How can I buy a ticket for a coach trip?
Are you looking for more info about buying and booking your coach ticket? Would you like to know if children can travel alone, how expensive a children’s ticket will be, or if there is a discount for seniors or people with disabilities?
CheckMyBus tells you how to book your ticket, how to pay for it and how to proceed in case of cancellation or modification.
Write to us! – We’re at your service.
How do I book a coach ticket?
The long-distance bus market is expanding unprecedentedly throughout Italy. Thanks to competitive prices and the continuous growth in the offer of available rides, more and more travellers choose the coach to get around. CheckMyBus is the search engine, which helps you find the most convenient and suitable ride. All according to your needs, by purchasing the ticket conveniently online.
Online booking
Booking a ticket online is probably the easiest option. First, you select your trip with the help of the CheckMyBus search function. Then, you can click on “View Deal” to go to the respective bus company’s website, where you can complete the booking process. Moreover, most bus companies will send you your ticket as an e-ticket via e-mail. You can then print it at home or simply use your smartphone screen to show it to the bus driver. Some companies also allow you to pick your printed ticket up in person.
Some companies, such as National Express, offer special deals – so-called funfares. These are only available if you book online and can save you a lot of money. An added benefit of booking online is that there’s no way you can lose your ticket! The bus company sends you the confirmation once you book, and most accept e-tickets. Then, all you have to do is show your ticket on your phone to boad. Sorted!
When it comes to payment methods, then credit and debit cards are the most common option since most bus companies accept these.
Buying the Ticket at the Bus Stop:
Some companies allow you to purchase your ticket directly at the bus stop. For example, on larger bus terminals, such as in London, you will find specific selling points of companies. While this allows for spontaneous journeys, an extra fee might apply and the ticket could be more expensive than an online fare. Consequently, you may also miss out on deals, like funfares, which are only available online. What you should also keep in mind is that the bus of your choice might already be fully booked. Also pay attention to the fact that not every bus company sells tickets at bus stops: The low-cost provider megabus, for instance, only offers online tickets.
How Can I Pay for my Coach Ticket?
Paying for your coach ticket is basically as easy as shopping on amazon. The majority of bus providers accept credit card, the most common payment method. In addition to that and in order to give customers a greater variety of options, larger companies such as National Express, FlixBus and Terravision also accept PayPal.
How can I Cancel or Change a Booking?
When it comes to cancelling a trip or changing a booking, it is important that you know which kind of ticket you have purchased. The conditions for changing a reservation or cancelling a ticket differ from company to company. Here’s a detailed overview over the different policies, which helps you make the right choice: If you are not sure if you can actually use your ticket or whether you will take the bus at a specific time, then we suggest selecting a refundable option. Some bus companies, such as megabus, only offer non-refundable tickets. However, you can change your reservation for a small arrangement fee. In conclusion, the table below gives you more information on the specific cancellation policies of major bus providers.
Here are the cancellation policies of the most renowned bus companies:
- Passengers must cancel within 72 hours before departure.
- Not every ticket type is refundable.
- Changing dates requires £5. Plus, passengers must pay a price difference based on the current price.
- Original ticket must be presented before boarding the coach with amendment reference quoted.
- Flexible fare add-on entitles to a full refund 24 hours before departure.
- For cancellation or amendment, passengers can resort to National Express 24/7 Customer Contact Centre online.
- Please have your ticket number at hand when making any changes or asking for a cancellation.
- In case of a flight delay, a later departure may be provided. Amendments of any kind are charged £5 plus ticket price difference.
- Changes must be made 24 hours prior to departure.
- Changes can conveniently be made online.
- Procedure fee is £1. Ticket difference based on current price.
- Refund not available.
- Modification of travelling date can be made at least 24 hours prior to departure.
- Terravision tickets are non-refundable.
- For further info, passengers can contact Terravision via e-mail
What Happens if I Lose My Bus Ticket?
If you lose your coach ticket, then unfortunately you need to book a new one. If you have only lost the printed version, then you can check your e-mails for the original ticket in order to print it out again. Should you lose your ticket on the way to the bus stop, then you can ask the bus driver or at a service point whether an electronic version of your ticket is ok for you to board or whether they can print out your actual ticket for you. Should you book a bus trip and you did not receive an e-mail, you should check your spam folder before contacting the bus company.
How Can I Save More Money with Discounts?
In order to compete with each other, the various coach companies offer different forms of discount. It’s always worth checking them out in order to find out, which bus provider really offers the best overall deal. Finally, in the table below you can see, which bus company provides discount for which customer groups and how to save money with a few easy tricks. For more information about which coach companies offer discounts, check our bus deals and discounts page.
National Express:
- Baby: 0-3 years old, free. Adult accompaniment is required
- Child fares: 3-16 years old. Proof of age is required
- Funfares: lowest priced tickets. Online only
- Discounts for students who are members of national union of students (NUS or NUS extra): 25% off the standard ticket price
- Young Person’s Coachcard (16 to 26 or full time student): 1/3 off the standard ticket price
- Disabled Persons Coachcard: 1/3 off the standard ticket price
- Senior Coachcard (over 60): 1/3 off the standard ticket price
- Family Coachcard: Free bus travel for children, but adults and children must travel together.
- Scottish Entitlement Card holder: free coach trip within Scotland
- E-voucher
megabus:
- Baby: 0-3 years old ride for free when with an Adult.
- £1 trip offered frequently through online booking
- Discounts for students who are members of national union of students (NUS or NUS extra)
- Scottish Entitlement Card holder: free coach trip within Scotland
Terravision:
- Cheap deals are frequently offered for online booking
- No booking fee
- E-voucher (6 months valid)
We remind you that CheckMyBus is a search engine that helps you find the most suitable coach for your trip, but that does not provide the transport service directly. For any questions regarding your ticket, for changes or cancellations, we always recommend that you contact the Customer Service of the specific operator.
409 Comments
Fiona Buchanan
I booked a ticket from Inverness bus station to Glasgow on my smartphone & paid with my card for city link at 15.20 & can’t find my confirmation of booking with my ticket
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Fiona,
Thank you for your message. Please note that CheckMyBus is an intercity bus price comparison portal and doesn’t sell tickets. When you click “view deal” on a bus route in our system, you are then redirected to the company’s web-page to make the booking and payment. To receive your confirmation for your ticket, you must contact the company you booked your trip with directly.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
GAIL MCFERRAN
I booked ticket to london from Birmingham 4.99 I thought I had booked a return ticket for 4.70 ..paid 11.55 euros..then on printing ticket it was for one way ..this is totally unacceptable..false advertising.!!!
CheckMyBus-Support
Hi Gail,
Thank you for your feedback. For which times and dates did you plan to travel? When entering in both dates, you should be shown two separate results for your outbound and return trip, which you can book independently (if they’re from two different companies) or together if they’re from the same company.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
GAIL MCFERRAN
Leaving the 29th november .5.50 from Birmingham fiveways to london Victoria..the price was 4.99 then 4.70 returning on 2nd December…I have now confirmed with national Express that it is a one way ticket and have purchased a return with them.direct..how can you charge 12.55 when advertising at 4.99..I’m so angry at this
GAIL MCFERRAN
I bought ticket for 29th November 2019 and what I thought for return on 2nd December 2019..was charged 12.55€ you advertised 4.99 for out bound journey and 4.70 for return..feel very disappointed..will not be using your service again..very angry and dissatisfied with your service
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Gail,
Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, there was a technical issue on our side which we were working through regarding our partners’ changing prices. We had been working to resolve this and apologize for the inconvenience caused.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Michael Allen
There appears to be a problem with your website. I have just booked a return trip for two passengers from Newton Abbot to Heathrow Terminal 3
The carrier is National Express. Outbound journey is 29 th January 2020 departing Newton Abbot at 11.25 and the cost shown was £34.53. The return journey is 6th March departing Heathrow at 10.25 and arriving Newton Abbot at 14.40 at a cost of £34.12. The total return price quoted on the summary after selection, was £68.66.. I have a photo of that page which I can send you. When I proceeded with the process of payment, I went into “View” a slightly different amount came up at £65 which I understood to be the total due and I paid that amount, with my American Express card. However your confirmation shows that that payment was for only one journey , this being the return leg, from Heathrow. There is no confirmation of the outbound journey.
This is clearly a mistake and I should be grateful if you would send me confirmation that my payment covers both the outbound journey and return.. if it only includes only a single journey, then will you please explain the discrepancy.
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Michael,
Thank you for your feedback. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Upon checking the prices for this connection on his day today, I noticed that the ticket price for the route between Newton Abbot to Heathrow Airport at 11:25 in the morning was £21.70, both in our search results and on the National Express webpage once redirected. Please let us know if you continue to experience a discrepancy in the price and send an email with the screenshots so we can investigate further if there is still an error. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have this resolved as quickly as possible.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Michael Allen
Thank you for your reply. How do I send a screen shot to you?
Regards Mike
CheckMyBus-Support
Hi Mike
You can send us the screenshot to us via e-mail at info@checkmybus.com or via our social media channels.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Betty Steward
how do I contact them please Urgent
CheckMyBus-Support
Hi Betty,
Thank you for your message. With which bus company would you like to contact? For further information, you can write us here or via our social media channels or we can provide the contact info for a specific coach provider if necessary.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Ann Maycroft
What age do you pay for children
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Ann,
Thank you for your message. With which coach provider do you plan to travel with? Policies regarding child tickets vary from company to company. For example, while with megabus children under 3 years of age can travel for free if they sit on their parents’ lap, however no other child discounts are available. However, with National Express, children between 3 and 15 can board with child fare for half the standard ticket price. For more specific information, we suggest contacting the coach provider you plan to travel with directly.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Patricia
I´m trying to buy a ticket from Loughborough to London (bus) and return (train) and when it transfers me to the mega bus site the train price is different – instead of £11.97, it is £14.41. Could you please help me?
CheckMyBus-Support
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for your message. For which day have you planned to travel? Unfortunately, it can sometimes take a bit of time for our system to catch up to our partners when the prices change. Please let us know if you continue to experience this and we’ll investigate further.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Ismail Suboh
I have bought through online, 2 bus tickets on 3 November 2019 for trip to Thessaloniki from Istanbul through MetroTurizm of Turkey which was scheduled to depart from Istanbul on 29 November 2019 at 10pm and arriving in Thessaloniki on 30 November 2019 at 8am. Two passenger seats were selected. Seat no. 15 for Latipah MdYusof and seat no. 16 for Ismail Suboh. Payment from my credit card has also been secured. Problem is there is no confirmation of the payment being made nor any tickets were issued. I could not do anything as there is also no emails being sent. Please investigate and advise me accordingly. Thank you.
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Ismail,
Thank you for your message. Please note that CheckMyBus is an intercity bus price comparison portal and doesn’t sell tickets. When you click “view deal” on a bus route in our search engine, you are then redirected to the bus company’s webpage to make the booking and payment. To request your booking confirmation, you must contact the bus company you booked your trip with directly.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
Ismail Suboh
Yes, it was from checkmybus website and was then directed to the bus company website and my case is Metro Turizm. There is no email address of the bus company that I could contact. Could you somehow let me know the email address of Metro Turizm of Turkey, so that I can provide them with the necessary document to prove my payment of the tickets. Thank you.
CheckMyBus-Support
Hi Ismail,
Thank you for your message. You can contact the bus company via a contact form on their website or via phone at 0850 222 34 55. If you have any further questions, please feel free to get in touch with us again.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team
David Thompson
Your search results are incorrect – when I searched for southampton to London Victoria for two adults, 1320 on 23-11-19, returning 1100 on 24-11-19, the total prive on your site was shown as £23.40. Clicking the link dent me to National Express, but the result there as for ONE person ONE way, and quoted £6.70 instead of £5. The total fare for the entire trip for two is shown as £26.20 (+ booking fee)
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear David,
Thank you for your message. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. Upon checking the route recently, we found that the combined trip for the route, dates and time specified came up to £28.80 which was accurate with the results we found upon being redirected. Unfortunately, sometimes it can take a moment for our system to catch up with changes our partners make with their pricing. We apologise again for any inconvenience and are constantly working to improve our customer journey.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support
Linda Johnson
I’ve lost my email for confirmation of payment to n from halifax n Birmingham for the 29th of nov,can u update me please
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Linda,
Thank you for your message. Please note that CheckMyBus is an intercity bus price comparison portal and doesn’t sell tickets or operate buses. To request another e-mail confirmation, you must contact the bus company you booked your trip with directly.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support
Stephen Golding
I’m trying to book a return trip from Gloucester bus station to Heathrow terminal 3
Departing Gloucester 01.15 January 6th 2020 arriving Heathrow T3 @ 04.00
Returning from Heathrow T3 @21.45 February 4th 2020 arriving Gloucester bus station @ 23.55
I want tickets for 2 passengers but it only allows me to book for 1 passenger.
Please advise.
CheckMyBus-Support
Dear Stephen,
Thank you for your message. With which coach company did you try to book the trip with? When searching with the CheckMyBus search engine, you can select the number of passengers you’d like to book for and then once you are redirected to the bus company’s webpage, you should automatically be booking for the number of passengers you had selected. Please let us know if you experience continued issues with the booking and we’d be more than happy to investigate this further.
Best regards,
Your CheckMyBus Support Team