13 December 2010
Is 13 an unlucky number? I am usually not superstitious but today we had an unexpected surprise which had us missed our trip to York. At 8:05 am in the morning we found ourselves running madly around St Pancras International searching for a place to board our Megabus coach to York. We had reached about 15 minutes earlier but we were looking for a free toilet and found one at a nearby McDonalds. Last week, we were stuck on a Megabus coach without a toilet from London to Cardiff for more than 4 hours. That was not an experience we wanted to repeat so we went to relieve ourselves before boarding the coach. Just in case we told ourselves.
As usual, we were pressed for time and we did not spot any coach station near the Tube or the railway so I asked one of the staff at the Tube and he said, “Just straight ahead opposite the escalator.”
I dashed off into St Pancras International looking for signs of “Megabus”. I found signs indicating coach parking and not knowing what to expect I ran in that direction. I reached there on the dot but all I could see are a couple of empty coaches parked there. No “Megabus” signs anywhere. Knowing that Megabus coaches are often late, I did not give up but carried on searching. I walked up and down along St Pancras, both inside and outside but still no sign of any Megabus stop. I gave up and called my wife and she said, “Are you sure it’s not at Euston?” I double checked my confirmation email and I was pretty damn sure its St Pancras. Euston is 1 stop earlier and is a major transport hub. I knew we had definitely missed our bus but for the sake of knowing, I continued searching.
I asked another staff at the National Rail information desk. She said, “It’s just up the escalator.” Even though I had already search upstairs, I went up again and kept my eyes peeled for any signs of Megabus. I was thinking there was no way any bus or even car can depart from upstairs. There were simply no roads as far as I could see! Thus I walked around on the upper level searching for the elusive coach stop but to no avail.
I met up with my wife who had also been searching on her own. I figured we could have covered more ground if we search separately. I noticed St Pancras had a customer service office just right outside the coach parking bays. However it didn’t look too welcoming and it was more like a corporate office than an information desk. St Pancras International did not have a manned information desk but they do have some information kiosks scattered throughout the station but they were pretty useless when I tried them. Pretty useless exactly. They sure are pretty to look at and they sure are useless for the kind of information I was looking for. As a last attempt we stepped into the St Pancras office to try our luck. We asked about Megabus and the first thing the very helpful customer service officer said was, “It’s a train, not a bus.”
Then it hit us that we were looking for the wrong signs all along. It was very similar to a paradigm shift in perspectives. Within a couple of minutes, we had found where we were supposed to depart but of course, we were an hour late.
What had led me to believe that we were supposed to board a coach? Well, the arrival spot in York is definitely a coach stop. My confirmation email says “York, Leeman Rd Coach Stop”. I am sure everyone would expect to board a coach on departure since you are most certainly arriving in a coach. Hence the most logical conclusion is there must be a change somewhere along the journey from train to bus. I fired up my laptop to search on the Megabus website. I tried booking for a trip tomorrow but nothing was stated in the itinerary to indicate such a change. The carrier for this journey was “Plus”, which I had no idea what it was. It could be bus, train, ferry or even plane.
Fortunately, my lost only came up to a bit more than 30 pounds for both my wife and me, including the accommodation at York. I had managed to book a room at Travelodge for 9 pounds and the transport was less than 10 pounds per person for both ways. However, we had missed the chance to visit York. This time round, I am not blaming myself but instead chose to blame Megabus for not providing explicit information and St Pancras International for not having any signs to assist Megabus travelers.
That made my day.
19 Comments
What a mix up – honestly I would have been running round for looking for a bus too. Normally the UK is pretty good with signs, so surprised that they hadn’t got round to putting up signs or at least information to assist Megabus travellers. I guess someone forgot to tell the marketing company and Megabus company that though they knew what they were it is not very obvious to customers! Hope one day you will get a chance to see York – it really is a lovely place…
Yes, we would really love to visit York someday. Signs in UK are usually not very intuitive in my opinion. They tend to be more concerned about integrating with the background rather then making them stand out. For example street names can be really difficult to spot because they are either placed high on the walls of buildings, or placed really low along the pavement. When I drove, I really had to rely on GPS or Sat Nav as it’s called in the UK.
You should have called megabus, I found customer service very helpful all the time… 0871 2663333 or 0141 332 9644
Yes I should have. However I was absolutely 100% sure it was a coach before I missed the train. Ha!
Thanks for giving Megabus’s numbers here. They would have be very useful for other travellers. To all readers, please try the 0141 first before the 0871 as calling the 0871 number should be a lot more expensive.
thanks for mentioned about PLUS carrier. i’m also quite confusing abt PLUS carrier. is it coach or train? now i knew it. i’m planning to visit Doncaster. if anybody knw that their services. pls reply me my email: maharjan_nn@yahoo.com.
This article was really helpful. I gave myself plenty of time when I arrived at St pancras in order to find the coach station. The megabus website had given me directions of sorts, in so far as directing me that the “bus” did leave from St pancras. I googled where the stop was, similarly wondering how a coach could pick me up from inside the station, and your article popped up as the top link. Although it is very detailed, I still struggled to find where I was supposed to be – a testimony to how terribly megabus has advertised itself. There was no indication from the website or e-ticket that I would have to catch a train first, and I’m sure many passengers like you missed their train. If it wasn’t for you I certainly would have missed it. Thank you!
Always glad to help! Reading comments like yours really made my day.
Thank you so much for this, I am travelling with mega “bus” to York tomorrow on that same allusive 8.15am journey. Living in London I had a rough idea that coaches are going to struggle to stop in that area and was just searching google for the details when your blog popped up, now I know I’m looking for a train! Thanks again, do try to get to York one day, it’s beautiful.
You are most welcome! Too bad we still didn’t have the chance to visit York but we plan to do so one day!
My girlfriend just missed her “train” due to their incompetence. Nowhere on their site does it indicate you have to take a train.
Hi…I’m taking the Megabus to York a week tomorrow – so am I cantching a bus or train? Or both? the ticket says nothing, and the Bing map is useless.
From what I have read (thanks all) it looks like I’m on a trina – is that right?
Yes, it’s a train unless they change it. When I was there, there was a Megabus counter on the upper level near the escalator. Be sure to arrive early, as you are suppose to exchange your printout/ticket for a train ticket.
Bloody hell. Had tickets for the 14.15 ‘bus’ to Harrogate and arrived at the St Pancras coach stop (there is one opposite the Euston Road exit, where all other coaches stop) about twenty-five minutes before departure time. Waited until 14.00. Then 14.05. No bus. Began googling on my phone and found about seven conflicting traveller’s tales – nine minutes remained until departure and my partner and I, carrying two heavy suitcases, had no idea wheteher we were catching a train or a bus… the ‘customer service’ number listed in the Megabus confirmation email (for a UK intercity booking) was ’877-GO2-MEGA.’ Essentially taking a chance based on your tale we ran into the station, up the escalators, down the escalators, half-looking at forums on my phone and half-looking at the people we were punching with our suitcases. Had no idea what platforms we were headed for and, at 14.14, found another blog saying ‘Platforms 1-4.’ So we ran to platforms 1-4, where the train was one minute late meaning it departed just as we jumped onto the last carriage.
So we did catch the TRAIN, thanks to your post, my phone and the service being one minute late. Certainly not thanks to the Megabus booking confirmation which made no mention of their bus actually being a train. I feel for you and the countless others who must have missed their connections.
So if you’re currently running around St Pancras, here’s the deal:
1. Your bus is a train. It leaves from Platforms 1-4 on the second floor of the St Pancras International Terminal.
2. After you get on the train you need to change (to a bus!) at East Midlands Parkway. Once there, you’ll be glad to hear, the buses all wait just outside the (very small) station and are clearly marked with their destinations.
I’m going to write to Megabus about this (linking to this page) and I advise you all to do the same. It’s ridiculous that your bus ticket makes no mention of your bus being a train and that you also need to change. Two great chances for missing your service and ending up stranded (unless the Northern same-day fare of £351 is an option to you).
Kudos to train staff though, who were very informative.
This article has been really helpful- I am off to York tomorrow and I’ve been trying to work out where the coach stop is so now I know to find a train! I was just wondering about the print out I am meant to have. I have printed my reservation details with the number on it but I haven’t got an ‘e-ticket’ or anything-am I meant to ? Thanks a lot!
Hi Emily,
The reservation number is the important detail to have. You will need that to get your train ticket from the Megabus staff. Be sure to keep the number with you since you will probably need that to catch the bus at East Midlands Parkway, which of course I never did have the chance.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for the article and the comments! You just saved me from a sure frenzy at St Pancras tomorrow. I was wondering where a bus could depart from at SPI and my reservation says nothing about a train so I am pretty sure I would have been in for the same ordeal you guys were subjected to…
Wow! So glad I’ve read these comments, I’m due to go to Nelson in Lancs with MegaBUS tomorrow and like many others have been trying to find the Bus stop on the website for days.
Do I take it from these posts that there is no “bus stop” and that I catch a train for the first part of the journey? Is the platform up the second level at St.P international where the Champagne bar is? What confusion, come on Mega bus, get it together and give clear indication where to board, the prices are great, the ticketing easy but getting info. about where to get the train/bus is horrendous.
Thanks to all who have posted.
Thank you globenomads for bringing this up. It saved us from the trouble. York was fascinating. Upon arrival on St. Pancras Station, look for escalator leading to East Midlands Trains gate. At the top of escalator you will see the ticket gate like this: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/dscn1196f.jpg/ . If you take a close look on the bottom left picture, you see a 1.5 meter height board. On the other side of the board you will see the Megabus logo. You can’t see it from the escalator side, so that’s why you’d find it difficult to find the “Megabus” counter. Anyway, the Megabus sign can be seen in this picture: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/dscn1197u.jpg/.
Enjoy York! It’s a great destination for both me and my girl. We spent a night in Ace Hostel, which you have to pay 15 pounds per person for a room which looks like a 4 star hotel.
Kind regards
Thanks Max! Those photos of yours are marvellous, they will be a big help for other travellers taking Megabus to York.