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Megabus FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
This FAQ applies to Megabus
(not
Megatrain) in the UK only.
As a
Megabus driver I'm able to give both the company answer (taken from the
megabus website) and the answers you'll likely to encounter in
real life situations; not always the same thing! The FAQ is unofficial
and is not endorsed by megabus.com
Are
there
really tickets for £1.00?
How can I book a
seat on Megabus?
Where are the stops?
Can I catch an earlier
bus?
What if I miss the bus?
How can I contact Megabus?
Can I change
the ticket, or cancel and get my money back?
How much luggage
can I take? Bikes, Cellos, frozen food etc.?
My luggage
is valuable/fragile etc and I don't want it stored in the
hold?
Are child fares available?
You pass my
house/office, can I get off there?
What if the
bus is late and I miss my plane/train/dinner/wedding etc.?
Will there be a
toilet on the bus?
Can I bring
food and drink onto the bus to have during the journey?
Can I sit on
my own and not next to a stranger?
Can I book a
window or aisle seat?
What should I
do if I think the driver was rude and drove badly?
What should I do if I think the driver
was polite and drove very well?
Tips on how
not to annoy Megabus drivers!
Are there really tickets for
£1.00?
Yes, I see them everyday. The first 'x' seats ('x' is number
bigger then 0 and less than 10!) are £1.00 each. The
next 'y'
seats are more, the next 'z' seats more still etc. The secret to
getting a £1.00 seat is to book as early as the website
will allow,
usually 45 days in advance. Many people
are wise to this so you must check everyday until the date you want
appears. This is particularly true of the busy days - Fridays,
Saturdays and Sundays and Public Holidays which sell very
quickly. If you have a little flexability mid-week dates can
still have £1.00 availability for some time after the date
has become
bookable. Never ever wait to see if the price will come down - it
wont! What would have been a lower cost seat rises in price the
nearer the date of travel becomes. To take an extreme example, if
the £1.00 seats hadn't been sold and someone then books a
seat on the
day of travel the seat wont be offered at £1.00.
Always book as
far in advance as possible for the best deal.
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What
if I miss the bus?
It depends on why you missed it. If you were at the correct stop
10 minutes before the published departure time and the bus had already
gone you
should complain using any of the contact methods.
But please
don't claim this unless it's true! Every bus is fitted with
recording equipment which will record the stopping and leaving time of
each point. If this shows that the bus left at the correct time
then you both look a little silly and will be thought of as trying to
get a refund by making a dishonest claim! The Terms and
Conditions, which you accepted by buying the ticket, say "Passengers
are required to be at their departure point at least 10 minutes prior
to the scheduled departure time". Note "required to be", not "are
advised to be"! If you overslept,
didn't leave enough time to get to the stop, forgot the correct
departure time etc. then that's really tough luck. You need to
buy another ticket for the next departure and because it's so near the
departure time it wont be as cheap as the one you missed. You
wont get a refund on the ticket for the missed departure which, if you
think about it, is only fair. The seat couldn't be sold to
someone else because you'd paid for it and said you'd sit in it.
You could just wait for the next bus and throw yourself at the mercy of
the driver and hope that if there's an empty seat he'll let you use
it. But I honestly think that it's not worth the risk of either a
highly likely refusal, or a fully booked bus. Better to bite the
bullet, buy a ticket for the next trip, and resolve never to miss the
bus again. If you missed the bus because a connection failed
(train, underground, local bus etc.) it is outside the control of
Megabus and Megabus can't be blamed for that. The people to
complain to are the train, underground, local bus company etc.
If, however, it was a connection using another Megabus then you will be
treated very sympathetically by Megabus (I've seen heaven and earth
moved for a passenger who missed a connection due to an incoming
Megabus being delayed) .... so long as you left a reasonable time for
the connection. A reasonable time should not be less than 45
minutes in my opinion.
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How
can I contact MegaBus?
e-mail may be sent to Customer Service from this page on the website:-
http://megabus.com/uk/help/contactus.php
I know that all e-mails are answered the same working day.
Obviously, in some situations more information is needed before a full
reply can be given but you will at least know what's going on the same
day.
The Customer Services telephone number is 0901 331 0031 (calls cost 10p
per minute from BT landlines, calls from
mobiles and some other networks may be higher). This 'phone is
only answered during office hours, Monday to Friday 08:00 until 20:00,
Saturday and Sunday 10:00 until 18:00.
An old fashioned letter with a sticky stamp should be addressed to:-
Customer Services
megabus.com
Stagecoach in Perth
Inveralmond Industrial Estate
Perth, PH1 3EE
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How can I book a seat on Megabus?
The one place you can't buy a ticket is on the bus!
The majority of bookings are made using the www.megabus.com website.
A telephone booking service is available on 0900 160 0900 between 8am
and 9pm, 7 days a week, but be aware
that calls cost 60p per minute from a landline, mobile calls may
vary. In some places where this premium rate number is advertised
it says "maximum call length 5 mintes" but in other places no mention
is made of this! Both the internet and telephone booking systems
require a
debit or credit card to make payment. From 1 October
2007 megabus tickets can be bought at Victoria Coach Station until
shortly before departure and cash will be accepted there.
In Scotland tickets may be bought at the following bus stations:
Aberdeen Bus Station, Guild Street, Aberdeen - Edinburgh Bus Station,
St Andrew Square, Edinburgh - Inverness Bus Station, Margaret Street,
Inverness. Cash may be used to purchase tickets at these
locations.
There are a very few places
(2 or 3 in the whole England and Wales) where you can buy a ticket over
the
counter. Megabus doesn't pay agents commision so these sellers
sell at whatever the website charges and then add, typically,
£5.00 to
cover their costs. It's usually better to find an internet cafe
and make the booking yourself from there. Not paying agents
commision, charging telephone bookings at a premium rate etc. are some
of
the ways
in which Megabus minimises cost which is then reflected in cheap
fares. I know it disadvantages those without debit/credit cards
but that is the business model megabus has chosen.
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Can I catch an earlier bus?
Officially no, you have purchased a ticket for travel at a specific
time on a specific day. But it is sometimes possible to catch an
earlier bus! Not a bus a day or two early, just the one before
the one you were booked on. The first thing to remember is that
you have no right to travel early so don't demand to be let let onto
the earlier bus. Tell the driver why you're early "My job
interview didn't last as long as I expected" type thing and then ask if
there is any chance of getting on this bus. If you're demanding
or agressive there is no chance you'll get on! Do it nicely and
it usually works!
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My luggage is valuable/fragile etc and I
don't want it stored in the
hold?
No problem. So long as it will fit safely into the seat next next
to you just buy a second ticket! If you don't buy a seat for your
valuable/fragile luggage it will almost certainly be consigned to the
hold however much you protest. Don't bother saying "I'll fit it
around my feet" etc. because driver's have heard it all too often - it
usually means you'll either put it on a seat and therefore deprive a
paying passenger of that seat, or you'll put it as you say, on the
floor, and then cramp anyone sitting near you. If hand luggage
wont fit into an overhead locker it goes into the hold; make an
exception for one passenger and every passenger expects to be excepted.
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Are
child fares available?
No. Babies and toddlers (less than 36 months old) are carried free of charge,
all children pay the standard fare.
Top
Where
are the stops?
http://megabus.com/uk/stops/
Rather infuriatingly it requires you to enter both 'Leaving from' and
'Travelling to' locations. I'd much prefer it if you were able to
enter a place eg Bournemouth, Glasgow etc. and then be presented with
all the stops in that location. If you go to timetables and
enter the same information the results page shows both the timetables
and the stops.
Top
Can I change the ticket, or cancel and get
my money back?
You can change your ticket (only if it was purchased on the website) at
any time up to 24 hours before travel. Here is the exact wording
"A £1.00 fee (50p amendment and 50p booking) is charged for
all
reservations being changed. The cost of the initial reservation will be
credited against the subsequent reservation. Should the subsequent
reservation be less expensive than the initial order, no payment or
further credit will be made to the customer, all unused credit will be
forfeited. If the initial amount paid is less than the cost of the
subsequent reservation you must pay the difference when completing your
new reservation". You can't cancel and receive a refund for a
ticket already purchased.
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How much luggage can I take? Bikes,
Cellos, frozen food etc.?
"Passengers are advised that megabus.com will accept only one piece of
luggage per passenger weighing no more than 20kg and no larger than the
size of a standard suitcase. Passengers can also take on board one
piece of hand luggage up to the size of a small to medium sized
hold-all". That's it, when 'push comes to shove' you've no more rights
than that. However, in real life things aren't quite that
rigid. If the case weighs over 20kgs most drivers will accept it
if you, the passenger, lift it in and out of the hold. Offer to
do this immediately the weight of a bag looks like it may be
questioned. The weight limit is more for the Health and Safety of
the loader than the need to keep weight on the bus down. Most
drivers would have no problem with a passenger with a couple of
reasonable sized cases so long as there was room in the hold - there
usually is. The problems come when someone thinks they can save
on the cost of a removal van and move house by megabus!
Now to things which aren't 'normal' luggage. Bikes aren't carried
(unless they're folding bikes in a bag) and the reason for this is that
they can damage luggage when they rub against it and they can also put
oil and grease on luggage. Having said that I've seen some
drivers accept a bike and then put it in the seperate rear luggage hold
where it's on its own because there's not much luggage on that
trip. The owner may look happy that they've managed to get their
bike on the bus, but will they ever get it home again? A
different driver on the return leg, more luggage on the return leg and
the bike will get left behind. It's not worth turning up with one
and it's certainly not worth trying to persuade the driver to take
it. Musical instruments in cases are fine in the hold but if
you're not happy about them being in the hold see here.
Frozen food is specifically excluded.
Top
You pass my
house/office, can I get off there?
No, this is a bus not a taxi! I know passengers think we're
awkward when
we say 'no' but the problem is once you've said 'yes' to the first
request you can't say 'no' to requests from other passengers. You
could end up stopping enough times, each time unloading luggage from
the hold, so as to to be late at the final destination. It's not
fair on the majority of passengers who wish to get to the place they
booked as quickly as possible.
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What if the bus is
late and I miss my plane/train/dinner/wedding etc.?
The Terms and Conditions state "Compensation for delays is not
offered". All I can offer here is the advice that if your journey
is absolutely time critical take out travel insurance to cover 'missed
departure' 'delay' etc. I've not seen one which doesn't cover a
missed departure due to a public transport delay. The worst
delays are when a motorway is closed due to an accident etc. The
bus breaking down is fairly rare and when it does it doesn't cause as
much delay as you might think, a replacement bus is sent out from a
local Stagecoach depot and your usually on your way again in less than
an hour.
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Will there be a toilet on
the bus?
All megabuses have toilets onboard. The only time there are no
toilet facilities is if there is a fault with the toilet, or the bus is
a
replacement bus not normally used on megabus routes. If for
either of these reasons there is no toilet then the bus will make
'comfort stops' at regular intervals.
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Can I bring food and drink onto the bus to
have during the journey?
Drinks first, the no's are alcohol and hot drinks. Water, soft
drinks, juice etc are all fine. Cold food is fine but no hot
food. The ban on hot food is, to put it bluntly, because it
stinks! Fish and chips, burgers, KFC all stink the bus out, it's
just not fair on others.
Top
Can I sit on my own
and not next to a stranger?
Yes, just buy a second ticket and you've got twice the space and a
little privacy.
Top
Can I book a window or
aisle seat?
No seats are pre-assigned (except for passengers with disabilities),
you board and sit in any empty seat. You can of course buy two
tickets and then you have both the window and aisle seats for yourself.
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What should I do if
I think the driver was rude and drove badly?
Inform customer services by e-mail at http://megabus.com/uk/help/contactus.php
or telephone them on 0901 331 0031 (calls cost 10p
per minute from BT landlines, calls from
mobiles and some other networks may be higher). This 'phone is
only answered during office hours, Monday to Friday 08:00 until 20:00,
Saturday and Sunday 10:00 until 18:00.
Top
What should
I do if I think the driver was polite and drove very well?
Tell everyone you meet how great megabus.com is! Then, inform
customer services by e-mail at http://megabus.com/uk/help/contactus.php
or telephone them on 0901 331 0031 (calls cost 10p
per minute from BT landlines, calls from
mobiles and some other networks may be higher). This 'phone is
only answered during office hours, Monday to Friday 08:00 until 20:00,
Saturday and Sunday 10:00 until 18:00.
Top
Tips on how not to
annoy Megabus drivers!
- Don't wait to be the last to board and then say "I can't find my
reference number". If there is a problem let it be known as soon
as possible.
- Don't board and then say "Can I get off for a smoke/say goodbye
to a friend/buy a drink?" etc. Once you're on the bus stay on it,
ticket checking becomes impossible with people getting on and off.
- Don't wait to board and only start looking for the
scrap of paper with your booking reference on it when you're being
asked for your it. Find it before boarding so as not to hold up
everyone behind you until you triumphantly produce it several minutes
later!
- If the bus gets stuck in a traffic jam don't keep asking the
driver "How much longer?" If the driver is able to get
information by using the 'phone on the bus he'll let everyone
know. Otherwise, your guess is as good as anyone's.
- Don't say "I didn't know I couldn't bring my pet python with me. My
friend booked the ticket for me". That may be true but
is up to your friend to have told you what you can and can't do!
Not knowing the T&C's doesn't mean that you are exempt from them.
- Acknowledge that the driver exists! I get seriously fed up
when I
greet a passenger with "Good morning", check their ticket off on the
manifest, hand the reference number paperwork back with a "Thanks,
that's fine" and the passenger doesn't say a word. A small
percentage of passengers may be deaf mutes, but not as many as just
appear damn rude! Please, don't be one of them.
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