EasyBus
Encyclopedia
Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou , born 14 February 1967) is a British entrepreneur of Greek Cypriot origin, currently a resident of Monaco. He is the scion of a wealthy, shipowning family, but is best known for setting up easyJet, a highly successful and profitable low-cost airline, with start-up funds...
in 2003, and is part of the EasyGroup
EasyGroup
EasyGroup , founded in 1998, is a conglomerate & the holding company controlling the "easy" ventures; it is privately owned by Stelios Haji-Ioannou....
. It initially offered intercity services in addition to airport services.
History
EasyGroup first announced its intention to operate no frills express services in 2003, initially in competition with National Express along the London - BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
corridor. Operations began in August 2004, with a service between London and Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
introduced. To keep costs down EasyBus originally used Hendon Central station
Hendon Central tube station
Hendon Central tube station is a London Underground station in North West London on the A41.The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line, between Colindale and Brent Cross stations, and is on the boundary between Travelcard Zone 3 and Zone 4. Its postcode is NW4 2TE...
in north London as its terminal point, with a journey time of 65 minutes and a single fare of £5. The threat of competition forced National Express to offer its own discounted fares to and from London, culminating in the introduction of a £1 single fare between Milton Keynes and London which Stelios claimed was intended to make his service non-profitable and force its withdrawal.
Shortly after this EasyBus launched a second route to Luton Airport in competition with National Express' Jetlink subsidiary. In Spring 2005 EasyBus changed its London terminus from Hendon to a more central location in Baker Street
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid the street out in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B...
. The Milton Keynes service was withdrawn in February 2006, with services to Luton increased in frequency and the operational contract transferred to Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
.
The dedicated service to Luton was withdrawn in May 2007, with services combined with the existing Green Line
Green Line
- Geographic demarcations :* Green Line, a name for the Gothic Line or "Linea Gotica", a German defensive line in Italy during World War II, renamed the "Green Line" in June 1944...
service 757
Green Line route 757
Green Line route 757 is a limited-stop express coach service, currently operated by Arriva Shires & Essex as part of the large Green Line Coaches network. It operates between Luton and London. Additionally, the route 755 variation also serves some Luton housing estates...
. A new service to Stansted Airport began operation at the same time. In July 2008 further expansion was announced with the launch of a half-hourly service between Gatwick Airport and Fulham Broadway station
Fulham Broadway tube station
Fulham Broadway is a London Underground station on the branch of the District Line. It is between and stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is located on Fulham Broadway . It is notable as the nearest station to Stamford Bridge stadium, the home of Chelsea Football Club...
.
Service description
EasyBus is a no frillsNo frills
No-frills or no frills is a term used to describe any service or product for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The use of the term "frills" refers to a style of fabric decoration...
airport express minibus operator, using 19-seat Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
or Optare
Optare
Optare plc is a bus manufacturer and importer based in Leeds and Blackburn, UK. The company operates from three main business units, Bus Manufacturing, Coach Sales and Unitec....
air-conditioned luxury mini-coaches on services from central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to various airports, including Gatwick and Stansted. Tickets are predominantly sold over the internet, although EasyBus has sales desks in all its airports, though ticket prices are usually higher if booked on the day of travel. Passengers joining in London can purchase tickets direct from the driver. EasyBus baggage policy allows for one medium sized bag, plus 'hand-baggage', though an extra seat has to be purchased for larger items.
Current services
EasyBus operate a number of services.| Route number | From | To | Operator | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB2 | Stansted Airport | London Victoria | Excel Coaches | Operated using EasyBus minibuses. |
| EB4 | Gatwick Airport | Earl's Court/West Brompton West Brompton West Brompton is an area of South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.-History:The name refers to the older locality of Brompton to the east, although the areas of South Kensington and Earl's Court separate West Brompton from its namesake... |
New Enterprise Coaches New Enterprise Coaches New Enterprise Coaches is an English bus and coach company, based in Tonbridge, Kent. It is an arm of Arriva Southern Counties Ltd, itself a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn of Germany.-History:... |
Operated using EasyBus minibuses. |
| 757 | Luton Airport | London Victoria | Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester... |
Jointly operated with the Green Line Green Line Coaches Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s... 757 service Green Line route 757 Green Line route 757 is a limited-stop express coach service, currently operated by Arriva Shires & Essex as part of the large Green Line Coaches network. It operates between Luton and London. Additionally, the route 755 variation also serves some Luton housing estates... . Some coaches are painted in EasyBus orange; most remain in Green Line livery. |
July 2010 accident
On July 28, 2010 an EasyBus Optare SorocoOptare Soroco
The Optare Soroco is a mini-coach body built for Mercedes-Benz chassis. It was recently overhauled to form the Soroco+ but this brand name seems to be abandoned. It featured a complete restyle of the front and rear sections as well as a restyled interior to give a luxury coach feel.-External links:*...
minibus overturned on the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
near the junction with the M23
M23 motorway
The M23 motorway is a motorway in England. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts at junction 7 on what is effectively a spur north from...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. A black car had lost control and had collided with the mininbus, while it was carrying four passengers on a service from Gatwick Airport to London. One person became trapped in the vehicle and was cut free by fire crews.
Four people were injured in the accident, including three passengers and the driver of the car. One woman was taken to St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital
Founded in 1733, St George’s Hospital is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It shares its main hospital site in Tooting, England with the St George's, University of London which trains NHS staff and carries out advanced medical research....
in Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
with serious leg injuries. The other three were treated for less severe injuries at East Surrey Hospital, Redhill
Redhill
Redhill can refer to:* Redhill, South Australia, Australia* Redhill, Nottinghamshire, England* Redhill, Shropshire, England* Redhill, Somerset, England* Redhill, Surrey, England**Redhill railway station**Redhill Aerodrome* Redhill, Singapore, Singapore...
. The clockwise carriageway of the road between junctions 6 and 8 was closed for six hours following the crash, as was the slip road to the M23.
See also
- MegabusMegabus (United Kingdom)Megabus is a UK coach service operated by Stagecoach Group. It started in 2003 and as of February 2010 operated 19 UK coach routes serving 41 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. Some services link with Megatrain services which are also operated by Stagecoach...
- National ExpressNational ExpressNational Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
- Stagecoach ExpressStagecoach ExpressStagecoach Express is the brand name of a range of express coach services offered in the UK by Stagecoach, one of the UK's largest bus and rail operators. Stagecoach Express primarily operates services within or between areas where Stagecoach operates the local bus services...
- List of bus companies in the United Kingdom