Opening Station Customer Charter

User Manual: Opening Station

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Customer

Charter

Putting customers at the

heart of our business

UK Coach

Customer

Charter

Dear Customer

At National Express, we want you to enjoy your journey

with us and to know that you will receive the same high

standards wherever and whenever you travel. We know

that if you are going to choose National Express we

have to combine exceptional service standards with

great value and the highest levels of safety.

We are totally committed to improving customer service

and our overall standards of care. This Charter has been

designed to let you know what you should expect from

us each and every time you travel. It also aims to

demonstrate our commitment to providing a service

which is constantly improving.

I hope you ﬁnd it useful, and also hope you will continue

to use our services for years to come. We value

your custom.

Tom Stables

Managing Director

We are committed to providing a safe,

reliable and comfortable journey

Your safety is our ﬁ rst priority

We will offer a service you can rely on

We will continue to invest in our coach stations and

develop our facilities

We are committed to making travel easy

We will make planning your journey easy

We will offer you a range of ways to buy your tickets

Our fares will always be competitive and we will aim

to save you more money if you book in advance

Nobody will try harder for our

customers than we do

We will do our best to meet your needs if you have

a disability

Our team will be friendly, helpful and committed to

helping you

We will make your journey as comfortable

as possible

We will listen and make things right

We will help you, particularly when things go wrong

We will listen to your feedback and act upon it

We will make it easy for you to speak with us

Our promise

to you

We are

committed

to providing a

safe, reliable and

comfortable

journey

Your safety is our ﬁ rst

priority

Safety is our number one priority – and it will continue to

be so.

One of the reasons why customers choose to travel with

us is because travelling by coach is so safe. We make

sure, therefore, that our safety standards are never

compromised.

For example, all National Express scheduled vehicles

are now ﬁ tted with breathalyser devices which prevent

the coach starting until the coach driver has passed a

breath test.

All of our seats are ﬁ tted with seat belts which you

should wear throughout the journey. The coach driver

will remind customers to do so, before the journey starts.

We have a 24-hour Support Centre so you can contact

us whenever you need to (on 0845 543 6681), and at

some of our busiest coach stations we employ security

ofﬁ cers to provide you with help and reassurance.

2We will offer a service you can

rely on

We try to provide a punctual and reliable service at all

times. New vehicle tracking technology allows us to

monitor the progress and location of our coaches,

which makes it easier for us to provide accurate

customer information. You can now track your coach in

real-time by visiting nationalexpress.com/coachtracker

and following the instructions. Our aim is for all services

to arrive on time – we will always monitor our

performance closely and make improvements where

punctuality is not meeting our customers’ needs.

To ensure you catch the coach, you should make sure

you get to your departure point at least 10 minutes

before your coach is scheduled to leave.

If you are travelling to an airport you should allow plenty

of time (minimum three hours) between the scheduled

coach arrival and ﬂight departure times. It can take

considerable time to go through airport security and

baggage procedures.

We will always operate our advertised services unless

exceptional circumstances – such as severe weather –

make it unsafe for us to do so. You can track your service

in real-time using nationalexpress.com/coachtracker,

or visit us at nationalexpress.com/service-update for

the latest service information.

We will continue to invest in our

coach stations and develop our

facilities

We are always looking at our facilities to make sure they

offer a high standard of customer service.

This can mean making sure that signs are easy to follow

or that information on departures and arrivals is

accurate. It can mean providing refreshment facilities

and shops; comfortable and clean waiting areas; car

parking and good transport connections.

We can’t offer all of these facilities at every coach

station, but we are always trying to improve. We have

included a guide to the opening hours and facilities at

our main coach stations within this Charter, which we

hope you will ﬁnd useful.

We are

committed

to making

travel easy

We will make planning your

journey easy

We want you to be able to make the best choice about

how and when you travel, so we offer continually

updated timetable and general information on our

website at nationalexpress.com

You can visit any one of our coach stations where a

selection of timetables and general leaﬂets are available,

or call us for advice on 08717 81 81 81*. Our UK

Contact Centre is open 24 hours a day, seven days a

week, so you can get the information and help you

need, whenever you need it.

We will offer you a range of ways

to buy your tickets

Buying a ticket couldn’t be easier – and the choice of

method is yours.

You can buy online, by phone, at coach station ticket

ofﬁces, local travel agents, or from self-service ticket

machines at some of our major coach stations.

To book via our website or to ﬁnd details of your local

outlet go to nationalexpress.com or call us on

08717 81 81 81*. You can also use the web or make a

phone call to ﬁnd out which type of ticket best suits

your needs.

It’s always best to buy your ticket in advance to make

sure you get a seat. You can have your ticket delivered

to you by post, text message (m-Ticket), email (printable

e-Ticket) or you can collect it from any National Express

coach station.

With your ticket, you are always guaranteed a seat.

*Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.

Our fares will always be competitive

and we will aim to save you more

money if you book in advance

We will provide great value for money offering a choice

of fares to suit your needs. We always advise you to

book early to guarantee a seat and ensure you get the

best possible fare.

Sometimes you might need to change your ticket after

you have bought it. Most of the tickets we sell are

amendable or refundable.

We will do our best to make sure the terms and

conditions are clearly highlighted when you are buying,

and wherever possible are also displayed on your ticket

to avoid confusion later on.

You can make changes to your ticket before travel at any

local agent or coach station ticket ofﬁ ce, or by calling

our Contact Centre. You will normally be charged an

administration fee in addition to any upgrade fare.

If you decide not to travel, you can cancel your ticket by

phone or in person at one of our many agents or ticket

ofﬁ ces. Most tickets are refundable, as long as you cancel

them at least 72 hours before your journey. Refunds can

be obtained from wherever you bought the ticket;

through our Contact Centre by calling 08717 81 81 81*;

or by returning your tickets to our Fulﬁ lment team at:

Customer Relations

National Express

PO Box 9854

Birmingham, B16 8XN

An administration charge will

be deducted

from any

refund

due.

An administration charge will

be deducted

*Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.

Nobody will

try harder for

our customers

than we do

We will do our best to meet your

needs if you have a disability

Everyone is welcome to travel with us. If you have a

disability or speciﬁc travel needs, we can help.

Most of our ﬂeet is ﬁtted with wheelchair lifts.

We also have a Disabled Travel Code of Practice which

sets out the service you can expect from us. This is

available at nationalexpress.com/disabledtraveller or

on request from our Assisted Travel team.

The team is available between 8am and 8pm seven

days a week, to discuss your journey and to book

assistance along the way. They can be contacted

directly on 08717 81 81 79*, by email at

DPTH@nationalexpress.com or alternatively via our

coach station ticket ofﬁces or local agents.

To make sure we can fully prepare your journey, we

recommend that customers wishing to travel in their

wheelchair should contact us at least 36 hours in

advance of their journey. This will help us to ensure that

the vehicles and stops on your journey(s) are fully

accessible and that your type of wheelchair is

compatible with our coaches.

For all other assistance we should be contacted at least

24 hours prior to your journey. Our team will always do

their best to help.

Our team will be friendly, helpful

and committed to helping you

We have customer service teams at all major coach

stations. You can easily recognise team members by

their uniform and name badges. They will always be

approachable, knowledgeable and friendly.

If you have a problem at one of our coach stations or

simply need some information, please let a team

member know and they will do their best to help.

*Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.

We will make your journey as

comfortable as possible

Our drivers are responsible for your comfort and safety

throughout your journey. We expect them to be

professional and friendly at all times.

They will load and unload all ‘hold’ luggage. You can

take up to two pieces of luggage, each weighing a

maximum of 20kgs. In addition, you can take one small

piece of hand luggage onto the coach. Additional

luggage will incur extra charges and will only be carried

if there is space. For safety and security reasons, you

should not load or unload your hold luggage unless the

coach driver asks you to.

Once onboard the coach, you can sit wherever you

want – unless the seat is reserved for disabled or less

mobile customers.

Most of our vehicles carry booster seats for children

aged 4 -11 (available free of charge). For younger

children, we recommend you bring a child car seat

which you will be responsible for ﬁtting yourself to the

coach seat. If you are bringing a car seat, please make

sure your child is included on your ticket. Children under

14 must be accompanied on the coach journey by an

adult. If unaccompanied, they may be asked for proof of

age and charged the full adult fare.

The coach driver will make onboard announcements to

provide safety information, keep you informed about

your progress and let you know about any speciﬁc

details of your journey, including any refreshment stops.

We do all we can to keep our coaches clean and

comfortable, and regularly review our maintenance

arrangements.

Most of our vehicles have air conditioning, toilet

facilities and CCTV cameras for your safety, comfort

and security.

Birmingham - Coach Station, Mill Lane, B5 6DD 24 hours 24 hours Y # Y Starbucks/WH Smith/Upper Crust Y Y

Bournemouth - Coach & Rail Station,

Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8DN 0800-1730 0800-1730 Y Y Café Y N

Bradford - Metro Interchange, BD1 1TU 0800-1730** 1000-1600 N Y WH Smith Y* Y

Bristol - Bus & Coach Station, Marlborough Street, BS1 3NU 0800-1800 0800-1800 N Y Point newsagents/Pumpkins Café/Vending machines Y* N

Cambridge - Parkside, CB1 1PN Refer to local

Refer to local N N None N N

opening times

Cardiff - Bus Station, Wood Street, CF10 1EP 0745-1745 0800-1815 N Y Greggs/Coffee1/Burger King N N

Coventry - Pool Meadow Bus Station, Fairfax Street,

Coventry, CV1 5RX 0845-1615 0825-1710 Y Y Various local amenities Y N

Dover - Eurolines Travel Centre, †0900-1730 & ††0900-1730 & N Y Café on site 0700-1500 Y Y

Eastern Docks, Dover, Kent, CT16 1JA 2000-

midnight

1830-

midnight (15 mins)

Gatwick Airport - North Terminal, Arrivals Concourse, RH6 0PJ 0600-2200 0600-2200 Y Y WH Smith/Costa/Boots/M&S Y* Y

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal, Arrivals Concourse, RH6 0NP 0600-2200 0600-2200 N Y WH Smith/Boots/Costa/M&S Y* Y

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal Coach Station

Ticket Desk, Lower Level Forecourt, RH6 0NN 0600-2200 0600-2200 Y Y None Y* N

Heathrow Airport - Central Bus Station

(Terminals 1 & 3), TW6 1DJ 24 hours 24 hours Y Y Caffe Nero/WH Smith Y* Y

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 4, Arrivals Forecourt, TW6 3XA 0600-2210 0600-2210 Y Y WH Smith/Costa Y* Y

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 5, Arrivals Concourse, TW6 2GA 0600-2210 0600-2210 Y Y Krispy Kreme/M&S/Costa/WH Smith Y* Y

Leeds - Coach Station, Dyer Street, LS2 7LA 0630-1930 0700-1930 Y # Y Pumpkin/WH Smith Y* Y

Leicester - St Margarets Bus Station, LE1 3AG 0745-1730 0845-1730 N Y Newsagents/Café N Y

Liverpool - Coach Station, Norton Street, L3 8LR 0615-1830 0845-1830 Y # Y Pumpkin Café Y Y

London - Victoria, Colonnades Walk,

Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9SH 0900-1730 0900-1630 N N Various local amenities N N

London - Golders Green, Bus Station,

Golders Green Road NW11 8DY 0800-2000 •• 0800-1800 N Y Various local amenities N N

London - Liverpool Street 0300-1830 0300-1830 N # Y Various local amenities N Y

London - Stratford 0300-1830 0300-1830 N # Y Westeld Shopping Centre Y* Y

London - Victoria, Victoria Coach Station,

Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TP 24 hours 24 hours Y Y Burger King/Café/Newsagents/Upper Crust N Y

Luton Airport - Arrivals Terminal, LU2 9LU 24 hours 24 hours Y Y M&S/Burger King/Costa/WH Smith Y* Y

Manchester - Central Coach Station, Chorlton Street, M1 3JF 0700-1915 0700-1930 Y # Y WH Smith/Upper Crust Y* Y

Milton Keynes - Milton Keynes Coachway,

Junction 14, M1, MK10 9RU 0830-1800** 0930-1725 Y Y Café Express/ABC Express (Newsagent) Y Y

Newcastle - Coach Station, St James Boulevard, NE1 4EE 0830-1700 1000-1500 N # Y Vending machines N Y

Norwich - Norwich Bus Station, Surrey Street, NR1 3NX 0900-1700** Closed N Y Café N N

Nottingham - Broadmarsh Bus Station, NG1 7LS 0900-1700**** Closed Y # Y Various local amenities # Y Y

Oxford - Gloucester Green Bus Station, Café Nero/Taylors Café/

George Street, OX1 2BU 0900-1700 0900-1700 N N Combibos Café/Arden News N N

Portsmouth - The Hard Interchange, PO1 3PA Y N Café Y* N

Shefﬁeld - Interchange, Pond Street, S1 2BD 0830-1715 1000-1715 Y Y Café/WH Smith Y* Y

Southampton - Coach Station, Harbour Parade, SO15 1BA 0800-1730 0800-1730 Y # Y Ozzy’s coffee cart Y Y

Stansted Airport - Coach Station, CM24 1RW 24 hours 24 hours Y Y WH Smith/Café Alba Y* Y

Wolverhampton - Pipers Row Bus Station, WV1 1LD 0900-1700• Closed N # Y WH Smith/Sainsbury’s N N

Name of station and address

Hours of operation

(National Express team available)

SunMon-Sat

# A small fee will be charged. * Car parking will be chargeable. ** Times may vary. *** Closes 30 minutes earlier on Saturdays. **** Closes 45 minutes earlier on Fridays. †Mon-Thu & Sat. ††Fri & Sun.

• Closes one hour earlier on Saturdays. • Closes two hours earlier on Saturdays.

National Express staffed locations

Birmingham - Coach Station, Mill Lane, B5 6DD 24 hours 24 hours Y # Y Starbucks/WH Smith/Upper Crust Y Y

Bournemouth - Coach & Rail Station,

Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8DN 0800-1730 0800-1730 Y Y Café Y N

Bradford - Metro Interchange, BD1 1TU 0800-1730** 1000-1600 N Y WH Smith Y* Y

Bristol - Bus & Coach Station, Marlborough Street, BS1 3NU 0800-1800 0800-1800 N Y Point newsagents/Pumpkins Café/Vending machines Y* N

Cambridge - Parkside, CB1 1PN Refer to local

Refer to local N N None N N

opening times

Cardiff - Bus Station, Wood Street, CF10 1EP 0745-1745 0800-1815 N Y Greggs/Coffee1/Burger King N N

Coventry - Pool Meadow Bus Station, Fairfax Street,

Coventry, CV1 5RX 0845-1615 0825-1710 Y Y Various local amenities Y N

Dover - Eurolines Travel Centre, †0900-1730 & ††0900-1730 & N Y Café on site 0700-1500 Y Y

Eastern Docks, Dover, Kent, CT16 1JA 2000-

midnight

1830-

midnight (15 mins)

Gatwick Airport - North Terminal, Arrivals Concourse, RH6 0PJ 0600-2200 0600-2200 Y Y WH Smith/Costa/Boots/M&S Y* Y

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal, Arrivals Concourse, RH6 0NP 0600-2200 0600-2200 N Y WH Smith/Boots/Costa/M&S Y* Y

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal Coach Station

Ticket Desk, Lower Level Forecourt, RH6 0NN 0600-2200 0600-2200 Y Y None Y* N

Heathrow Airport - Central Bus Station

(Terminals 1 & 3), TW6 1DJ 24 hours 24 hours Y Y Caffe Nero/WH Smith Y* Y

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 4, Arrivals Forecourt, TW6 3XA 0600-2210 0600-2210 Y Y WH Smith/Costa Y* Y

Heathrow Airport - Terminal 5, Arrivals Concourse, TW6 2GA 0600-2210 0600-2210 Y Y Krispy Kreme/M&S/Costa/WH Smith Y* Y

Leeds - Coach Station, Dyer Street, LS2 7LA 0630-1930 0700-1930 Y # Y Pumpkin/WH Smith Y* Y

Leicester - St Margarets Bus Station, LE1 3AG 0745-1730 0845-1730 N Y Newsagents/Café N Y

Liverpool - Coach Station, Norton Street, L3 8LR 0615-1830 0845-1830 Y # Y Pumpkin Café Y Y

London - Victoria, Colonnades Walk,

Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9SH 0900-1730 0900-1630 N N Various local amenities N N

London - Golders Green, Bus Station,

Golders Green Road NW11 8DY 0800-2000 •• 0800-1800 N Y Various local amenities N N

London - Liverpool Street 0300-1830 0300-1830 N # Y Various local amenities N Y

London - Stratford 0300-1830 0300-1830 N # Y Westeld Shopping Centre Y* Y

London - Victoria, Victoria Coach Station,

Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TP 24 hours 24 hours Y Y Burger King/Café/Newsagents/Upper Crust N Y

Luton Airport - Arrivals Terminal, LU2 9LU 24 hours 24 hours Y Y M&S/Burger King/Costa/WH Smith Y* Y

Manchester - Central Coach Station, Chorlton Street, M1 3JF 0700-1915 0700-1930 Y # Y WH Smith/Upper Crust Y* Y

Milton Keynes - Milton Keynes Coachway,

Junction 14, M1, MK10 9RU 0830-1800** 0930-1725 Y Y Café Express/ABC Express (Newsagent) Y Y

Newcastle - Coach Station, St James Boulevard, NE1 4EE 0830-1700 1000-1500 N # Y Vending machines N Y

Norwich - Norwich Bus Station, Surrey Street, NR1 3NX 0900-1700** Closed N Y Café N N

Nottingham - Broadmarsh Bus Station, NG1 7LS 0900-1700**** Closed Y # Y Various local amenities # Y Y

Oxford - Gloucester Green Bus Station, Café Nero/Taylors Café/

George Street, OX1 2BU 0900-1700 0900-1700 N N Combibos Café/Arden News N N

Portsmouth - The Hard Interchange, PO1 3PA Y N Café Y* N

Shefﬁeld - Interchange, Pond Street, S1 2BD 0830-1715 1000-1715 Y Y Café/WH Smith Y* Y

Southampton - Coach Station, Harbour Parade, SO15 1BA 0800-1730 0800-1730 Y # Y Ozzy’s coffee cart Y Y

Stansted Airport - Coach Station, CM24 1RW 24 hours 24 hours Y Y WH Smith/Café Alba Y* Y

Wolverhampton - Pipers Row Bus Station, WV1 1LD 0900-1700• Closed N # Y WH Smith/Sainsbury’s N N

Hours of operation

(National Express team available)

Self

service

ticket

machines

Sun Toilets Shops and or amenities

Short

stay car

parking

available

Cash

point

• Closes one hour earlier on Saturdays. • Closes two hours earlier on Saturdays.

Information correct at time of going to print (April 2013).

We will listen

and make

things right

We will help you, particularly when

things go wrong

Occasionally things go wrong – no matter how hard we

try. When they do, we will do our utmost to put things

right there and then. We will make it as easy as we can

for you to let us know, and will seek to solve any problems

as quickly and fairly as possible. Our customer-facing

teams have the authority to make decisions and resolve

your issues as soon as you contact them.

Delays or non-arrival of coach

We cannot guarantee our services will always run on

time, but we will ensure you get to your ﬁnal destination,

as speciﬁed on your National Express ticket. We will

endeavour to keep you informed via nationalexpress.

com/service-update, and our 24-hour Service Support

team can always be contacted on 0845 543 6681.

If a coach is unable to serve a booked stop, we will do

our best to make alternative arrangements; and in the

event of a major service disruption that might result in

signiﬁcant delays to your journey, we will keep you

informed and provide refreshments, where we can.

Lost property

Please make sure your hold luggage is identiﬁable, to

avoid mix-ups, and that it carries a contact number for

you. If you do leave things on the coach, we will do our

best to re-unite you with your property, but you must

get in touch with us as soon as you discover your loss

and give us your journey details.

Our £1 travel insurance, available when you buy your

ticket online or through our Contact Centre, offers cover

for personal property, personal accident and public

liability. Policy details are available at

nationalexpress.com/insurance

Making it right

If you are not happy with any aspect of your journey, you

should tell the Coach Driver or a member of our Coach

Station team as soon as possible and we will do our best

to ﬁx the problem. Where we are clearly at fault we will

seek to make it right, and if you have been sold an incorrect

ticket, we will refund twice the difference in ticket price.

You will just need to contact our Customer Service team

as detailed in section 12 with your ticket information.

We will listen to your feedback

and act upon it

We welcome all feedback – good and bad. Once we

know what you think, we will act to make

improvements.

Negative comments go directly to our Customer

Standards team, whose job is to improve your

experience at every point in the journey. They make sure

we focus on improving the things you say matter most.

Positive feedback also gets passed on and individuals

are recognised for excellent service. We always aim to

exceed your expectations, so when we do, we are

always happy to hear about it!

You can tell us what you think in a number of ways –

you can text us your comments (on 07786 200 496*)

or by sending in a freepost leaﬂ et available from any of

our staffed coach stations.

*Messages are charged at your standard network rate.

Roaming charges may apply.

We will make it easy for you to

speak with us

We want to make it easy for you to contact us. This can

best be done face-to-face at one of our coach stations

or by calling one of our Customer Service Advisors in

our Contact Centre.

We also respond to comments received via Facebook

and Twitter (@nationalexpress or @nxcare). We will aim

to resolve your query or concern immediately. If we

need to investigate further, we will respond within two

weeks. We promise to genuinely and honestly

investigate all complaints received and aim to improve

our service as a result.

Our Customer Service team can be contacted at:

Customer Relations

National Express

PO Box 9854

Birmingham

B16 8XN

Telephone: 08717 81 81 81*

Fax: 0121 454 8052

Web: nationalexpress.com/contactus

*Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras.

Bus Users UK

We will do our utmost to resolve any issues to your

satisfaction and constantly evaluate the handling of

complaints to ensure we are meeting high standards.

However, if you do not feel that we have dealt with the

matter to your satisfaction, you can contact Bus Users

UK, at the following address, and they will independently

review your case.

Bus Users UK

PO Box 119

Shepperton

TW17 8UX

Email: enquiries@bususers.org

Web: www.bususers.org

Bus Users UK

This Charter sets out our commitment to you and

to raising our standards. It does not create any new

legal relationship as a result of what we say we will

do, nor does it adversely affect your legal rights.

These are set out in our National Express General

Conditions of Carriage available online at

nationalexpress.com/conditions

Please note: booking fees may vary depending on booking

method. All tickets are issued and all customers carried subject to

National Express’ General Conditions of Carriage, available online

at nationalexpress.com/conditions

Information correct at time of going to print (June 2013)

but could be subject to change.

We are pleased to comply with all the relevant

provisions of Passenger Rights 2013. To ﬁ nd out about

your rights as a passenger you can visit

www.ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/en

About National

Express UK

Coach

National Express UK Coach is the UK’s largest

national coach network, offering great value and

accessible travel to all.

We operate high frequency services linking nearly 1,000

destinations across the country, including major cities

and airports – nearly 21 million customer journeys are

made with us every year.

We also run special services to events and festivals

around the UK and we are the Ofﬁcial Coach Supplier

to Wembley Stadium. Around 3,500 people work for the

UK Coach business and we operate in excess of

500 coaches.

Coach travel is the most environmentally friendly form

of mass transit. Our coaches emit up to ﬁve times less

CO2 per passenger, per kilometre than an average car.

We will continue to assess the environmental impact of

our operations. To reﬂect our commitment to look after

our environment, all National Express owned stations

will also have a target to reduce energy consumption by

10% against prior year.

In addition, to support our communities we will actively

work with local charities. Each of our key stations will

be given the opportunity to develop relationships and

promote their charity of choice.

Route map

Just some of almost 1000 UK towns, cities

and airports we serve

Issued by National Express,

National Express House,

Birmingham Coach Station,

Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6DD

Version 3.0 06/13

Opening Station Customer Charter

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