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“Service 201”

written by Welsh001 on 30/07/2014

I was using National Express(Coach Number 201)to travel from Neath Port Talbot bus station to London Gatwick Airport on July 13th 2014. The departure time on the coach ticket was 14:45 hrs.

We arrived early so parked the car I was having a lift in in the car park which is opposite Neath Port Talbot Bus Station. This gives us a very clear view of the coaches pulling in and out of the station and it is literally a 15-20 second walk from the car park to the bus station (ideal for a fit, able bodied person for myself). I had used this service (201) previously on a few occasions for work purposes and there were no problems encountered then. As soon as the coach arrives at the station, I simply get my suitcase out of the car and take a brisk walk to the designated coach stop to board the coach. As stated earlier, this process takes seconds.

However, on this particular day, we saw the coach pull into the station but it was quickly noted that the driver was not going to stop in the designated coach bay (is this not in his job description/contract that he signed for National Express regardless of whether the driver can see passengers there or not?) so rather than hurry on foot, the relative who had given me a lift on this occasion drove across onto the coach turning area (even though it states on a sign there that no other vehicles other than buses/coaches are to do this but we wern't given much choice) and sounded the car horn to attract the attention of the coach driver.

The driver, who then stopped alongside the car we were in wound down his window and when my relative politely asked if he was going to Gatwick, his face which was contorted with rage answered angrily stating that he had already been "around once" (meaning to Neath Port Talbot Bus Station) and that I would have to catch the coach at Bridgend instead. He refused to let me board the coach and reaction was so unbelievable, I actually thought he was joking until he wound his window back up and drove off (he was also late turning up in the first place which, as it was about 8 minutes, would not have bothered me in the slightest had it not been for his disgusting and baffling attitude!). He was late, downright rude and a liar to say the least.

My relative then kindly gave me a lift to Bridgend (about a 20 minute drive down the M4 Motorway) to the National Express pick up point there. This was not without difficulty however.

We had no idea where the coach pick up point was so I had to phone the emergency number on my National Express Coach ticket to inquire as to where this pick up point was. When I finally got through, my call was dealt with politely (the customer adviser tracked where this driver was and it turned out we were a few minutes behind him) but this call cost my more than £20 (I had this amount of money on my mobile phone for emergencies only as I was going on holiday and was just going to keep it for that purpose). The customer adviser gave me a reference number to write on my ticket and gave the next available time that a coach would arrive (1 hour).

This coach arrived and all went smoothly from there. But I would like to emphasize that the imbecilic way that the previous driver behaved was wholly unacceptable by today's standards in this country and the situation is currently being "investigated" by the management of National Express.

This has had a knock on effect with my family because the relative who gave me a lift had to delay plans to visit her seriously ill elderly father in hospital as well as put on hold other plans for relatives travelling down from Northern England to the hospital as well. That's not to mention the waste of petrol and the waste of a mobile telephone call over something that should never have happened in the first place not to mention the distress this has caused.

Had I known this would happen, I would have driven to Gatwick myself! I will not recommend National Express coach travel to anyone now. Remember-you are only as good as your last mistake. This driver has brought the company of National Express into disrepute. Good manners cost nothing (It's not difficult!. Such a shame.