How bad is megabus?

matthewdownloads

I've never used this service before & I was about to order until I started reading reviews which put me off.

I'm making 4 journeys:
Journey #1 is free with megabus, £11.50 by train
Journey #2 is £7 with megabus, £15 by train and I MUST be on time.
Journey #3 is £4 with megabus, £17.50 by train
Journey #4 is £5 with megabus, £11.50 by train

Obviously megabus is cheaper, but the question is: Is the experience so bad it's worth paying £40 extra for a more comfortable journey & to avoid the traumatic experiences I have been reading about. Or is all that just hearsay and the service is actually okay?

I've read about buses not turning up, 10p/min for awful customer service, people being charged twice for 1 journey, no ventilation, being told their tickets are not valid & not let on the bus, the "ryanair" of the roads, transported like cattle..... etc..... If it's really that bad then it's not worth it. But is it really that bad?

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Depends where your travelling to/From. Maybe we can get that price on the train down for you .. You know they do train tickets for some jourenys too

sassy_one

To be fair, and this is being fair Megabus is an awful company.

I have used them on a number of times and others I know have and have received or otherwise found the same as I have.

The bus can be late or earlier but often earlier than stated online or on your print out, of your the only one not on they will leave early and leave you behind.

Sometimes the bus will not turn up at all, normally if there are not many persons to be collected at that stop.

The buses condition are poor to mid level; one had a brake light out I have seen, at night in heavy rain this could prove fatal.

The seat space is small, your like on a aeroplane but smaller, with little leg room, if you dare to call it that.

You often find there are mothers with babies on the back seats; not a bad thing but babies do cry and need changing and sometimes younger children kick the back of your seat.

The drivers are like a lottery, get a good one great and your safe but get a rubbish unsafe one and you may not make it to where you are due to be dropped off; they often are rude, no polite, speed, make mobile phone calls without a handsfree while driving and go through Amber/just red traffic lights.


Personally, I'd avoid Megabus although in sure lots of people will give there 50 pence worth here in an attempt to support there cr*p service but you'll only have to try it once to see what they are; a unprofessional, impolite and generally rubbish company.


Good luck whatever you choose

SurreyBear

I used them to get from London to Aberdeen when my flights were cancelled. Will never do that again. Cramped, horrible and full of drunken Scots leaving Victoria at midnight. That said, it got me there.
I would use them for shorter journeys fine. The buses are comfortable enough and I haven't been on one that's been late yet. Depends on your situation but if they are shorter journeys then yes, Megabus should be fine.

Hintza

SurreyBear wrote: »

Will never do that again. Cramped, horrible and full of drunken Scots leaving Victoria at midnight. That said, it got me there.

Upset your home counties sensibilities?

Of course they are all !!!!ed they have obviously done the journey before on the bus, being !!!!!! will make the journey faster when they fall asleep..........:rotfl::rotfl:

Lum

Hintza wrote: »

Upset your home counties sensibilities?

Of course they are all !!!!ed they have obviously done the journey before on the bus, being !!!!!! will make the journey faster when they fall asleep..........:rotfl::rotfl:

I had a mate who used to do exactly that. He'd regularly travel from Liverpool to Southampton, not sure if it was megabus or a similar company.

Basically he'd travel with little to no cash or valuables, down half a bottle of whiskey, sometimes alongside some less legal substances, get on the bus and then wake up somewhere in Southampton.

Apparently the morning after was still less awful than actually being awake for the bus ride.

Kilty_2

Lum wrote: »

Apparently the morning after was still less awful than actually being awake for the bus ride.

:rotfl:

I wouldn't use them when I absolutely had to be on time, but maybe for other journeys.

Just booked a train ticket via Megabus from Glasgow Central to Birmingham New St for a fiver though :eek:

flutterbyuk25

I've used them a few times and never had a problem going from Cardiff to London.

Yes the buses are a bit dated but for the price it's a good deal!

x

jamesbrownontheroad

Megabus got a very bad reputation in the early days because they employed a fleet of second hand urban buses from Hong Kong and various UK cities to run their intercity operation (no toilets, no suspension etc etc etc).

Now the fleet is much more modern with comparable types of bus to National Express and other Stagecoach group companies. They are, however, not spec'ed out with leather seats and wifi like some competitors, so it'll just be a regular coach seat with regular coach legroom. The overnight routes are always hell on earth. But then they're hell on earth regardless of whether you've got wifi or leather seats. The old Scots penchant for drinking yourself to sleep may work for the individual concerned, but it makes a deeply unpleasant atmosphere for everyone else... every Scot I've had the pleasure of sharing a room / bus with seems to snore and fart much more loudly when drunk

matthewdownloads

SurreyBear wrote: »

Personally, I'd avoid Megabus although in sure lots of people will give there 50 pence worth here in an attempt to support there cr*p service but you'll only have to try it once to see what they are; a unprofessional, impolite and generally rubbish company.

You'd pay £40 to avoid 2x4 hour journeys and 2x2 hour journeys, ie 12 hours on the bus?

Lum

jamesbrownontheroad wrote: »

The old Scots penchant for drinking yourself to sleep may work for the individual concerned, but it makes a deeply unpleasant atmosphere for everyone else... every Scot I've had the pleasure of sharing a room / bus with seems to snore and fart much more loudly when drunk

If you can't beat them....