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Bus and Coach Travel
Long distance bus and coach travel
is a far cry from the cramped buses of old with new luxury serviced
buses available now on most long distance routes. It is still
one of the cheapest means of transport, as well as being environmentally
efficient with figures quoted as low as 20g of CO2 per passenger
kilometre. However the UK still suffers from a lack of a strong
integrated transport policy and the problem for coaches is dealing
with arrival in major conurbations.
We applaud the proposals by George
Monbiot that intercity coach stations be relocated to motorway
hubs served by high speed luxury coaches in dedicated lanes that
ply the motorways, with local shuttle services into the urban
centres.
Many bus companies are now working
towards low carbon fleets. Leading the way is Transport
for London, who have aims for every one of Londons 8000 buses
to be hybrid powered by 2012 in order to cut emissions by 30-40%.
Elsewhere The Hydrogen Bus Alliance has been looking at the possibilities
of hydrogen power. Some cities have managed to put put back in
place Tram or Light Rail systems, but a lot more are yet to be
realised -strange that Britain lost all its trams when much of
Europe still has working systems in inner cities.
 Have
a look at the National Express website for UK bookings. Options
in Europe are greater -you might refer to Busabout or Eurolines
for European coach travel. To find out about buses in the big
cities, your might check on the websites of local
metro and rail companies, as they are often integrated.
Further afield, bus travel can
be a great way to get to know the local people, although not
always comfortable and you do need to keep an eye on your possessions.
Useful sources:
- British Trams Online -information about trams and light rail in the
UK.
- Hydrogen Bus Alliance -formed by bus companies from a number of major
cities, including London, the Alliance is investigating clean,
hydrogen powered buses.
- Hyfleet
-European research project trialling hydrogen powered buses in
10 cities, including London.
- National
Federation of Bus Users
-an independent group which was formed to give bus passengers
a voice.
- Traveline -public transport information.
National bus & coach companies
- Arriva -major bus and train operator.
- First Group -buses and trains throughout the UK.
- Megabus -the colourful bus company offering
budget prices on long distance routes.
- Metrobus -operates in Greater London, Surrey,
Kent, East and West Sussex.
- National Express -the national coach and bus operator.
- Euro Bus Express
-extremely cheap coach travel to Europe.
- Scottish
City Link -express coach
services in the highlands.
- StageCoach -national operator with a fleet of more
than 7,000 buses and coaches connecting 100 towns and cities.
Local bus companies
Tram companies
- Nottingham
Tram Nottingham's express
transit system.
- Supertram -system operated in South Yorkshire
by Stagecoach.
- Tramtime -network in Edinburgh planned to be
in operation by 2011.
International bus companies
- Busabout -flexible European bus travel designed
for backpackers -network stretches from Spain to Germany..
- Bus
Eireann -Ireland's national
public bus company.
- Dublin
Bus -bus services throughout
the city and county of Dublin.
- Eurolines -a network of more than 30 European
bus and coach companies stretching from Casablanca to Moscow.
- Greyhound -America famous long distance bus company
covers routes across the states.
- Coach
USA -scheduled bus routes
across the States.
- Big
Bus Company -sightseeing
tours of London in a double decker bus. Now do tours in Dubai
and Philadelphia too.
- Stagecoach
New Zealand -coach services
from Auckland and Wellington.
Bus and Metro Companies: European Cities
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