National Express makes announcement after Megabus reduces services

Coach provider National Express has announced it is scheduling additional services between south Wales and London. It comes after Megabus announced a planned network reduction.

The low-cost coach operator said it is scaling back its operations in England and Wales, from December 4, due to low passenger demand. In response, National Express said that from that date they will be adding more than 2,000 additional seats per week on its services between south Wales and London.

Ed Rickard, network director at National Express, said: "We recognise the growing need for reliable, affordable and convenient public transport options. By increasing capacity and frequency on our key intercity and airport routes, we’re making it even easier for people to get to where they need to be. We’re expecting to see strong demand and have the flexibility to add more capacity when needed, especially as people start to make travel plans for the festive season."

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Megabus has said that the company’s cross-border services will continue to provide a number of connections in England and Wales, including links between Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield and London; Manchester, Birmingham and London; and Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff.

They have said that all customers affected by the service changes will be contacted, and arrangements are being put in place to ensure customers who have already booked tickets can find alternative transport or will be provided with a refund.

Megabus managing director Simone Walsh said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision. However, unfortunately it is not sustainable for us to continue operating our current network as the customer demand is simply too low. So, we are making these changes to ensure that we have a more efficient network going forward.”

"Megabus will continue to operate its long-standing cross-border services, which also provide connections within England and Wales. And our Falcon services between Plymouth and Bristol are continuing to run as normal, as well as all our services across Scotland.

"We want to thank the many passengers who travel with us every day and will ensure that we continue to operate an affordable and high-quality service on the parts of the network that are unaffected by these changes. And we will work hard to ensure that customers who have booked services that are being discontinued are looked after and offered an alternative option” added Walsh.