Home   News   Article

Bus operator National Express announces full suspension of services from midnight on Sunday due to coronavirus crisis


By Ian Duncan

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!
A National Express coach.
A National Express coach.

National Express will fully suspend its national network of scheduled coach services with effect from midnight on Sunday due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Passengers who had travel booked can choose to hold the ticket and amend for future travel within the next 12 months, free of charge. If chososing this option customers do not need to make contact until they wish to rebook.

For passengers who do not want this option, a full refund will be issued for cancelled services in line with terms and conditions.

Chris Hardy, managing director of National Express UK Coach, said: “We kept a limited coach network running to be able to help those individuals with essential travel needs but it is no longer viable to continue to do this.

“Passenger numbers continue to fall as the public rightly follow government advice to avoid non-essential travel. The decision to temporarily suspend all services is the right one based on the current unprecedented circumstances and I hope our passengers understand this.

“It is very clear that the critical thing we must do to protect our NHS and save lives is to stay at home. All journeys before Monday, April 6, will be completed and we will ensure customers are not stranded, but until further notice we will not be running any services.”

Mr Hardy said drivers, customer service teams, the customer contact centre and the wider National Express team had been working incredibly hard to keep services running safely and he thank them for their efforts.

He added: "We are speaking to them about what this means and will continue to do all we can to support everyone who works in our business at this challenging time.

“We know this is a worrying time. We take the welfare of our customers and employees extremely seriously and will continue to take guidance from the government to ensure we do everything we sensibly can to keep them safe.

“Regular updates will be provided through our website, social media channels and email alerts. When the time is right, we look forward to resuming services and welcoming customers back on board.”

For more coronavirus news.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More