The inter-city coach operator will stop operating all services which run wholly within England from 4 December
megabus says it is to scale back its operations in England and Wales due to low passenger demand, with changes to its network set to take effect from 4 December. The company says that arrangements will be put in place for customers who have already booked tickets for travel beyond that date, and has reassured travellers that services wholly within Scotland as well as cross-border routes between Scotland and England and Wales, and its Falcon services in south-west England remain unaffected. The operator cites low passenger demand as the reason for its decision.
All other megabus services within England and Wales will cease to operate from 4 December, with cross-border services continuing to provide a limited 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.
The company says that customers affected by the service changes will be contacted in the near future, 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. 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.”
