Greyhound, the iconic US bus brand, is crossing the Atlantic to start services in Britain next month.
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The company says it plans to tap demand from motorists fed up with the UK’s crowded roads.
Services will begin from London to Southampton and Portsmouth on England’s south coast with fares averaging GBP7 pounds (US$11.50) for a one-way trip. According to managing director Alex Warner, passengers will include “malcontented motorists,” commuters, the elderly, students and tourists.
He told Bloomberg News that the company intends to expand the network across the whole of the UK. Services will start using 11 Scania buses which have been given women’s names from American songs including “Sweet Caroline,” “Peggy Sue” and “Jolene”.
On board luxuries include power sockets, leather seats and air conditioning. Passengers will get a complimentary newspaper and free wireless Internet access.
Owner FirstGroup Plc said the UK operation will have more in common with its upscale Bolt brand, based in the northeastern US, than the traditional Greyhound service, known for long-distance, low-cost routes.
The company feels however that unlike Greyhound, Bolt has no brand cache in the UK. Bolt runs between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington and has tripled its fleet to 90 buses during the recession by providing online ticketing, convenient boarding locations and increasingly upscale amenities, said FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer Moir Lockhead.
Greyhound UK’s Southampton service will take two hours non-stop. The British operation is expected to break even if it fills 25 of the 41 seats on its buses.
