By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine Celebrating bumper annual results, National Express has said it wants to attract business travellers onto coaches and away from rail and air. But can coach travel ever be cool?
By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine Celebrating bumper annual results, National Express says it wants to attract business travellers onto coaches and away from rail and air. Can bus travel ever be cool?
Railways are cool.
Railways are cool.
Not your 5.15 from the City to Commuterville with its cancellations for wrong snow/absent conductor/tectonic shift (delete as applicable).
Not your 5.15 from the City to Commuterville with its cancellations for wrong snow/absent conductor/tectonic shift (delete as applicable).
But the trains of your mind... The famous seduction scene from North by Northwest has already made its way into a Virgin trains advert.
But the trains of your mind... The famous seduction scene from North by Northwest has already made its way into a Virgin trains advert.
Cary Grant tells Eva Marie Saint that it "beats flying, doesn't it" and you can almost forget the weird beeping and the strange sewagey whiffs in the vestibules on a new Pendolino.
Cary Grant tells Eva Marie Saint that it "beats flying, doesn't it" and you can almost forget the weird beeping and the strange sewagey whiffs in the vestibules on a new Pendolino.
Coaches carry all the superstars of Arsenal and Chelsea - it isn't just grandmas who travel on holiday to Torquay Stephen BarberCPT
Coaches carry all the superstars of Arsenal and Chelsea - it isn't just grandmas who travel on holiday to Torquay Stephen BarberCPT
Because the trains of the mind are the Orient Express and the Trans-Siberian. They're the romance of Brief Encounter.
Because the trains of the mind are the Orient Express and the Trans-Siberian. They're the romance of Brief Encounter.
It would be more of a stretch to imagine Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson exchanging significant glances on a National Express coach.
It would be more of a stretch to imagine Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson exchanging significant glances on a National Express coach.
Worse than lacking romantic overtones, the coach is a subject of classic British snobbery. A nation that identifies social class by patronage of supermarket is one that inevitably looks down its nose at the notion of coach travel.
Worse than lacking romantic overtones, the coach is a subject of classic British snobbery. A nation that identifies social class by patronage of supermarket is one that inevitably looks down its nose at the notion of coach travel.
National Express chief executive Richard Bowker wants coach travel in Britain to be like Spain, where the company's subsidiary, Alsa, carries business people between cities. In Spain, coach travel is "cool and acceptable" says Mr Bowker.
National Express chief executive Richard Bowker wants coach travel in Britain to be like Spain, where the company's subsidiary, Alsa, carries business people between cities. In Spain, coach travel is "cool and acceptable" says Mr Bowker.
Social classes
Social classes
The company is on a drive to make its coaches more comfortable and spacious, adding leather seats, Wi-Fi connections and extra legroom apace. Hostesses, proper meals, drinks and movies are among the ideas the firm is hoping will make its services feel like business class on a plane.
The company is on a drive to make its coaches more comfortable and spacious, adding leather seats, Wi-Fi connections and extra legroom apace. Hostesses, proper meals, drinks and movies are among the ideas the firm is hoping will make its services feel like business class on a plane.
Oozing cool, even though Greyhounds too are a budget optionBut Stephen Barber, director of coaching at the Confederation of Passenger Transport and a veteran of the leisure side of the business, knows the snobbery issue well.
Oozing cool, even though Greyhounds too are a budget optionBut Stephen Barber, director of coaching at the Confederation of Passenger Transport and a veteran of the leisure side of the business, knows the snobbery issue well.
"The coach has an image. It carries students very cheaply, it carries school kids. There is a perception that it is carrying certain members of society, certain social classes.
"The coach has an image. It carries students very cheaply, it carries school kids. There is a perception that it is carrying certain members of society, certain social classes.
"But coaches carry all the superstars of Arsenal and Chelsea. It isn't just grandmas who travel on holiday to Torquay."
"But coaches carry all the superstars of Arsenal and Chelsea. It isn't just grandmas who travel on holiday to Torquay."
Whatever its image problem, the age of the coach is perhaps dawning, being greener than car travel and more congestion friendly.
Whatever its image problem, the age of the coach is perhaps dawning, being greener than car travel and more congestion friendly.
Second-class travel
Second-class travel
Julia Thomas, public transport campaigner at Transport 2000, says she regularly uses coaches and that express services like the Gatwick to Heathrow route and commuter services like the Kent Kings Ferry and the Oxford Tube, which run to the capital, are attracting commuters and businessmen.
Julia Thomas, public transport campaigner at Transport 2000, says she regularly uses coaches and that express services like the Gatwick to Heathrow route and commuter services like the Kent Kings Ferry and the Oxford Tube, which run to the capital, are attracting commuters and businessmen.
Midnight Cowboy's Rizzo was a coach traveller ..."They are not full of students and old people. Business travellers use them without any sense of 'oh my god it's second-class travel'. It is purely about the right marketing, design and imagery.
Midnight Cowboy's Rizzo was a coach traveller ..."They are not full of students and old people. Business travellers use them without any sense of 'oh my god it's second-class travel'. It is purely about the right marketing, design and imagery.
"I do use coaches [instead of rail] if the journey is competitive. If I'm going out of London, travelling west, there are quick routes. You do get a bit of legroom, you've got a table where you can use your laptop.
"I do use coaches [instead of rail] if the journey is competitive. If I'm going out of London, travelling west, there are quick routes. You do get a bit of legroom, you've got a table where you can use your laptop.
"It is just a case of the big companies doing some really good marketing. They need to get it into a Bond film."
"It is just a case of the big companies doing some really good marketing. They need to get it into a Bond film."
And so you get back to the image problem that the coach presents. Cars mean individuality and freedom, trains mean romance, and coaches mean school kids singing obscene songs and being sick in the aisle on their way to Llandudno.
And so you get back to the image problem that the coach presents. Cars mean individuality and freedom, trains mean romance, and coaches mean school kids singing obscene songs and being sick in the aisle on their way to Llandudno.
Greyhound coaches have a certain romance in America, but their image is underpinned by that great American institution, the road movie.
Greyhound coaches have a certain romance in America, but their image is underpinned by that great American institution, the road movie.
Road movies
Road movies
Ian Freer, associate editor of Empire film magazine, struggles to think of any profusion of coach romance in British movies. Carry On At Your Convenience is about as good as it gets.
Ian Freer, associate editor of Empire film magazine, struggles to think of any profusion of coach romance in British movies. Carry On At Your Convenience is about as good as it gets.
...as was Trainspotting's Begbie "The reason there aren't many coaches in British movies is that we don't do road movies because our country's so small. You can't really have a life changing trip when it only takes a couple of hours to get there.
...as was Trainspotting's Begbie "The reason there aren't many coaches in British movies is that we don't do road movies because our country's so small. You can't really have a life changing trip when it only takes a couple of hours to get there.
"School journeys, people singing in the back. That doesn't make for great cinema."
"School journeys, people singing in the back. That doesn't make for great cinema."
Paul Cowper, senior consultant at Brandsmiths, has worked on rail and coach brands like National Express and says if companies want to attract business travellers they must improve services and play the green card, but not rely solely on clever marketing.
Paul Cowper, senior consultant at Brandsmiths, has worked on rail and coach brands like National Express and says if companies want to attract business travellers they must improve services and play the green card, but not rely solely on clever marketing.
"You can't pretend to be something you're not. People see through it very quickly.
"You can't pretend to be something you're not. People see through it very quickly.
COACH TRAVEL More than twice as safe as cars20,000 coaches licensed to travel in UK......travelling 1.3bn kms......generating £1.6bn for economyNational Express serves 1,000 destinations in the UKSources: CPT and National Express "Intercity coach travel isn't cool. There are any number of functional reasons why it is seen as second best to trains - haring up the motorway and then toiling along through the streets of Doncaster. I don't remember it as a cool experience."
COACH TRAVEL More than twice as safe as cars20,000 coaches licensed to travel in UK......travelling 1.3bn kms......generating £1.6bn for economyNational Express serves 1,000 destinations in the UKSources: CPT and National Express "Intercity coach travel isn't cool. There are any number of functional reasons why it is seen as second best to trains - haring up the motorway and then toiling along through the streets of Doncaster. I don't remember it as a cool experience."
And while some journeys may compare favourably with awkward train journeys, comparisons on the big inter-city routes can look positively leaden.
And while some journeys may compare favourably with awkward train journeys, comparisons on the big inter-city routes can look positively leaden.
London to Edinburgh can be done in four and a half hours on the train. The coach is nine-and-a-half. However much cheaper it is, unless your business model has a large element of "manana" in it, the case for rail remains compelling.
London to Edinburgh can be done in four and a half hours on the train. The coach is nine-and-a-half. However much cheaper it is, unless your business model has a large element of "manana" in it, the case for rail remains compelling.
There may be opportunities to take business away from air if journey times on coaches can be cut, and the security-inspired Kafkaesque check-in procedures continue.
There may be opportunities to take business away from air if journey times on coaches can be cut, and the security-inspired Kafkaesque check-in procedures continue.
Mr Barber has only one request, that passengers at least give a modern coach a try.
Mr Barber has only one request, that passengers at least give a modern coach a try.
"If you get on one you will come off saying 'they are a surprisingly luxurious form of travel'. The industry just has to take away the word surprisingly."
"If you get on one you will come off saying 'they are a surprisingly luxurious form of travel'. The industry just has to take away the word surprisingly."
Send us your comments using the form below.
Send us your comments using the form below.
Your joking right? Coaches are cool? I've slept through March and it's April the first. I can fly to London from Glasgow - do my job and fly back before the coach has got south of Birmingham. No chance....James, Glasgow
I would have to make sure that I sit on the one seat where I would fit; the middle of the back row. Being a retired second row forward I find that if a coach was luxurious then that would, indeed, be surprising.Malcolm Smith, Porthmadog, United Kingdom
I would have to make sure that I sit on the one seat where I would fit; the middle of the back row. Being a retired second row forward I find that if a coach was luxurious then that would, indeed, be surprising.Malcolm Smith, Porthmadog, United Kingdom
National Coaches are good value for money and some of their drivers are very helpful. But why, oh why can't they improve the facilities at Heathrow? The bus station there is overcrowded with no decent facilities and passengers are treated as if in a cattle market. We do not use the coach from Heathrow unless we have to because we cannot face the melee after a tiring flight!Andrew Meads, Gloucester England
National Coaches are good value for money and some of their drivers are very helpful. But why, oh why can't they improve the facilities at Heathrow? The bus station there is overcrowded with no decent facilities and passengers are treated as if in a cattle market. We do not use the coach from Heathrow unless we have to because we cannot face the melee after a tiring flight!Andrew Meads, Gloucester England
As to image, etc, the big problem (in my mind) is that although some coaches will have "leather seats, Wi-Fi connections ..." and all the other niceties, I can be pretty sure that the day I travelled there would be a substitute from the local school run operating and the small print will stop me claiming any kind of refund. Building the reputation Mr. Bowker would like is going to take years of hard work and investment.Mike Sheridan, Northwich, Cheshire
As to image, etc, the big problem (in my mind) is that although some coaches will have "leather seats, Wi-Fi connections ..." and all the other niceties, I can be pretty sure that the day I travelled there would be a substitute from the local school run operating and the small print will stop me claiming any kind of refund. Building the reputation Mr. Bowker would like is going to take years of hard work and investment.Mike Sheridan, Northwich, Cheshire
Its a matter of travel times just as much as travel comfort (accuse ryanair of being pleasant). I recently went from Stansted to Manchester by National Express - it took 12 hours. Messing around driving miles out of the way to stop off here there and everywhere. Plus a few hours squalor at victoria coach station - never againdave, stockport
Its a matter of travel times just as much as travel comfort (accuse ryanair of being pleasant). I recently went from Stansted to Manchester by National Express - it took 12 hours. Messing around driving miles out of the way to stop off here there and everywhere. Plus a few hours squalor at victoria coach station - never againdave, stockport
If coaches are twice as safe as cars, why are they restricted to 60mph and not allowed to use the fast lane? When these restrictions were introduced the journey time significanly increased between Leeds and London. The typical journey times are: coach 4.5 hours and train 2.5 hours. If you buy and advance purchase ticket by rail you can travel for less 20 pounds.National express also removed the host/hostess service from the route quite some time ago, making the trip by road a laborious experience.Brian , leeds
If coaches are twice as safe as cars, why are they restricted to 60mph and not allowed to use the fast lane? When these restrictions were introduced the journey time significanly increased between Leeds and London. The typical journey times are: coach 4.5 hours and train 2.5 hours. If you buy and advance purchase ticket by rail you can travel for less 20 pounds.National express also removed the host/hostess service from the route quite some time ago, making the trip by road a laborious experience.Brian , leeds
When I was at college I used to travel between Manchester and Durham quite regularly - which took about 5 or 6 hours. All I can remember from those journeys is the bone crushing monotony, about 3 inches of legroom, seats so uncomfortable you lost the feeling in the lower half of your body after 20 minutes, travelling miles and miles to the middle of nowhere to stop in a little village where no-one ever got on or off and on more than one occasion a driver asking if anyone new the way to Bradford!
When I was at college I used to travel between Manchester and Durham quite regularly - which took about 5 or 6 hours. All I can remember from those journeys is the bone crushing monotony, about 3 inches of legroom, seats so uncomfortable you lost the feeling in the lower half of your body after 20 minutes, travelling miles and miles to the middle of nowhere to stop in a little village where no-one ever got on or off and on more than one occasion a driver asking if anyone new the way to Bradford!
After three years of that I had to bite the bullet and pay the extra few quid to get the train. Even today I can't stand to spend more than half an hour on a bus.andy, UK, Newcastle
After three years of that I had to bite the bullet and pay the extra few quid to get the train. Even today I can't stand to spend more than half an hour on a bus.andy, UK, Newcastle
The main problem I find with coaches is seat width - they're far too narrow. Install 2+1 seating (2 one side of the aisle, 1 the other), perhaps charging more or using double-deckers to avoid the loss of seats, and I might consider it. If it's a longer journey than rail or air it needs to be more comfortable, which it presently isn't.NatEx would do well to look at VIP coaches operating in Thailand and Malaysia as an example of where to aim if coach travel is to become a mode of choice.Neil Williams, Milton Keynes, UK
The main problem I find with coaches is seat width - they're far too narrow. Install 2+1 seating (2 one side of the aisle, 1 the other), perhaps charging more or using double-deckers to avoid the loss of seats, and I might consider it. If it's a longer journey than rail or air it needs to be more comfortable, which it presently isn't.NatEx would do well to look at VIP coaches operating in Thailand and Malaysia as an example of where to aim if coach travel is to become a mode of choice.Neil Williams, Milton Keynes, UK
If you're looking for coach-based love scenes why not try It Happened One Night starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Classic road comedy, most of which takes place on an intercity bus!Michael, Edinburgh, Scotland
If you're looking for coach-based love scenes why not try It Happened One Night starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Classic road comedy, most of which takes place on an intercity bus!Michael, Edinburgh, Scotland
Instead of sitting in a little tin box on the M25, I can sit in a big tin box on the M25! Great! If I have to share a tin box with strangers, then I'd rather it actually moved - like, say, a train.
Instead of sitting in a little tin box on the M25, I can sit in a big tin box on the M25! Great! If I have to share a tin box with strangers, then I'd rather it actually moved - like, say, a train.
The only place I've ever enjoyed coach travel was in Argentina, where the long-distance coaches have proper fold-out leg rests and the seats go practically flat, making a good night's sleep perfectly possible.Ed, Manchester
The only place I've ever enjoyed coach travel was in Argentina, where the long-distance coaches have proper fold-out leg rests and the seats go practically flat, making a good night's sleep perfectly possible.Ed, Manchester
