for an easier journey. No other coach service uses the A66

 

[northernrail2009]

I am on the N31 Glasgow to London this week. Booked the seat next to me too, lets see if I get any chancers.

I have just tried to book a seat next to me but can not see how i can do that unless i put in that 2 passengers are going which comes up with double the fare.

so how did you book seat next to you without booking for 2 people at double the fare as i can not see how to do it.

 

[route101]

I have just tried to book a seat next to me but can not see how i can do that unless i put in that 2 passengers are going which comes up with double the fare.

so how did you book seat next to you without booking for 2 people at double the fare as i can not see how to do it.

There should be an option when booking that allows you to book seat. Unless they have disabled it for the the service.

 

[northernrail2009]

There should be an option when booking that allows you to book seat. Unless they have disabled it for the the service.

No can not see that.

Trying to book a London to Manchester seat so they must have disabled it.

 

[Mwanesh]

There should be an option when booking that allows you to book seat. Unless they have disabled it for the the service.

You can book 2 seats and pay for one is that right. Just asking as I have never used Flixbus

 

[markymark2000]

I don't know if they disable it for certain trips when they know they can get more money selling the seat normally versus someone paying £2.99 to reserve the adjacent seat. And/or there's only so many 'neighbour free seats' available.


I've just gone through the site and it is 100% still available though on many journeys.

 

[paul1609]

Yes, for some reason I thought they would go down the M6, M61 and M62 to get to Leeds for an easier journey. No other coach service uses the A66

Penrith to Leeds is 25 miles shorter via the a66 than M6. People are always surprised when I tell them the A1/a66 is the shortest and quickest route from my home near the channel tunnel to my brothers near Cockermouth in Cumbria.

 

[johncrossley]

No can not see that.

Trying to book a London to Manchester seat so they must have disabled it.

Have you tried booking using the full website? It's not available (as far as I can tell) if you use the app or mobile site.

 

[route101]

Penrith to Leeds is 25 miles shorter via the a66 than M6. People are always surprised when I tell them the A1/a66 is the shortest and quickest route from my home near the channel tunnel to my brothers near Cockermouth in Cumbria.

Yes, I know. In bad weather I think they would go down the M6.

I seen the 080 Dundee to Bristol service on the M8 heading West instead of heading down the A7O2 to Carlisle.

 

[paul1609]

Yes, I know. In bad weather I think they would go down the M6.

I seen the 080 Dundee to Bristol service on the M8 heading West instead of heading down the A7O2 to Carlisle.

Yes in extreme weather the A66 at Stanmore can get blocked by Snow but its relatively rare these days.
From the Queensferry Bridge the quickest route to the south is via the M8; it's only 9 miles longer and it's all motorway, whereas after the Edinburgh City Bypass the A702 is all single carriageway roads through several towns and villages.