22 July 2013

Going Gold

It seems fitting that Plymouth should be one of the first places to gain a new Megabus Gold service using the brand new Van Hool double deck coaches. We were among the pioneers of luxury double deck coach travel in the 1980's with Trathens running exotic Skyliners against the mighty National Express. They turned heads back then, and I am sure many people will notice these impressive beasts rolling in and out of Plymouth:
IMG_5190
©Richard smith
The full network for Megabus Gold:
megabusGold.com   Overnight sleeper services with a deluxe daytime travel network

There is only the one departure on the Gold service laving Plymouth at 16:35 and arriving in London at 21:45 The return from London leaves at 11:00 and arrives Plymouth at 16:10. Standard price seems to be £16 each way.

The 16:35 departure from Plymouth actually arrives in London before the standard Megabus departure at 16:00 as it does not stop anywhere else. It looks like I am going to have to plan a London trip soon!


PT RECOMMENDS

  • We have a long tradition in England of failing to learn from our mistakes. As someone who’s not exactly in the first flush of youth, it pains me to see organisations making the same errors today that their predecessors made thirty years ago. Omnibuses
  • But it was a very hot day; and Borismasters have not been hugely successful during the current sweltering spell. CORRECT Public Transport Experience
  • With the recent filming going on in the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand for the new Mike Leigh film, documenting the life and work of the artist JWM Turner, a shuttle bus service has been put in place to link the villages with the storage site at Maker. PTOTPA
  • fbb rode from Hampstead Heath (South End Green) on the top deck of the Borismaster at the very front on the right.  Public Transport Experience
  • Today (Friday 19th July) saw the very first Megabus Gold service depart Plymouth, with one of the brand new, extremely impressive looking, Van Hool TXD29 Astromega PTOTPA

2 comments:

  1. Trathens were pioneers in the early-1980s period, of course, but the UK had seen plenty of double-deck express coach action before that. If you recall Stagecoach's Megabus Gold press release, they make mention of an outfit called Land Liners running double-deckers between London and Manchester in the 1920s:
    http://www.stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2013/launch-of-sleepercoach.aspx
    Not to forget the famous Gay Hostess Atlanteans either, of course!
    Whatever the history, these new coaches are stunning and really do look the business.

    ReplyDelete
  2. All coaches go to London it seems. Would be nice if there was an interchange at Bristol.

    ReplyDelete

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