The Student Room Group

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Reply 1
No thrills. A to B-- and relatively slowly
Reply 2
it says 2hrs 40mins 2 brighton from london.. thats normal right?

if it was somewhere up north i would guess there would be lots of stops on the way but according to their map the bus goes straight from london to brighton.

em xxx
Reply 3
The catch? You dont' get the fat jolly looking driver in the blue hat (like on the adverts).
The buses are really old and dodgy (so I've been told) but they get done up a bit so they don't look too bad.
I've used megabus a few times. The prices vary from day to day and times as well. Just have a look on thier website it tells you. I found national express to be just as cheap and even cheaper in some circumstances and they have a toilet and some have tvs! Megabus is direct travel, no stopping. You HAVE to be there on the specified times and remember your reference. They don't accept cash. Also there is plenty of room for your luggage. I would advise checking megabus and national express website out, look out for the funfares on the national express website !
Reply 6
I travel by bus frequently, and i've never been able to find a £1 megabus fare - they seem only to offer these on certain routes, at certain times, to VERY early bookers. the National Express funfares are certainly more available.

Also, and this might just be for the routes I take, the mega-buses don't seem to go to central bus stations - their stops and pick up points seem to be a bit out of the way. For the most part their fares are comparable to National Express buses, but if you get a coachcard, and book a week or so in advance, you can actually save a fair bit of money there too. Not that either company is 'better', this is just the way I've found it.
Reply 7
used them once to go down to london............NEVER again.

hell of a trip- the buses are noisy, uncomfortable, dodgy as hell.

I found a 4 hour trip on one of their buses from london-cardiff to be more uncomfortable than a 20+ hour volanbus service from Rome to Budapest.....
Reply 8
i went from london to manchester on a sunday morning and it was fine. the coach was not falling apart like the megabus's older sister, the magic busses, and the journey was as fast as a direct train from my town, which would have cost me a fortune which i didnt have. also, it was pretty quiet and empty, i slept the whole way. but my brother went from manchester to london once and he said it was packed, noisy and smelly. luck of the draw i suppose.
Reply 9
i heard there are no seatbelts and prntly thts scary on a double decker.
but for £1.50 theres a lot i dont mind riskin :biggrin:
Megabus is amazing.

Their reputation as slow, unreliable and uncomfortable is completely unfounded and tends to be banded around by those who have never been on it and sneer at it simply because it is cheap.
Em444
it says 2hrs 40mins 2 brighton from london.. thats normal right?


Im pretty sure it takes just under an hour on the train. It depends how valuable your time is I suppose.
Reply 12
The catch its its owned by Stagecoach, a company famous for running its competitors out of business and then increasing their prices by a lot. This how the company has become so big.

So the catch is for companies like National Express rather than the consumer in short run. Now you would think there is at least trains, but guess what the Manchester to London trains are run by Virgin Trains a company half owned by stagecoach. So if you want to go Manchester to London without using Stagecoach you have to use national express, if they can't compete with Megabus Stagecoach control that entire market.
2 hours and 40 mins to Brighton!!! That's nuts! I live in London and it takes me about an hour to get to Brighton by car. You can get a train from Clapham Junction that gets to Brighton in 45 mins.
Reply 14
hallucination
2 hours and 40 mins to Brighton!!! That's nuts! I live in London and it takes me about an hour to get to Brighton by car. You can get a train from Clapham Junction that gets to Brighton in 45 mins.


Yeah it only took me four ours from Brighton to Manchester via the trains. A train from Brighton to Watford, then one from Watford to Manchester. I think the entire trip took 3 hours and 50 minutes.
Generally the buses they use are city buses...i.e. the ones that whizz round town and out to the suburbs which aren't designed to be comfortable on longer journeys (and usually aren't!)

National Express use coaches which are designed for long haul travel.
Reply 16
brabzzz
The catch? You dont' get the fat jolly looking driver in the blue hat (like on the adverts).



hahahahahahahahaha :smile:


i havent used them before, but i am travelling with them next sunday from cheltenham to london and back. i have used national express before and found them very very good - especially if you manage to get a 'funfare' - i have travelled chelt - london and back for just a few pounds, the same as the mega bus, but again it means booking early/ travelling at unpopular times. but hey, if it saves me dosh i am willing to do it!
Reply 17
classy_bird
Generally the buses they use are city buses...i.e. the ones that whizz round town and out to the suburbs which aren't designed to be comfortable on longer journeys (and usually aren't!)

National Express use coaches which are designed for long haul travel.


The ones I have seen on the Manchester to London route are of a higher standard of National Express ones. They are brand new and have all mod cons. They are just not as flexable in terms of time tables. I am also wary of Stagecoach's reputation for setting very low prices to launch a service and then increase the prices way above inflation.

Many of the original Megabuses are now on Magicbus duties in Manchester ferrying students down Oxford Road.
AT82
The ones I have seen on the Manchester to London route are of a higher standard of National Express ones. They are brand new and have all mod cons. They are just not as flexable in terms of time tables. I am also wary of Stagecoach's reputation for setting very low prices to launch a service and then increase the prices way above inflation.

Many of the original Megabuses are now on Magicbus duties in Manchester ferrying students down Oxford Road.


The Birmingham-London ones I've seen (every day parked up in Brum since they launched) are refurbed city buses
Reply 19
I've just booked 2 tickets for me and a mate from Leeds to Southampton for end of December with Megabus as we are going to the Southampton v Sheffield United match. Total cost = £8.50! Leeds-London and then a nice 45 minute break before another bus from London to Southamton.

Was going to use the train as I have a railcard but then I found out my mate doesn't anymore so it would have been £52 for me and £90 for her. Total cost = £142
Slight difference!!! I'm not expecting a pleasant trip but for £4.25 each there is no way I'd complain if it was just about being cramped and the journey time taking longer than other options!
Also managed to get a £10 room at the travelodge in Southampton city centre which is great. Bargains all round until I found out that the kind people at Southampton are charging Sheffield United fans £26 for the pleasure of a visit to St Mary's. This is a concession price and an adult is £35! Still think they are premiership!

:biggrin:

Gem