Tag Archives: bus

Don’t fancy flying all the way to Australia? Why not go by bus?

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When I first read about Oz-bus.com, I thought that April fools day had come early. A long distance bus service running all the way from London to Sydney – someone had to be taking the xxxx!

But it turns out that the service is real – and that they will take you by bus as far as the prevailing conditions will allow. This should essentially mean an overland journey to Iran, a possible flight across the border into Pakistan and then again to get through Burma, and a final flight between Bali in Indonesia and Darwin in Australia – but the rest of the journey is exactly as it says on the tin, by comfortable long distance coach, apparently limited to 35 passengers per trip, so I would presume a little bit more roomy than your average scoot through London on a crowded #73 Boris-baiting bendy bus!

With a one-way journey starting at £4399, you are going to spend a lot more than a business class flight, but we think this journey is going to be more about what you see on the way than what you do when you get there, so for a three month trip, this works out at a very reasonable £50 per day, including breakfast and basic accommodation.

I’ll have to admit to being a bit ‘bussist’ myself. If I’m going to do long distance surface transport, I’d rather go by rail or sea – but given a choice between a professional bus driver and the company of a 35 strong group, or going by car, I’d still take the bus any day. Oz-bus also offer an eastbound journey to New York – via China and Alaska, and journeys through Africa, so it really does look like they are carrying on where Eurolines and Greyhound leave off. It will be interesting to see if this kind of travel ‘takes off’ (very lame pun I know) as people look for low-carbon alternatives to flying, and it will certainly be an indicator of the ability for different countries to stimulate cross-border co-operation. Iran, Pakistan and Burma might be problem areas for now, but how long before the Facebook generation catches up and reaches parts Heineken can’t reach! Twitter has certainly lead the way in Iran at least, so let’s see!

Can’t afford a private jet? How about a boardroom in a bus?

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A private jet might be the ultimate in mobile boardrooms, but with the current state of the economy, it isn’t really an option for most companies. So how about a trip aboard this canny invention from serial entrepreneur Tom Ball, who I’ve known for over 10 years now, due to us both working in the USA as students on the Southwestern Programme.

The “All A Board Room” bus costs £1200 per day – maybe not so cheap on first impressions, but as their presentation shows, it is only when you look at the proposition from a different angle that the benefits really start to add up. For starters, consider the benefits of combining meeting and travel costs together as one unit. Not a minute gets waisted! Then consider the extra element of fun and intrigue. All very good you might say, even very rock and roll, but how can that fit our budget?

Well, here’s another thought. I’ve always noticed that I do my best thinking when I’m on the train, or when I’m flying. Considering how much more visual stimuli there are out there when you are on the move, this is hardly surprising. Do you remember all those games you used to play in the car when going on long journeys. I spy, looking out for unusual brands of car, etc. There are numerous games which might really help the creative juices flow if you are having a meeting of minds to get an idea off the ground. If it is just a dull boredroom you need for the AGM, then maybe the bus isn’t for you, but if your meeting needs any creative input at all, then this bus must be priceless!

A local rant about transport integration

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I’ve just thrown up a post on my personal blog about a new development around Coventry Railway station, which really should include a proper multi-modal interchange between bus, taxi and rail. Sadly, Coventry Airport does not look like it will offer any passenger flights in the near future, but any scheme which improves bus access to Coventry Station will also mean better access to Birmingham Airport, which is just 10 minutes by train from Coventry.

Thinking around Europe, and particularly to countries like Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany, it is easy to praise their public transport systems for being efficient and integrated. Such a dream might not seem so easy with so many different bus and train operators plying for trade, but what has this current government achieved in its 12 years of promising to bring more integrated transport? Putting my Conservative, profit driven thinking cap on, surely any opportunity to combine transport modes, increase property values and open up new development land should be grabbed before it is too late.

One such scheme is happening right here in Coventry, under the brand name of ‘Friar Gate’. The design seems generally quite reasonable, but couldn’t it be so much more exciting if they rebranded it as “Cov Central”, and made it totally accessible from any part of the city by bike, bus, car or train? Such a scheme might be a little bit more bold than the current one, but it would at least provide a chance to connect everything together, something which could be such a symbolic gesture in this City of Peace and Reconciliation.

And the bonus? Good bye Pool Meadow – a dingy, ugly and badly designed bus station which merits no Architectural distinction whatsoever. It might inconvenience the Gala bingo players a little, but it would bring a much greater prize to the rest of the city.

I hope my references here can be of interest to people who have no connection with the city of Coventry, although you are probably quite small in number! Coventry started the whole twinning junket, and we’re now linked with some 23 cities around the world. You can also fly over Coventry in an instant using Google maps – our city centre really is quite compact – but still big enough for the distance between bus and train stations to be a major disabling factor in encouraging more people to use public transport.