National Express - an awful experience on the overnight coach from Glasgow to London but why? 

If the coach is travelling after 12 am then it should be sold as a "quiet" coach in my opinion. Everyone wants to rest or sleep. Its different in daylight hours.

Greyhound bus driver in the states once announced at the start of journey: 'Right folks, people haven't paid good money to listen to y'all talking about your problems on your phones. So, if you've a call you gotta make, make it quick, make it quiet and go to the back.'

Welcome to public transport. There’s always selfish people who have no consideration for other users. What annoys me are the people who take calls on loudspeaker for the whole bus or train to hear.

I spent £80 on custom moulded earplugs due to a nuisance neighbour, shes gone now but the earplugs have come in very handy as I travel a lot. You have to assume most people are an absolute menace!

I took this overnight coach once. Never again. Before we even left Glasgow, a woman on the coach was blasting happy hardcore from her phone and shortly after leaving Glasgow she was screaming for her drugs and that she wanted to see her baby. A sorry situation but not one I needed to be subjected to as well. She kept this up for a good while, with passengers asking her to shut up, but eventually she did run out of steam and I got to sleep. I woke up somewhere roughly halfway where we had stopped for a service station loo break. This was pretty quick but once all the passengers were on board and the doors were closed we just sat there for a while before the driver stood up and announced that he had not been drinking but had failed the coach's built in breathalyser test and as such the coach was immobilised. He said that they sometimes malfunctioned like this and the only way to start the coach would be for the police to come and breathalyse him to confirm he didn't have alcohol in his system and then the coach company could deactivate the immobiliser. They took their time coming but eventually did arrive and test the driver, who hadn't been drinking after all and the coach started up. I had been drifting in and out of sleep throughout this wait and woke up when we started moving, then drifted off again. I woke up to hear the driver shouting "SIT DOWN. SIT DOWN," and then "PUT YOUR FUCKING CLOTHES ON AND SIT DOWN". One of the passengers was naked and harassing the driver. I looked out of the window and we were stopped on the slip road out of the service station. The police were called again, and again they took a good while to arrive, and when they did it was the same two officers from before, who can't possibly have been far away. I think they might have even still been in the service station. They arrested the passenger who then started asking for his suitcase, which was in the hold. We had to unload all the luggage, get this guy to identify which bag was his, then reload everything before getting underway and finishing the trip. Awful. Never again.

This is the trouble with public transport , it's full of the public ! full marks for the journey , my idea of hell , at least with a train you can move about a bit !

Foreigner on phone all night typical, you should have told her to shut up .

Good video. You might want to rephrase the title. If I didn't watch the video, I might just have assumed the National Express service itself was awful, and not that the experience was soured because of an inconsidrate passenger. I've not been on a National Service coach for yonks but have very pleasant early memories and continue to admire their resilience in the face of all the competing alternatives - I wish them well.

I’m sorry but the girl talking on the phone is incredibly rude, it is a night coach therefore noise should be kept low, she should have been warned. When she fell asleep id have kicked the back of her seat.

I got the coach from Cardiff to Glasgow in 1990 and on board was a lad about 20 going up to see his "gf" who he'd met in Majorca. I use speech marks because he hadn't actually spoken to her since gettin home. "She accidently gave me the wrong number but luckily I have her address. She'll be _so_ surprised" I've always wondered how that turned out.

I travel on them lots and there’s always one foreign person shouting on a mobile non stop , always

no matter how hard I try, on a bus, on a train or in any sort of queue I always end up with a pratt next to me

you should have said something to the driver as he would tell her to be quiet or get of the coach as she was disturbing passengers

I have tried this and like any other overnight travel, it's not worthwhile because the next day you're heavy with sleep. I would recommend this only for young students on a tight budget, who are big on stamina and low on funds. For normal people, any so-called "saving" doesn't work out in reality. Experience is the word.

My mate my was on a journey from Birmingham to Edinburgh and and someone was talking in this manner that the person sitting beside them told them to shut up due to how much shit that person was talking. The person asked how many people she was annoying and 75% of the bus said yes, she said sorry but then a hour later took another phone call and went back to square 1

I know how you feel. I was once on a long-distance coach in France and there was a girl talking non-stop on her mobile and she was still yacking as she went down the stairs to get off the coach. It really makes you feel like murder.

When I travel I always take ear plugs and also a headset that cancels out other people's chattering, at least that way I can listen to gentle classical music rather than someone's inane chatter, on one occasion on a train journey during the day, London to Glasgow, some guy talked loudly on his phone for a solid 90 minutes, business call, when the ticket inspector came I asked if there was anything that could be done and to his credit he went an gave him a telling off and instructed him to be mindful of disturbing other passengers, the selfish guy's reply was that it was not the quiet coach but the ticket inspector said that was irrelevant and told him to get off his phone or take it into the corridor where he would not disturb people, for the rest of the journey he sat in a petulant silent huff with everyone else in the carriage flashing him dirty looks every now and again. Sometime's it is best to make a complaint to whoever is in charge of the vehicle and they can tell the offender to put a sock in it.

I think a punch on the nose would shut her up quite well. I find almost everything you do in life there is ALWAYS one person that will ruin it for everyone else..

Why didn`t you say something to her about the constant yapping. And as a former National Express driver, I wouldn`t have let her eat that food on the vehicle. In fact it`s a NE rule. And in his safety announcement, he should have said about inconsiderate phone use. We used to leave VCS, and it was almost deafening with all the idiots saying "I`m on the coach" on their phones. After I gave the safety announcement, anyone being noisy was told to tone it down.

Noise cancelling headphones / earbuds are my saviour sometimes

I would have reminded the girl that people were trying to rest and her selfish behaviour was disturbing them !

Anybody who does a long bus journey overnight wants their head examining, especially in the era of the biggest disaster invention of all time, the mobile phone.

This is the problem. We never challenge anyone for this type of behaviour, and we just accept it. There is a proper way to approach People like this politely. But you never know what would happen. Great video anyway.

Not surprised at all. The woman demonstrated a perfect example of self centred disregard for others. I would have told her to cut the call or get off. Although it is the company’s responsibility to ban mobiles and music which can be heard through ear phones. Good manners are not taught at home, in school or university so expect the worse. Take the train, use the quiet coach. It’s become so expensive so I don’t bother travelling.

British passive aggression at its finest endure someone talking for 3 hours then complain about it in a RU-vid video saying “maybe you should have said something”

I would have to have told her to be quiet, you have far more patience than me!

you definitely should have said something and told the driver, very unfair on everyone. she's like the type of person that takes hands free calls throughout her whole shift at work. people like that really get on my nerves, like make calls in your own time and space

Did you tell her to stop? Maybe it’s just the New Yorker in me but I would have taken it for about an hour and a half at maximum before politely asking her to shut up and try texting her friends instead

I travelled to Glasgow from Manchester - 6 hours. The lady in front of me talked on her phone for 5 of those ..... It was a day service and that was annoying enough, so can imagine on a night how frustrating it would be.

I was going to do this journey as I have to commute to work costing me 200 a week and wanted a cheaper option but after seeing this I can’t: would have definitely been thrown off for what I would have done to her. I’d need to sleep as I’d be doing a full days works

There is a cheap secret weapon that solves multitudes of noise problems - travelling, home - anywhere.......earplugs!!

I've learned from experience that you can't sleep properly on overnight transportation and the next day you're heavy with sleep. It's not worth it - you think you're saving money, but in reality you're not - the next day is a wash out.!

Welcome to the world of cheap travellers, when we have to deal with people speaking loudly or snoring whether we travel with a coach or sleep in a hostel 😅 I love traveling but I don't sleep very well during my travels

Briliant video, thank you.

Drove long distance coaches myself through the night. Had to speak to a few people who thought it was okay to talk nonstop on their phone or listen to music or movies with no earphones. I'm surprised the driver never spoke to her.

This is exactly why Governments pushing people onto public transport will never work. As humans we’re not designed to be that close to others. Great video though!

A nice review but I would’ve just asked the women to shut up. My impression from your title was that Nat Ex were at fault which wasn’t the case.

i studied in Glasgow Caledonian University in 2006-07. which just outside Buchanan Bus Station. Traveled to london 3-4 times. Those were the great days.

Too many entitled, self-centred and downright selfish people in the world today. When travelling on public transport, I always wear earplugs AND noise-cancelling headphones - not for listening to music, just to block out the numpties. Earplugs in, headphones on and they can fire up a hammer drill for all I care.

I'm a Train Conductor. I'm forever speaking to passengers about anti social behaviour.

I travelled megabus Glasgow-London-Glasgow on overnight and the coach was so quiet. I’ve also travelled Glasgow-Cardiff and London-Glasgow day service with National express and was quite lucky that the other passengers were quiet and considerate

I know it must have been annoying and uncourteous BUT unless the coach company has a 'no mobile' rule (like quiet coaches on trains), then she in theory was allowed to do that and telling her or the driver would have no affect.

They should have a rule for night coaches, no phonecalls after 11pm

Some passengers are just awful Going to Birmingham from Teesside we had women eating out of carrier bags (rice and god knows what else) that stank to high heaven . When asked to put it away she responded in fury thinking making a scene would help It didnt and she was removed at Manchester It was so bad we had to get off while the bus was quickly aired out

In Japan nobody uses phones or music players on transport, it's just not the done thing

You should have asked the bus driver to ensure none of the other passengers was talking over their phone between 10pm and 6AM. Or you could have had a word with the unconsidered woman herself.

Reminds me of a journey I had with my father back in the 80s as a boy, from London to Ireland via a ferry from Fishguard Wales, anyway as we were travelling along we started to hear a noise from the back of the coach it was a loud man's voice and he was clearly drunk, it got soo bad and people fed up, the coach stopped pretty much in the middle of nowhere and the driver kicked him off, simple.

public transport and not private hire what did you expect you will get. The driver did his job at least be thankful for that.

I remember being at the Knutsford service station early in the morning in September 1992, hitching back to Liverpool from Birmingham - I was asking people if they were going anywhere near there and eventually I got a couple of old dears who were actually going to the same area of Liverpool I lived in and they dropped me right outside my door! Bless them, whoever they were.

This is a nightmare - annoying how something so simple can keep everyone around her awake - how rude. I'd like to give these overnight buses a go - I wish they still had the megabus sleeper service with the beds!

I took Megabus and it was even worse. At least National Express is comfortable

When I was making this journey fairly often - a long long time ago - Scottish Citylink would do the journey in 8 hours, 10:30 depart arrive Victoria 6:30. It was so long ago that mobile phones hadn't been invented, so we've made progress backwards! I'm sure that Citylink enforced people to be quiet and threatened to put anybody who created a disturbance off the coach! There was never any noise as everyone was trying to sleep.

horses for courses an all that but ive seen flights from glasgow to london for under £60 return 1.15hr flight time & factor in the 2hr arrival before .

I would have definitely said something to the driver when it stopped or just told her to shut the hell up

I spent 13 years as a nx driver and would always ask passengers using their phone to keep it quiet and preferably short especially on overnight svs

I was on an overnight bus journey from London to Newcastle and ALL THE WAY there was a family absolutely jabbering on as loudly as they could and I think it was in greek! It was pointless trying to change seats as they could be heard anywhere on the bus. If it had just been a single or a couple of people I'm sure someone would have told them to pipe down but I suspect that since there was a whole group people were worried they'd gang up.

Ear plugs Blindfold and Sledgehammer are a must for every journey 😂 Can't complain that much Geordie lad the journey only took just over 7 minutes 😅 As you got the hump and I could see why I've subbed 👍 Bon Voyage ....

Perhaps take earplugs or noise cancelling headphones next time?

I would have thought the driver would have a role in keeping nosy passengers quiet.

The menace with the mobile,there is always at least one on every journey.selfish ignorant people

I had a late afternoon coach trip in Italy yesterday and it was incredibly quiet and was happy to pay a bit more for extra comfort. The operator is called Itabus. In any case, seat 2A on National Express is absolutely brilliant and experienced it last month on a coach between Leeds and Milton Keynes

Think of the other passengers they had all that and sitting next to you

I've done this journey many times. I always take noise reducing headphones until 3am plus sleep tabs and try to get 3 hours sleep plus beanie to cover your face

Your awful journey reminds me of a truly dreadful experience of a coach holiday a few years ago. From the moment two middle aged women got on the coach to where we left as we got off the coach, they talked constantly played music on a mobile phone. The return journey was peppered with 81 text messages received......never again. This was the third and final time we go on a coach holiday, totally spoilt by middle aged elderly people. Regards Crawford

I did this very journey a few years back when I was a student - thought my arse would fall off by the time I got to Victoria

There is a seat towards the back which has almost double the ffoot room as the others. It is usually on the opposite side of the toilet

I have to say Buchanan bus station is quite cold in the winter

Why didn’t you ask her to put the phone away I would have 😮

Who started to play loud music at 7:05 :)

Great video, and a pity that passenger was so inconsiderate. I have done this journey before and found the coach okay. I am a bit shorter than average at 5'4" so legroom is never a problem. I don't know how it would be if you were taller.

Hi as I am a nx coach driver. One of my bug bares is a noisy passenger. If you speak with the driver we politely ask to keep her conversation to a minimum or to use the seat at the back of the coach as to not annoy or disturb any other passengers who are trying to get their head down for a few hours sleep its even on the safety announcement about mobiles phones but who actually really listens to them. I would gladly tell her. For you no worries. Hope you had safe and pleasant onward journey. Jeeps I sound like I'm actually on me coach. Stay safe on your travels.

I nickname them NATIONAL DISTRESS!!!!! I’ve never yet had a good journey yet comfortably!😡 I will say drivers are wonderful and fell bad for them. The least and worst part of travel’s ! People say public transport what do you expect yet it’s still a private business. I’ve experienced travel all over Europe and Asia yet when travelling far I cringe at the 4hrs or so to Heathrow 😢

I hate coaches. I'm just a little bit too big to be comfortable in the seats, and you have to share the coach with other people. That being said, when i was travelling up to scotland, we had an issue that meant I missed the last connecting coach from Carlisle (their fault) and national express sorted me out, got me to my destination by any means. I remain impressed to this day and will always credit Nat Ex for doing that. It cost them nearly 10x my fare (return) just to sort me out on the outbound leg.

Not on your own , i use them alot and always always sleep before i get on any journey as this was not just you , It happens every coach and every journey . its either someone shouting down the phone or someone playing games on a tablet or handheld without headphones.

I used these coaches back in the mid/late 80s from Hartlepool to victoria station for almost 3/4 years, they were fully booked every weekend and i mean every weekend for years with construction industry lads, i still look back with horror at having to use them horrible coaches.

Who witters for 6hrs on a mobile especially at silly o clock in the morning? Infuriating.....strange she was sat at the back then moved to the front.....

Chloroform and a hessian sack. 🤣I wouldn't have had your decorum or patience.

Great video I did this route many years ago when it was the 596 from Edinburgh Carlisle Heathrow London Victoria Also MCLEANS also did the same service from London Victoria regards Paul in Kent

Worst thing ever was when someone used the toilet and the smell wafted down the bus.

I used Nat Express once never again as the experience was mind numbing,a smelly co-passenger till he got off at Carlisle,two miserable drivers with No thoughtful customer service,a snorer next to me till London yes never,never again!

may I suggest noise cancelling headphones, well worth an investment to anyone who travels using planes, trains or automobiles

I do the Glasgow-London coach about every 4 or 5 years...just enough to remind me not to do it anymore. Overnight is best because it's quiet though.

I empathize with you but at the same time, you have to plan for ignorant people like the girl who talked so much - ear plugs are essential, even industrial headphones, i'd recommend that on long journeys. I was on a train the other day and first encournted a guy got on the train sat behind me and started blowin his nose and sneezing everywhere - i just got up, then i had the misfortune of of a very noisy person talking on the their phone, thankfully the mobile phone signal cut out so I could get some rest ! I do have to add my own admission as well tho, I snore like a trooper, I avoid sleeping on public transport for that reason, if I'm long haul flying/transport I wear my CPAP mask in consideration of my fellow passengers !

Honestly I don't get it....... why would anyone want to travel more than 20 miles by bus?? They are cramped, have zero creature comforts and 99% of the time have at least one moron onboard (phone user is a prime example). Now I know the coach doesn't cost very much, and you can see why, but I prefer flying to Heathrow (about a 75 minute flight), and the usual airport messing about checking in and so on. But for £50 approx, you'll get there 4 times faster. One last thing, you can actually fly from Heathrow to Harry Reid Airport faster than getting to London by bus. Harry Reid is the new name for Las Vegas Airport

Having done a few long train / bus journeys in my time. You will always be disappointed if you rely on other people being considerate. Just assume everyone is an asshat and prepare for it. Earphones or noise cancelling headphones, book or movie with a neck pillow and best do your toilet business well in advance too. Just accept you'll be uncomfortable.

I’m making this trip with NE next week - albeit the 2245 departure from Glasgow. I’m bringing my ear defenders. 😂 Great review. Very informative.

Same with Megabus from Aberdeen to London there’s always some rude git having a phone call for ages between 2-4am to keep you awake

The driver should've asked her not to talk, or she may be kicked off at the next stop. Another thing is, didn't the driver say that you can't change seats while the bus is in motion? Didn't you or one if the passengers say something to the driver when he stopped? But why a coach? Why not s train? Aren't they almost twice as quick than a coach in the UK?

I used to take a coach from HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hampshire, to Liverpool when on weekend leave from the Royal Navy. That wasn't too bad. However, the journey back was AWFUL. We would join the coach in Liverpool at around 10 pm.. we'd hit Fareham at around 6am with almost NO sleep. Awful AND their was always a collection for the driver. I was quite young at the time and didn't have the character or maturity to tell them to piss off. Was SO glad when I got my first car... a Mark 5 Ford Cortina!

Interesting video, as a 6.4 tall guy, this is my idea of hell. I couldn’t have kept my mouth shut with the selfish phone lady and would have confronted her early on, I would imagine the entire coach would have rejoiced, she really boiled my blood…

There's a simple solution...tell her to shut up...grow up..or get off...yes she can be removed...and should've been...bus itself and journey seemed OK which the vlog should have been about to all good as I see it.

It's a coach from Glascow to London. I don't know what you thought you'd get.

first time I used national express to Victoria from the North East it was midnight, full of drunks, smoking none stop, playing cards, telling jokes, playing a radio until 3am, eating sandwiches, talking, snoring, it was GREAT, I was 14 and it seemed fun to me, it cost £1 return, no television, it had a toilet and a trolly service with hot drinks, sarnies, pasties, pop, crisps and ear plugs which I thought was very enterprising. run by a self-employed woman. after I used BRs new 125 for the first time, I never used the coach again, in saying that the National Express was OK and very cheap, especially compared to BRs 125,

Why didnt you ask her to be quiet, or report to the driver, it clearly states that people are not supposed to have loud convos on phones or hot smelly food.

A awful experience, but why? Well. you're travelling over 400 miles on a BUS, for starters...

If you've got a bed to go to, at say 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning after your arrival, then it could be considered. But if you've got a day's schedule ahead of you, no way - out of the question.! Cheaper to fly because you'll save a nights accomodation costs - deduct that from your air-ticket price and you've got your true calculation costing.

I think at least 90% of people in England are selfish, like the girl talking all the time. Every time I take public transport of any sort, the majority of people are either making a noise (often playing videos on their phone on speaker), sitting in the isle seat so blocking the one next to them, eating stinky food, opening or closing windows without asking how others feel, etc.. I'd love to take a coach places to save on train fares but I'm afraid of being stuck with someone like you were, or with a talkative person next to me. I guess there's no way to avoid someone being next to you! I'm a big guy too and those seats you were on looked very narrow.

Biggest problem with NX is their useless webpage.That being said really what do you expect from an all night coach?The only reason for taking the coach is its much cheaper than a train plus has access to airports that the train often doesnt e.g Hrow.Downside is that you are stuck in your seat and cant walk around as in a train.Idiots will be idiots everywhere-sometimes there will be none on a journey,other times it seems every 2nd person is one.

It's the driver's fault really, he is responsible for what happens on board - a simple PA system warning and then if keeps going, drop them off at next stop.

My lass n kids had 2 bad experiences with these buses, absolute shower the lot of them, lost loads of money on apalling day trips, clampit families running riot, need shutting down.