Flixbus Discussion

[route101]

Bournemouth, Southampton and Poole to join the network with a partnership with Go South Coast via their Excelsior coaching unit:

FlixBus expands to south coast via Excelsior partnership - routeone

Excelsior Coaches has become a FlixBus partner operator as the brand expands to the Dorset and Hampshire coast for the first time.

www.route-one.net

London to Portsmouth was the first Flixbus route in the UK i I remember correctly.

They are going head to head with National Express on the same route. It will be price and timings, the deciding factor.

 

[DJames]

Any pics ?

From 17th April Flixbus will be using nottingham broadmarsh bus stn

I'm not sure who the photo belongs to, it was shared in a Facebook group, but here's the proof.

 

[henryb]

Do you know which trips you spotted as there are 2 sets of 045 timetables in the go? The daily normal service, and also a separate school holiday timetable on top of that (school holiday timetable being the London-Taunton short trips and 1 middayish trip each way London-Plymouth).



Good news they are moving into the interchange. They are using stand 1 though rather than the coach stands, so either lots of changes have been made to the stand to make it completely open for all coaches, or its just yet another example of Flixbus choosing stops which are not accessible for wheelchair passengers and putting disabled access as the lowest priority. With Flix track record, I'm guessing the latter?

I take it back it may not be Berry’s running the 11:30 from Victoria uplift.. was cancelled today and started from Bristol.. any ideas?

 

[Teflon988]

FlixBus to sell tickets for new Flibco Stansted-London service - routeone

FlixBus will offer tickets for the new Flibco Stansted Airport-London service as part of a collaboration between the two brands.

www.route-one.net

What's next ?

 

[embers25]

So it's Flixbus and Flibco vs National Express and Megabus with both the recent changes.

 

[Teflon988]

So it's Flixbus and Flibco vs National Express and Megabus with both the recent changes.

Indeed ! It is,it seems.

 

[embers25]

I noted that the Megabus/Nat Exp routes were ones where Fixbus compete.

 

[route101]

Flixbus are now in most areas NX operate now except the far SE of England.

 

[danielhogg2005]

Is Flixbus withdrawing the 080 Service (Edinburgh - Liverpool), couldn't see anything on bustimes.org or their website.

 

[markymark2000]

Is Flixbus withdrawing the 080 Service (Edinburgh - Liverpool), couldn't see anything on bustimes.org or their website.

It got withdrawn about a week ago and resources moved to the new 'X010' service https://bustimes.org/services/x010-edinburgh-newcastle-london

 

[route101]

Is Flixbus withdrawing the 080 Service (Edinburgh - Liverpool), couldn't see anything on bustimes.org or their website.

Edinburgh/Glasgow to Liverpool never seems to stick around no matter what operator.

It got withdrawn about a week ago and resources moved to the new 'X010' service https://bustimes.org/services/x010-edinburgh-newcastle-london

I see this a dupe of the 010 service.

 

[markymark2000]

Revised April changes list. I've removed the changes which happened a few days ago.

Stop changes:
Cardiff stop moves from Lloyd George Avenue/Herbert Street to the old Megabus stop at Friary Gardens (a significantly better location for passengers, though the coaches Flix use are quite different to Megabus so it will be interesting to see how the stops cope). Effective 13th April.
Manchester night services which used to use bus stop NN outside Shudehill Bus Station, will now stop inside Shudehill Bus Station
Nottingham stop moves from Greyfriars Gate to Broadmarsh Bus Station Stand 1. Effective 6.30am 17th April

Date	Route	Change
13th April	042 Cardiff - London	08:15 from Cardiff & 13:30 from London retimed to be around 3 hours later. Plus minor retimings.
13th April	077 South Wales - Birmingham	New service daily from Cardiff to Birmingham via Bristol & Cheltenham. Operated by Watts Coaches
13th April	940 Swansea - Gatwick	Newport-Swansea shorts cut. New Newport-Gatwick trip operated by Newport Coach. Retimings.
17th April	004 Nottingham - London	Increased to run 8 trips per day each way. Times changed. 2 buses I'm told will be operated by Transport Made Simple/Vectare, not sure on the other 2 buses.
17th April	005 Leicester - London	Timetable completely changed. Now 6 trips per day with 2 each way extending to Loughborough. Allegedly operated by Transport Made Simple/Vectare
17th April	007 Norwich - London	New route introduced running twice daily Norwich - UEA - Thetford - London Stratford (doesn't call at Victoria). Allegedly operated by Transport Made Simple/Vectare
17th April	021 Liverpool - London	2 additional round trips daily. Confirmed to be operated by Ashcroft Mini Travel
17th April	044 Gloucester - London	New service linking Gloucester, Cheltenham & Swindon to Heathrow and London. Operating upto 4 round trips daily. Eurocoaches will operate 1 vehicle, 1 vehicle rumoured to be operated by Fernhill Travel
17th April	071 Manchester - Bristol	Minor retimings
17th April	072 Liverpool - Hull	Hull trips retimes to be around 1 hour earlier. Warrington - Liverpool shorts replaced with Manchester - Liverpool trips. Trips taken over by Belle Vue 2 additional round trips daily between Leeds and Liverpool operated by J&B
17th April	073 Manchester - Newcastle	Trips retimed. Some trips swapping Middlesborough & Sunderland stops. Additional round trip 10:20 Newcastle-Manc, 15:50 Manc-Newcastle, operated by Stanley Travel
17th April	074 Manchester - York	Warrington removed. Trips to Liverpool diverted via Manchester Airport. Minor retimings and will now be operated by Belle Vue
17th April	075 Bradford - Birmingham	New daily trip via Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester operated by J&B
17th April	079 Manchester - Leicester	Service increases to operate daily.
17th April	090 Glasgow - Edinburgh	Some trips diverted via Edinburgh Airport (awaiting the trips to upload to the Flix site for more details)
17th April	091 Glasgow - Aberdeen	Extended to Glasgow Airport on some trips (awaiting the trips to upload to the Flix site for more details)
17th April	093 Glasgow - Inverness	16:45 trip from Inverness has minor retimings
17th April	094 Edinburgh - Inverness	Retimings. Now serves Ingliston P&R instead of Halbeath P&R
17th April	900 Nottingham - Gatwick	New service operating Nottingham to Gatwick via Leicester, Northampton and Heathrow. Operating upto 5 trips per day. Operator unconfirmed but looks to be Chalfont (based off every trip serving Northampton town or having a timed stop at Chalfonts normal driver changeover place).
17th April	910 Swansea - Bristol Airport	Timetable revised and standardised to run 6 trips daily. Remains fully operated by Cymru Coaches

Edinburgh/Glasgow to Liverpool never seems to stick around no matter what operator.

Resources can make more money elsewhere I guess. Didn't help too that because it was single manned, you had to account for a break at a service station which of course slows down the overall journey.

 

[Volvodart]

The Glasgow Airport services have now appeared on the Flixbus app. - seems to be just afternoon and evenings from Aberdeen from Thursday.

 

[TheSmiths82]

Yutongs are good buses drive wise but the seating is woeful, absolutely no legroom whatsoever even for fairly small people

It looks like I will be sticking with National Express then. Surely there must be a market for more comfortable tickets at higher ticket prices for people who want comfort but have plenty of time? I have been all the way to Spain on a coach and it was fine (I did book two seats for myself though!) and the coach was designed for such long journeys. On 'public' coaches about 2.5 hours is all I can hack. I am thinking National Express of the old days when they used to sell food and drinks on the coach and have entertainment etc. I wouldn't want any of that, but I just want decent legroom.

I wouldn't bother reserving two seats on NX or Flixbus because they tend to overbook the seats and somebody will just sit next you anyway!

 

[nick291]

It looks like I will be sticking with National Express then. Surely there must be a market for more comfortable tickets at higher ticket prices for people who want comfort but have plenty of time? I have been all the way to Spain on a coach and it was fine (I did book two seats for myself though!) and the coach was designed for such long journeys. On 'public' coaches about 2.5 hours is all I can hack. I am thinking National Express of the old days when they used to sell food and drinks on the coach and have entertainment etc. I wouldn't want any of that, but I just want decent legroom.

I wouldn't bother reserving two seats on NX or Flixbus because they tend to overbook the seats and somebody will just sit next you anyway!

I got lucky on my last Flixbus trip to have an empty row

 

[Eyersey468]

It looks like I will be sticking with National Express then. Surely there must be a market for more comfortable tickets at higher ticket prices for people who want comfort but have plenty of time? I have been all the way to Spain on a coach and it was fine (I did book two seats for myself though!) and the coach was designed for such long journeys. On 'public' coaches about 2.5 hours is all I can hack. I am thinking National Express of the old days when they used to sell food and drinks on the coach and have entertainment etc. I wouldn't want any of that, but I just want decent legroom.

I wouldn't bother reserving two seats on NX or Flixbus because they tend to overbook the seats and somebody will just sit next you anyway!

It's only certain services NX overbook on, not every coach

 

[route101]

It looks like I will be sticking with National Express then. Surely there must be a market for more comfortable tickets at higher ticket prices for people who want comfort but have plenty of time? I have been all the way to Spain on a coach and it was fine (I did book two seats for myself though!) and the coach was designed for such long journeys. On 'public' coaches about 2.5 hours is all I can hack. I am thinking National Express of the old days when they used to sell food and drinks on the coach and have entertainment etc. I wouldn't want any of that, but I just want decent legroom.

I wouldn't bother reserving two seats on NX or Flixbus because they tend to overbook the seats and somebody will just sit next you anyway!

I agree the new Yutongs are awful legroom wise. I am not tall and my knees just about touch the seat in front. Avoid row 5 on left hand side, emergency/disabled access door pillar means less window and makes it feel tighter.

I try and book two seats on the overnight services if I book far enough in advance , as the extra cost is not too bad. Some people I think don't realise they have an allocated seat and sit anywhere and other people will move seats!

I do find i am pretty much the only person that books the second seat and bus fills up leaving the seat next to me empty.

I would like to see a 2 plus 1 seating on coaches, I would use this on the overnights, as having a neighbour brings the comfort down on coaches.

I was on the 079 service last year and the seats were all allocated at the back to the middle of the coach. The front of the coach was empty but nobody moved.

 

[nick291]

 I have would like to see a 2 plus 1 seating on coaches, I would use this on the overnights, as having a neighbour brings the comfort down on coaches.

RegioJet who run a coach service from London to Prague have 2+1 seating on the upper deck, so I don't see why it couldn't work on domestic services in the UK.

 

[JonathanH]

RegioJet who run a coach service from London to Prague have 2+1 seating on the upper deck, so I don't see why it couldn't work on domestic services in the UK.

I'd imagine the primary consideration is whether passengers would be prepared to pay higher fares. I'm not really convinced given the segment of the market in which coach travel generally operates.

In general, attempts to have less density on coaches have failed (as evidenced by the fact that 2+2 seating remains the standard). The opportunity to buy an adjacent seat doesn't appear to be routinely taken (although people do their best to try to get it for free).

 

[A S Leib]

Is there a way of seeing which routes call at a particular place? Watford's listed as a destination on their website but I can't find any routes there right now, although I remember hearing about a (short-lived?) route to Brussels via Dover and Lille last summer or the year before.

 

[Scotrail314209]

How good is the long term viability of the 090 service between Edinburgh and Glasgow? Anytime I see a 090 it has maybe 5 or 10 people maximum (and that’s at a push!)

Would adding some more stops that aren’t served by Citylink’s 900 maybe increase patronage a bit? It’s a decently fast bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow but it seems to more or less be carting fresh air, when the vehicles could be used on boosting busier services.

 

[route101]

How good is the long term viability of the 090 service between Edinburgh and Glasgow? Anytime I see a 090 it has maybe 5 or 10 people maximum (and that’s at a push!)

Would adding some more stops that aren’t served by Citylink’s 900 maybe increase patronage a bit? It’s a decently fast bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow but it seems to more or less be carting fresh air, when the vehicles could be used on boosting busier services.

I've used it a few times and seems to attract more NEC Young Person cardholders now.

You have to book at least a few hours ahead to get the best price as quite often with Flixbus the price surges just before departure.

It is quick as it can scoot out Edinburgh via the A71 but has to wait time at Livingston Premier Inn.

Its up against the more frequent 900 which has a £10 return ticket which is hard to beat. At certain times the 090 leaves from Regents Road/Waterloo place which is not as handy as the bus station.

 

[nick291]

How good is the long term viability of the 090 service between Edinburgh and Glasgow? Anytime I see a 090 it has maybe 5 or 10 people maximum (and that’s at a push!)

Would adding some more stops that aren’t served by Citylink’s 900 maybe increase patronage a bit? It’s a decently fast bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow but it seems to more or less be carting fresh air, when the vehicles could be used on boosting busier services.

I'm surprised it doesn't take an alternative route via Linlithgow/Falkirk/Cumbernauld. Could be a viable option

Its up against the more frequent 900 which has a £10 return ticket which is hard to beat. At certain times the 090 leaves from Regents Road/Waterloo place which is not as handy as the bus station.

Isn't that return also valid for 28 days from the date of purchase?

 

[markymark2000]

Is there a way of seeing which routes call at a particular place? Watford's listed as a destination on their website but I can't find any routes there right now, although I remember hearing about a (short-lived?) route to Brussels via Dover and Lille last summer or the year before.

Watford is not served by Flixbus currently. It's just listed on the Flix site because they sell tickets on RailAir to Heathrow. There was talk that the 602 is a summer only service but I am not sure.

How good is the long term viability of the 090 service between Edinburgh and Glasgow? Anytime I see a 090 it has maybe 5 or 10 people maximum (and that’s at a push!)

Would adding some more stops that aren’t served by Citylink’s 900 maybe increase patronage a bit? It’s a decently fast bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow but it seems to more or less be carting fresh air, when the vehicles could be used on boosting busier services.

I was saying to a friend the other day that Flix should have gone big, or go home. The service doesn't compete on any of the big points (frequency, price, customer service) and there is no USP, so why would anyone use the service? They could do the same to the 90 as they have done to the 91, extend some trips to Glasgow Airport to replace dead mileage trips. That could give it some boost on some trips, but largely, I just can't see the 90 being sustainable long term. Not unless Flix do something major to

Its up against the more frequent 900 which has a £10 return ticket which is hard to beat. At certain times the 090 leaves from Regents Road/Waterloo place which is not as handy as the bus station.

Add to this that the 900 is scheduled to either be the same journey time, or faster, despite the additional stops.... You can make more local journeys with the 900, on Flix you can't travel Livingston to Edinburgh or to Harthill, journeys must be over 15 miles. With the exception of the service being quieter, there is no benefits to using the 090 over Citylink.

 

[route101]

I'm surprised it doesn't take an alternative route via Linlithgow/Falkirk/Cumbernauld. Could be a viable option


Isn't that return also valid for 28 days from the date of purchase?

I believe there is a more expensive open return ticket now.

 

[johncrossley]

I would like to see a 2 plus 1 seating on coaches, I would use this on the overnights, as having a neighbour brings the comfort down on coaches.

A good compromise would be to have adjustable width seating. This probably costs very little extra to provide but means strangers can sit next to each other but with a decent gap in between to maintain privacy. Ember have this on at least some of their Yutong coaches.

 

[darloscott]

A good compromise would be to have adjustable width seating. This probably costs very little extra to provide but means strangers can sit next to each other but with a decent gap in between to maintain privacy. Ember have this on at least some of their Yutong coaches.

I imagine all of the seats on the GT12's will move out into the aisle. Certainly the TC9's have this as standard.

 

[cd harrison]

All booked ready to leave in the evening for Nottingham Broadmarsh but just received a flood of emails about changes to my iteniary. Only change seems to be back and forth between seat 6A to 7A and back again. Revieved one a couple of days ago. Everything else seems to be in order though.

 

[TheSmiths82]

All booked ready to leave in the evening for Nottingham Broadmarsh but just received a flood of emails about changes to my iteniary. Only change seems to be back and forth between seat 6A to 7A and back again. Revieved one a couple of days ago. Everything else seems to be in order though.

Why do Flixbus insist on seat reservations where as National Express is a free for all apart from the few front seats? I can see the benefits of both but I know on the trains I much prefer to choose my own seat.

 

[JonathanH]

Why do Flixbus insist on seat reservations where as National Express is a free for all apart from the few front seats?

It is an opportunity for Flixbus to make more money from passengers, and avoids ambiguity about the ability to book the adjacent spare seat.

You could also ask why Flixbus fill up from the back seat for people who don't pay for a reservation, which I think is something to do with what seats people generally consider desirable.

At least Flixbus haven't adopted the Megabus approach of passengers booking later having to pay for a reservation once all the general seating is taken.