National Express Coach trips

Very reliable and modern fleet of coaches.
Staff have been unfailingly polite and helpful in my experience too

I rode LHR to Brighton and Oxford to LHR. Very nice, comfortable, and timely. The only thing I will add is that it was a good 15 min walk from Terminal 3 to the bus bay. Well signed, though. Knowing the time frame helped me plan my arrival time for my departure flight.

Not seen anything about National Express coach drivers striking. Most, if not all, of their services are operated by third party local firms painted in National Express livery
National Express also provide local bus services in areas such as in the West Midlands and this is probably where you have heard about industrial action

National Express also provide local bus services in areas such as in
the West Midlands and this is probably where you have heard about
industrial action.

You're right; that's what I saw. Thanks for the clarification.

As mentioned, National Express are the main local bus operator in Birmingham through TWM, Travel West Midlands, one of their subsidiaries. I don't know of any TWM strikes pending but I don't normally follow buses.

Their coach arm, National Express, is well regarded, the coaches are kept to a high standard and easily recognised, and are generally operated by local companies who subscribe to TX standards. A franchise, sort of like McDonalds is in fast food burgers. Like them or not they have high standards.

I have never heard of a national strike against National Express.

Our experiences on National Express coaches have been excellent.
We have traveled from Heathrow to London, Heathrow to Bath, Heathrow to Oxford.
The coaches are air conditioned, have comfy seating--more comfortable than on most planes--and WiFi on board.
The coaches are brand new and very clean.
I was more comfortable on the National Express coaches than I was on my flight to England.
More comfortable than I was on the train from York to London.
More comfortable than I was on the tube around London.
The driver will put your larger bags under the coach in the cargo hold. Small bags and carry-ons go onboard with you.
Coach tickets do not have to be bought in advance. You can just walk up to the ticket window in any coach station and buy a ticket to somewhere. This is good for people who travel "spontaneously" and decide where they will go next at the last minute.

I would encourage you NOT to compare this type of travel in England to Greyhound in the USA, which is AWFUL.
The two are not similar in any way, except they are both large people-carrying vehicles.

“I would encourage you NOT to compare this type of travel in England to Greyhound in the USA, which is AWFUL. The two are not similar in any way, except they are both large people-carrying vehicles.”

Oh yes, yes, yes! Completely different experience!

Digbeth might not be the most glamorous coach station in the world but remember being in the Greyhound one in St Louis and told to not dare leave the building

Glad to read all the positive experiences about National Express.

I am possibly going to take National Express from London to Southampton.

Let me mention something here about the trains.

If yours is canceled due to a strike you will get a full refund. If your train is delayed over an hour, you will get a full refund. If your train is delayed between 30 and 59 minutes, you will get 50% refunded

It doesn't matter if the ticket is refundable or not.

By UK, any train strikes have to be announced at least 14 days in advance.

I had a few delays in the past year and because I bought directly from the train company I received an email later in the day asking if I wanted the refund. I clicked yes and it was automatically done. Once, I received an email apologizing for the delay and told the refund had been processed. I didn't have to do anything.

Thanks for all the reassurances and information. This discussion confirmed what I saw on several YouTube trip report videos: National Express is a good way to travel, unlike the generally dire situation of inter-city bus trips in the US. I may do a couple of day trips by coach from my "base" cities during my trip.

I know that typically I can buy walk-up coach tickets. The reason I bought these tickets in advance, is to use in case of a rail strike on my day/route of travel. I'm sure that if a rail strike is announced, coach tickets for those routes/times will sell fast. I don't want to have to keep a constant eye on UK news and risk not being able to book a coach trip in lieu of a cancelled rail journey because the coaches have sold out. I can easily go online and cancel any coach ticket I don't need.

Thanks for the information about rail ticket refunds when a journey is cancelled by a strike. I thought that's the case, but it's good to know for sure. So far I've bought one of my four rail journey tickets, directly at the LNER website, and I have the LNER app on my phone.

I think that I may take the coach from Birmingham to London, and not bother to book a train ticket. The coach will drop me in London at Marble Arch, within walking distance from my hotel. The direct trains from Birmingham New Street go to Euston Station. From there to my hotel is a Tube journey with one line change and multiple sets of stairs [per the TfL journey planner]. My luggage will be a small rolling suitcase + a small bag linked on top of it, plus a shoulder bag. It's manageable, but I'd prefer not to lug it up stairs etc., when instead I could just stroll down the street with it from the coach stop.

Hope you realise that Birmingham Coach Station is about a mile outside the city centre, down a hill, in Digbeth
National Express use this but there is another firm Megabus which leaves from a stop in the city centre, near New Street Station

Thanks for the info. I'll keep that in mind!

And the coach takes about twice the time as the train

Yes, I know. The direct train to Euston is posted at 1 hour 19 minutes in duration. The coach trip I've booked states a 2 hour 45 minute duration. However, walking down the road to my hotel from the Marble Arch coach stop, will save time and effort as compared to the journey from Euston station.

I'm fine with sitting in a coach for an extra hour if it means that when I arrive in London I don't have to scramble around in jammed underground stations with my luggage, including changing Tube lines and navigating 3 sets of stairs [this is per the TfL journey planner]. Of course, my personal splurge as to transport in London, is to take a taxi from a train station to my hotel when I have luggage and it's too far to walk, so there's that option too. :-)

I mentioned in my original post that I bought my National Express Senior Coachcard online. The card costs £12.50, plus a £2.50 postage fee. The NE website says the postage is the same for UK addresses and those in other countries, and that it takes two weeks for the cards to arrive in the mail.

I was skeptical of the two-week delivery claim. It wasn't a big deal, because my online purchase confirmation included my card number and I could immediately use it to book tickets for next May.

I'm happy to report a pleasant surprise. I received my Coachcard in the mail on 17 February. My purchase date was 2 February. Fifteen days from online purchase to card in hand at home in Denver, is close enough to "two weeks" for this situation. BTW it's not a photocard, in case anyone wondered. Well played, National Express.

Thanks again to everyone who reported on the National Express passenger experience. It's so helpful!

Living in the UK I got mine 2 days after I applied, which was much faster than I got my (mailed) Senior Railcard. I, too, was surprised by the alacrity of the response, and assumed it was an isolated occurrence.