Megabus, a city-to-city express bus service operating in the UK, has commenced new routes across the UK and to other European destinations.
The company is offering new routes from London, to Paris and Boulogne in France, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The trips are priced at rates commencing from as little as £1 per person, and there is a £0.50 booking fee on fares.
In these times of financial austerity, coach travel could offer one avenue for affordable spring and summer European vacations, and the launch of new routes by tour operators is designed to enhance the option.
Coaches leave from Victoria Coach Station in London with the choice of day or night departures. The journey from London to Paris takes around 10 hours by coach, while the journey to Brussels takes around 9 hours, and continues to Amsterdam, adding another 3 hours to the journey time. The new routes have been developed with an investment of GBP2.5m, and the double-deck coaches have 48 seats, tables for use during the daytime and complimentary Wi-Fi service.
Sir Brian Souter, the chief executive officer of Stagecoach Group, PLC, the parent company of Megabus, said, ‘We launched megabus.com in Scotland nine years ago and it has already transformed intercity travel in the UK and North America. For too long, people in many parts of Europe have been paying too much for their coach travel. Our new network offers families, students and tourists great value fares and high-quality coaches. These services will deliver a long-overdue shake-up to the over-priced European coach travel market.
Our new routes to France, Belgium and the Netherlands have already been extremely popular. Based on our experience in the UK, we are also very excited about the potential for sleeper coach services across the Channel and look forward to continuing to develop our concept vehicle.’
