Why it’s always cheaper to get the Megabus

If you're fed up with paying for expensive travel tickets, why not cut costs and get the bus? The Megabus!

At university I regularly got the Megabus as a cheap way to travel up and down the country and last weekend I decided to give it another go. I saved myself more than £100 in the process.

When I told my friends I was planning on spending nine hours on a bus from London to Glasgow I got some strange looks back, but it wasn’t too bad and I’d definitely get it again.

It’s not just the UK either, you can now travel to Boulogne, Paris, Amsterdam or Brussels with the trusty Megabus for a fraction of what’d you pay on any other mode of transport.

There is one important catch – it also takes around twice as long.

My Megabus experience

The first thing abut the Megabus is it's not actually a bus, but a coach. Mine was a double decker so I had a pretty good view (when there was one to see) and there were power plugs by each seat which saved me from a dead phone battery.

It’s a bit of a scramble getting on at Victoria; because seats aren’t numbered you have to get on somewhere near the front to get a decent spot. But this wasn’t that much different to the bun fight which occurs on Ryanair flights, although with the bus you won’t have to fork out extra for luggage.

There’s isn't that much leg room so if you are tall then aim for an aisle seat, and make sure you get off and stretch your legs whenever the bus stops.

Long journeys get pretty packed so be prepared to have to sit next to someone else. I was fortunate enough to have pretty normal-looking people next to me and avoided any unwanted conversations or annoying travelling habits. That won't always be the case though, so ear plugs could be useful.

Hot food is not allowed (a rule some passengers didn’t stick to) so on the whole this should reduce any strong food smells. Many other seasoned travellers pulled out blankets and travel pillows as soon as we pulled off which made nine hours a lot more bearable.

Overall it's not luxury travelling, but for the price you pay it's a pretty decent service.

How the price matches up

There are hundreds of ways to save money on travel. Booking in advance is the most obvious, while using discount cards, such as a Network Rail card if travelling by train, or buying Group Save tickets are also worth considering. But sometimes it’s impossible to plan for travel and this is where many people get caught out.

[SPOTLIGHT]I decided to look at how much it would cost to do my journey again if booking last minute for this weekend.

The Megabus is £49. That's not as cheap as the £22 journey I booked, but still good when you compare it to other costs. The National Express coach is a fraction more expensive and takes slightly longer, but overall there is little difference between the two in this instance.

The train costs £126.70, while flying would set you back £144.98 and that’s not including the price of getting to Luton airport.

The train takes around four and a half hours, so half the time of the bus, while flying can be done in a speedy hour. The bus is a clear winner on price, but not time.

Driving is another option and if you’re travelling with friends, or carpooling, you can split the petrol money so the journey costs become cheaper. But this only really works if you have your own car, as hiring can be a lot more expensive, and people to share the journey with you as it would cost around £100 in petrol to do this same journey.

Last minute travel prices

* Friday 12th April – Sunday 14th April

Booking in advance

Train prices and journeys are released three months prior to the date of travel and this is when they’re cheapest. So to see if Megabus was still the cheapest mode of transport I compared it again with getting the train, National Express or flying when booking in advance.

It was £19 cheaper than National Express, £86 cheaper than the train and £91.98 cheaper than flying – so still a much cheaper option.

London to Glasgow booked in advance

*Friday 28th June – Sunday 30th June

Travelling further afield

It’s not just the UK either, you can now go to several cities in Europe on the bus – again for the fraction of the price you’d pay going any other way.

Booking in advance to travel to Paris on the Megabus is £40, which is £22 cheaper than the National Express coach (which takes practically the same time) and almost £60 cheaper than flying.

London to Paris

*Friday 24th May – Sunday 26th May

Is it worth it?

The Megabus will save you money, no matter when you book it. However it’ll also take much longer than most other forms of transport and it is pretty budget. There isn’t a drinks trolley, you will be pretty cramped and there’s only one toilet for the whole bus.

But although it’s not as comfortable as the train, or flying, it’s not awful.  There are lots of horror stories around about getting these long-distance busses but I’ve also had my fair share of horrendous train journeys.

My personal experience of the bus was pretty good and I think if you’re short on cash and don’t want to have to fork out hundreds on travel and have enough time to spare, the Megabus is a winner.

More on transport:

The six biggest train rip-offs!

How to claim a refund on your train tickets

First Capital Connect voted worst UK train company

Cut the cost of your train fare

How to cut the cost of rail and coach travel

Train companies ripping off motorists

Win a new iPad!