Greyhound Service - Wales to Bristol Airport

[whole diary]

[thetrout]

I've had a look on the Greyhound UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Website for the services that run to Bristol Airport from UWE and South Wales.

The website although laid out fairly cleanly is lacking a huge piece of information... How much do I pay for a Walk up fare. The site say they are subject to availability but can be purchased from drivers.

Whilst the interactive fare finder shows the times... Could I find a PDF or other electronic Timetable? No!

I've yet to try this service out. But the fact that so little information is available it does immediately seem off putting. I've sent over the following e-mail for anyone's perusal if they're interested

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have been looking at the possibility of using the Greyhound Service from Bristol Airport, however I am disappointed to see that the Information I require does not appear to be on your website.

In particular, you mention that passengers may purchase a ticket from the driver of the Coach if there is space available. However I cannot find any information as to these walkup fares. Whilst the website does say ^From ^ this suggests that a Walkup Fare could be more?

I have found in the FAQ^▸ (Frequently Asked Questions) section a small part on Concessionary Fares for Welsh Pass Holders entitled to a 50% Discount on the walkup price. The information explained in this section makes no reference to ENCTS^▸ (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) (England Passes) for a journey such as UWE - Bristol Airport, which you could cover ordinarily with a ZERO FARE on the No. 70 and A1 Services retrospectively, which are operated by First Bus.

Also with regards to Welsh and English passes NOT being valid for travel in their ^opposing^ Country, I am also unclear as to your exact definition of this.

For example, earlier this year I took a Bus from Chester to Wrexham and returned a few days later; using my ENCTS Disabled Pass. Despite one town being in Wales and the other in England, the pass was accepted without question for both journeys (Also have made this journey in previous years without issue).

Incidentally my pass was refused on a local Wrexham bus service as it was the England Version (Which I expected to be the case). So in relation to that, whilst I can perfectly understand and accept that a journey say Newport - Cardiff would not be accepted for discount with the England Pass. This doesn^t seem in my view to be very clear on the issue of crossing the border where in my personal experience, has been accepted as valid.

Finally, Whilst the booking engine is very informative as to the pricing and times of services, is there a PDF document showing the timings of your services, much like the timetable in existence on the A1 & A2 services.

So. In relation to my points above, I would be very grateful if you could confirm the following for me please:

- The prices for Walkup Fares on routes from/to Bristol Airport
- The position of the validity on ENCTS Passes for travel in England ONLY and Cross Border journeys.
- If ENCTS Passes are accepted onboard for journeys from Bristol Airport (Say Bristol Airport - UWE) are there any fares that would need to be paid for travel; if so, what are the prices please.
- If there is a hard copy Timetable or PDF/Electronic format

Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail. I shall look forward to your reply.

Yours Sincerely,

thetrout

[anthony215]

Timetable for the greyhound service is available on first cymru's website.

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/south_west_wales/journey_planning/timetables/index.php?operator=24&page=9&redirect=no

Bus passes are not accepted for use between Cardiff & Bristol I believe and only give a discounted fare on journeys between Cardiff and Swansea.

The service is being re-timed from 9th June 2013 as the existing timings are too tight  on weekdays so services do seem to struggle to keep time.

A copy of the weekday time which comes into effect from 9th June has been attached.

I have spotted the late night service from Cardiff to Swansea  at 00:30 which might be useful to some workers who are working very late wanting to travel back to Swansea.

[thetrout]

Well I had a reply from Greyhound over the weekend as follows:

Dear Mr. trout,

Thank you for contacting Greyhound UK.

To answer the questions listed below:

- The walk-up fare from/to Bristol Airport to Bristol is ^4.00, Newport ^7.00, Cardiff ^10.00, Swansea ^15.00 (These are all returns)

- ENCTS^▸ (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) are not accepted on the Greyhound route as the service doesn't qualify for funding off the government as its a charted coach service not a local bus service

- Concessionary fares are available for services between Cardiff and Swansea for passengers who have an Wales concessionary pass (there is slight support from the Welsh government that allows us to offer a slight reduction on fares)

- Please see attached for a copy of our current timetable, however, this will be changing on 9 June to improve reliability of the service as we have had timing issues on the current timetable. Both copies have been attached for you. The new timetable is the attachment  named "091613 SSBA....)

If I haven't answered any of your questions or if you would like more information, then please do get back in touch.

Kind Regards,

That pretty much sums up what you said Anthony215 However, at least I know the on the day pricing now

I'm particularly interested to note that the Greyhound - Bristol Airport - Bristol Centre and UWE the fare is ^4 Return. Yet the A1 and A2 Services are ^7.00

If I didn't have a bus pass, I would probably wait for a Greyhound. More comfortable seats, Air Conditioning, Toilet and the saving of ^3

[Red Squirrel]

- ENCTS^▸ (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) are not accepted on the Greyhound route as the service doesn't qualify for funding off the government as its a charted coach service not a local bus service

I like the idea of a 'charted' coach service - presumably it needs charts for the tricky Severn navigation?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Pedant alert  :

... the service doesn't qualify for funding off the government ...

... passengers who have an Wales concessionary pass ...

Whatever happened to the correct use of the Queen's English in the Principality? 

[TonyK]

I like the idea of a 'charted' coach service - presumably it needs charts for the tricky Severn navigation?

I have CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about) approved charts for both Southern England and Wales, and Northern England and Scotland. Might help as it's an airport bus.

Pedant alert  :

Whatever happened to the correct use of the Queen's English in the Principality? 

Dydw i ddim yn gwybod, Chris bach.

Pedwar Trac, yn Awr!