Long distance by stage carriage

[bernardf]

When I started at YWD, 1973, a brummie driver, using his NBC staff pass, went by stage carriage from Dewsbury to Birmingham. It was either 10 hours on 11 buses or vice versa. My question is "Could you do it today?" Is there a company whose area covers all the way or do the different companies accept each other's staff passes? Just curious, no intention of trying it myself.

[timelesstable]

Cheating slightly but could National Express workers do it or are their restrictions to their own franchises

[dwarfer1979]

I thjnk Arriva drivers could get closest on one company but there is a gap between Derbyshire & South Yorkshire. It all depends on which operators have recipricol deals to accept each other passes, you assume they have one with Trent which would get you to Chesterfield/Sheffield (depending on how TM are treated in the deal) but there is still a hole to Barnsley.

It varies as to who has deals with whom and it isn't always obvious though the old NBC companies will tend to have a greater spread of interavailability of staff passes (and for the big groups it tends to be any subsidiary outside London). When I was working for Solent Blue Line in Southampton I could use my staff pass to get from Exeter to Dover (and they at one time had a recipricol deal with South Wales Transport - no idea where that came from but you suspect a couple of senior managers holiday preferences).

[PinkHours]

Jul 15, 2011 8:09:40 GMT 1 dwarfer1979 said:

It all depends on which operators have recipricol deals to accept each other passes, you assume they have one with Trent which would get you to Chesterfield/Sheffield (depending on how TM are treated in the deal) but there is still a hole to Barnsley.

TM passes aren't accepted on Trent Buses and vice versa.

[Jack]

I would say the shortest gap will be between Huddersfield and Manchester by Arriva. Arriva NW & Wales meet Midlands services in Wrexham.

[busman3]

As a planning exercise prior to the introduction of the british oap travel pass.

I worked out that it was possible to travel from Sheffield (South Yorks) to London using the pass it took 14 hours and 13 buses.

If I remember rightly it went via Chesterfield , Alfreton, Derby , Nottingham Loughborough, Leicester etc etc etc.

I do wish teh Great British Bus Timetable was still around as doing it by using websites took longer than the actual journey.

[SF07]

There was a story a couple of years ago where one of the contributors of the Manchester Transport blog travelled from the north of Scotland to Brighton on Stagecoach services. It was mainly done by buses (not the Megabus service and avoided any services with the prefix X (such as X61) as much as possible), although there were two gaps, which will filled in by East Midlands Trains (which belongs to Stagecoach) between Stockport and Sheffield and between Grantham and Peterborough. The journey was done for charity, raising money for Christie's in Manchester.

The route and services were (over 6 days in 2009):
Day 1:
*Thurso-Inverness (25X)
*Inverness-Aberdeen (10)
*Aberdeen-Montrose (107)

Day 2:
*Montrose-Dundee (39)
*Dundee-Glenrothes (X54)
*Glenrothes-Glasgow (X24)
*Glasgow-Ayr (4)
*Ayr-Dumfries (246)
*Dumfries-Carlisle (79)

Day 3:
*Carlisle-Penrith (103)
*Penrith-Keswick (X5)
*Keswick-Lancaster (556)
*Lancaster-Preston (40)
*Preston-Bolton (125)
*Bolton-Burnage (22) - (Stagecoach journey rather than First)

The Burnage/East Didsbury gap is the area where he lived

Day 4:
*East Didsbury-Stockport (42)
*Stockport-Sheffield (East Midlands Trains)
*Sheffield-Chesterfield (43)
*Chesterfield-Worksop (77)
*Worksop-Retford (42)
*Retford-Gainsborough (96)
*Gainsborough-Lincoln (100)
*Lincoln-Grantham (1)

Day 5:
*Grantham-Peterborough (East Midlands Trains)
*Peterborough-Milton Keynes (X4)
*Milton Keynes-Bicester (X5)
*Bicester-Oxford (S5)
*Oxford-Swindon (66)
*Swindon-Marlborough (70)
*Marlborough-Andover (80)

Day 6:
*Andover-Basingstoke (76)
*Basingstoke-Alton (28)
*Alton-Petersfield (72)
*Petersfield-Havant (37)
*Havant-Brighton (700)

The journey took 30 buses and two trains, travelling an estimated distance of 1,068 miles.

britainbybus.blogspot.com/