National express > Reviews (98)

Firstly before I start, I know it's a new law in the United Kingdom to wear a seatbelt and is the passengers responsibility otherwise they'll be toying with a huge fine, but its a stupid law as no serious accidents have happened to justify this and it bluddy well hurts my shoulder after such a long journey. Also, why do the drivers keep reminding us?, it's US who will get the fine, so why the constant reminding?. My father works for the transport ministry and thinks the law is outrageous. On one coach from Southampton in July 2007, we had this little stubby man wearing a wooly hat, talking down at us via a microphone as if we were little kids about the new law, before walking down the asile making sure they were fastened!. I understand the safety bit of it, but an aching shoulder is not good for the so-called comfort NX offer, and so I take it off, but am still toying with that fine!.

Anyhow, with that off my back, let's proceed.

I've met many nice drivers on these National Express busses over the years, but when you see a miserable one, they're damn right downers on life and are what makes customer service on UK bus services depressing. When I first got a NX bus, this driver was shouting at me for waiting outside near his bus, with me unaware I needed to wait near this gate with a huge number on it inside the London Victoria Coach Station building. From here I knew this service was going to be a disappointment with grumpy drivers because they're not happy with their wages, but still continued to use them as it's often cheaper than the train, after this weeks THIRTEEN hour trek to Newquay to see my fave band play and hang out with my friends, while making many new ones with one being a nice Cornish lass, I will from now on be taking the train no matter how much it costs me. If NX offer 50 pounds and the train 100, I'm still taking the train. It is not worth it and you'll only be tired. One driver had a right go at me in Doncaster for not locking my bag out of sight and this guy at Victoria, told me he has been lodging complaints about a driver, only for National Express to do diddly squat about it.

Firstly, I left Brighton at 8:00, it got on time but this is rare, often 10 mins late sometimes 20, then after that it goes to London Victoria being the fastest possible route to get there considering the other stops it makes, now this gets in at London Victoria and if you have to make a connection here, this is where all the fun starts.

National Express use VCS as a connections hub and the waiting time between connections sitting at your gate can be between 1 hour or between 2 and a half. This is depressing if you don't have a good book to read or music to listen to, something I needed for my many journeys with National Express!. It makes the journeys longer and once you are on the bus and being reminded about the new UK law on seatbelts on public service vehicles yet again, by the driver or a CD, the chances are your trip will not be direct and will call at other stations first!

, the bus goes round the mulberry bush and this company do not put on enough busses to their routes that go direct to them, Newquay should have one and neither does Newcastle for example.

Coming back from Newquay, there was an accident on the motorway and so the driver called off the scheduled refreshment stop at the nearest service station!, and at one time coming from VCS to Brighton the driver told us he would be taking another route on a motorway to cut down the time, but ended up 1 hour and 30 mins late!, and the final bus I took from VCS on my trip home to Newquay, was 40 mins late due to Olympic traffic only for the driver to knock off two stops on his route and so travel on a different one, okay those were not my stops, but it meant people who needed them waiting for the next bus with one person near me demanding a refund.

For all this time 13 hours to Newquay, and 10 hours to Newcastle I once travelled, I could have flown to Australia or New York in those times, I'm not expecting it to get to my destination as fast as a train, but that is simply ridiculous. However it still makes the 58 pounds to Newquay value for money, while the train was 105. My bus to Newquay was also late by 60 mins although there was no traffic problems to report and the speed of the bus was always 40-60. On this trip, it stopped at Plymouth without any pre-journey warning on the website when booking the ticket, this was to wait for another bus that took us to Cornwall, and so waited 30 mins for this one to arrive and take me to Newquay, this made me and everybody else the aforementioned hour late.

This company simply are not experts at punchuality, although the only drivers who I got on well with got in on time, this was rare however. The toilets also smell and when it's hot weather the stench is even worse. The seats are uncomfortable, the charger sockets don't always work as it depends on your device and not all coaches have them.

If you want to use this company to save a bit of money, feel free, but if it's a destination that takes 4 hours or more when driving directly there by car, then be prepared for a long day in bed the following morning, you'll be tired. I left Newquay at 07:50 and got in at 21:05!, without the Olympic traffic disturbance at Victoria in which we had to wait for the driver to get into the station who was on another run, we would have got in at 20:20, although what it said on the ticket, is still too long. It has only been once the bus got in early, this was because the driver actually got a move on and didn't hang around stops too long getting passengers on, from VCS to Brighton we were 30 mins early but he no longer works for National Express.

2001-2012 I've been using this firm, it ends here.