Peshwari Naan

This is Gloucestershire website shows on 18th April 2008...

12.32PM - WOMAN IN HOSPITAL AFTER CITY CENTRE ACCIDENT

A woman was taken to hospital after a road accident in Gloucester city centre today.

A single decker National Express coach collided with a grey Renault Megane at the junction of Market Parade and Bruton Way at around 11.30am

The woman, who was in the car, was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital in an ambulance.

A fire crew and around seven police officers attended the scene and worked to make the road safe.

Passengers on the 413 National Express coach heading for London were transferred onto another coach and diverted away from the accident.

The traffic on Bruton Way was slow moving for around an hour while the road was cleared.

Ipswich Evening Star reports on 15th April 2008...

Couple overcome crash horror to wed.

AN IPSWICH couple celebrated their first day of marriage little more than a year after the groom survived a horrific coach crash.

John and Nikki Rigby exchanged vows at Horley Spiritualist Church.

Mr Rigby, 44, was a passenger on a National Express coach that crashed in January 2007, killing two people and injuring numerous others.

The London to Aberdeen National Express coach overturned on a slip road from the M4 to the M25 in west London.

Mr Rigby was on the double-decker coach travelling home to Cumbria following a Christmas spent in Ipswich.

The couple were engaged a month before the crash after meeting on the internet and Mr Rigby was due to move to Ipswich to be with his fiancé.

He said: “I used to make the 13 hour coach trip here every weekend to see Nikki. I wouldn't normally wear a seatbelt for the journey but after stopping at Heathrow and hearing the safety announcement for the second time, I felt compelled to strap in. Then I remember ending up outside the coach.”

After being thrown onto the road, Mr Rigby immediately began helping those stuck inside the coach. With the help of another passenger, he pulled several people from the wreckage.

The former soldier said: “Army mode switched on and I just went into auto-pilot. Then a Good Samaritan stopped and told us to use his phone to contact our loved ones before the crash made the news.”

Mr Rigby still has nightmares and occasional flashbacks but believes that support from his wife and friends has helped him come to terms with the crash.

Mrs Rigby, 37, believes that sharing the experience has brought them even closer together.

She said: “It made our relationship even stronger and within a fortnight of the crash, John had moved down here to live with me.”

“I remember him calling me when he was sitting on the ground after being thrown from the bus and he said he was going to help the other people.

“All I could hear in the background was screaming and then the phone went dead. The next time I heard from him was when he turned up in a taxi.”

The wedding had an extra special meaning as Mrs Rigby celebrated her birthday as well. It also fell on the same day as the wedding anniversary of her mother, Carol Windsor, who conducted the ceremony.

Mrs Windsor, 57 President of Horley Spiritualist Church, said: “Today was the day husband and I met, the day we were married and the day we had Nicola, our first daughter.

“I'm really pleased that the two souls have found each other. Everyone goes through hard times but John more than most leading up to the wedding.”

The day was truly a family affair, with Mrs Rigby's father, Paul, behind the organ and an appearance from Mr Rigby's sister, whom he hadn't seen in 30 years.

Mr Windsor, 61, said: “It was an absolutely wonderful day and both the bride and groom were very happy.

It was also very emotional as John got to see his sister after so many years.”

The happy couple left the church to go to Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands, where they will enjoy a week-long honeymoon.

Salsabil has had a comment left in her box for her posting dated 8th April 2008. So that this comment shows up better in this blog I have copy/pasted it below. Salsabil is happy that Jill Rees on 14th April 2008 has also posted the same comment on her own blog. It is good to know that people are reading this blog. Salsabil is pleased that Jill has taken the trouble to write her original post, check the internet for other postings about National Express and post a comment with a follow-up. Salsabil can assure Jill that National Express do monitor the internet closely for blog postings about it's coach services and that her blog will have rung quite a few bells in Head Office!

Allahu akbar

Jill Rees writes on 14th April 2008...

On the return journey, I had to wait 3 and a half hours at Heathrow to get the Bridgwater bus as the woman who booked me couldn’t suggest I take the hourly Taunton bus, 20 mins from Bridgwater! It was a brand new coach, which meant a double decker. The new design has top windows sealed as fire escapes and no side windows, meaning that as heat rises, the people upstairs were fainting with the heat, literally. Every now and again someone would come into conciousness, and send a brave husband or brother down to see the driver, but he said it is a known problem and he had the air con up on full, it just didn’t work. The stifling heat was awful, and although I am used to sub-Saharan Africa, where I live for part of the year, I found myself unable to breathe or move and felt I was suffocating from the heat. Truly awful experience. Dreadful company.

BBC News website shows on 14th April 2008...

M1 coach crash driver facing jail

The man at the wheel of a coach that overturned at an M1 service station in Buckinghamshire has admitted to driving dangerously with excess alcohol.

Leslie Weinberg, 35, was arrested after being cut from wreckage at Newport Pagnell Services on 3 September 2007.

The National Express Birmingham to Stansted coach overturned on a services slip road and 33 passengers were hurt.

The judge at Aylesbury Crown Court told Weinberg, formerly of Meyrick Road in West Bromwich, he faces a jail term.

The case was adjourned until the week of 26 May for medical reports.

Weinberg had a drink drive reading of 145mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg per 100ml.

After the crash, on the afternoon of 3 September last year, casualties were treated at hospitals in Northampton, Milton Keynes and Oxford.

Six passengers suffered serious injuries and one man had his arm amputated.

The seriously injured included a 61-year-old man, a 45-year-old woman from Church Stretton in Shropshire, a 28-year-old man from Coventry, a 39-year-old woman from Worcester, a 60-year-old man from France, a 57-year-old woman from Australia and a 20-year-old man from Poland.

Weinberg pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and driving with excess alcohol at Aylesbury Crown Court.

Judge Christopher Tyrer told Weinberg he faced a jail sentence and said: "This is serious. The circumstances are very grave.

"As a result of your intoxication, you completely mistook where you were. You mistook the exit of the motorway and a number of people were seriously injured.

"This is way past the custody threshold and you should make arrangements accordingly."

He passed an interim Disqualification Order on Weinberg, who was bailed to live and sleep at Nimmings Road, Halesowen, in the West Midlands.

MK News website shows on 14th April 2008...

Coach driver faces jail after admitting dangerous driving
The drunken driver of a coach which overturned at Newport Pagnell Services on the M1 has today (Monday) admitted dangerous driving.

Leslie Weinberg, 35, was arrested after being cut from the wreckage of the crash in which 33 passengers were injured, six of them seriously.

The National Express Birmingham to Stansted Scania coach had been due to stop at the MK Coachway at Junction 14, but left the motorway earlier on the southbound slip road to the services, where it overturned and hit trees and a lamp post.

Mr Weinberg, formerly of Meyrick Road in West Bromwich, had a drink drive reading of 145 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 milliletres of blood. The legal limit is 80mg per 100ml.

After the crash, which happened late in the afternoon of September 3 last year, casualties were treated at Northampton, Milton Keynes and Oxford JR2 Hospitals.

One man had his arm amputated.

The seriously injured included a 61-year-old man, a 45- year-old woman from Church Stretton, a 28-year-old man from Coventry, a 39-year-old woman from Worcester, a 60-year-old man from France, a 57-year- old woman from Australia and a 20-year-old man from Poland.

Today, (Monday) bespectacled Weinberg appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to driving dangerously and driving with excess alcohol.

Defence Barrister Simon Davis asked for the case to be adjourned for up to six weeks for medical reports.

Judge Christopher Tyrer told Weinberg he faced a jail sentence.

The judge told him "This is serious. The circumstances are very grave. As a result of your intoxication, you completely mistook where you were. You mistook the exit of the motorway and a number of people were seriously injured.

"This is way past the custody threshold and you should make arrangements accordingly."

The judge adjourned the case for sentence until May. He passed an interim Disqualification Order on Weinberg, who was bailed to live and sleep at Nimmings Road, Halesowen in the West Midlands.

Liam Mullone writes on 13th April 2008...

Yesterday I made my way to BIRMINGHAM to play the Glee Club. Birmingham is in capitals to stress that we are talking about that place in the middle of England, not the outer Hebrides or even Birmingham, Alabama. There was no return fare available on Virgin Rail, so rather than pay almost £50 to get 100 or so miles upcountry, I opted for the coach there and the last train back.

I gave myself two hours leeway at the Birmingham end by taking a very early coach. I didn't want to be late and have to give an excuse. I especially didn't want to have to give the excuse I had, in the end, to give, because it sounds like a lie and I felt like a liar telling it: The coach RAN OUT OF FUEL on the motorway. Yes. The 1600 National Express 420 to Wolverhampton via Birmingham on Friday April 11 had to pull into Watford Gap services because it had NO DIESEL. And there we sat, for two and a half hours, NEXT TO A FILLING STATION because the driver refused to buy us any more gas. He would not bu us any more petrol because it was "against procedure" and there was "no mechanism for being reimbursed by the company" if he bought it himself. He had left London Victoria knowing that he had insufficient fuel, because "he had been told to".

The most annoying thing is not that these spastic fuckmonkeys run a virtual monopoly of travel for anyone who can't always afford the train. It's not that they hire imbeciles to drive for them and let any pondlife with two spot-welded tonka toys run their services on contract. It's not even that nobody, from the Managing Director to the man who doesn't clean the toilets, gives a shit about customer satisfaction. It's the fact that it could only be as bad as this here, in Britain. In Thailand they'd have bought some fuel. In Honduras they'd have borrowed some. In Mexico they'd have stolen some. In Russia they'd at least have taken the £50 I offered them to buy the bastard fuel and get going. But here - where there's a monopoly, a captive market and a Government-subsidised layer of middle management thicker than the grease blocking my air vent - there is no incentive to do anything but sit on the tarmac waiting for a replacement bus.

Paul Watts writes on 11th April 2008...

Transport yourselves if you will, dear RTN readers, to the capital's coach hub at Victoria. Using the speedy powers of the Internet I foolishly booked a ticket with National Express from London to Birmingham. I say foolishly because I'd been hoodwinked by the publicity that stated how green, virtuous, stress free and speedy the process would be. Leave the evil car behind. Huh!

Taking Nat-Ex's advice on their e-ticket I arrived ten minutes prior to departure. Ten minutes after departure and I'm… still waiting for the coach to appear. Ten further minutes later and one of the three National Express 'travel advisors' - slumped behind the podium by departure gate twelve - reluctantly broadcasts, "The nine o'clock to Birmingham is still on the motorway coming in." And that was it! That was all we passengers hoping to get to Brum for midday were told.
Nothing else about the nine o'clock to Birmingham is heard of for the next forty minutes! No up-date or progress report from our taciturn travel advisors. No overhead info on the state-of-the-art matrix information board. Nada! Several disgruntled would-be nine o'clock passengers form a posse and approach the three musketeers on the podium. But they're no real help. They are dealing with twenty departure gates and can only stick to the script.

"Where is the controller?" asks Angry from Tunbridge Wells. "He come," says Travel Advisor One, in his best English. But, he no come. Nor, also, did the ten o'clock coach service to Birmingham. What did come however, were the hopefuls that were the passengers for that journey. Our ranks swelled exponentially. At length, one of the travel advisors gives an official apology for the delay. So, that's all right then! Finally, a controller arrives and packs most of us tightly into the eleven o'clock coach. We arrive in Brum a tad over two and a half hours late. So, next time will it be by coach or the evil car? Er, for me the evil car, I think. Okay then think-tank oiks of the Bus Champion Scheme hear this. If nothing else people really do like to be informed of what is going on. Most reasonable types will understand if situations have occurred beyond control. But not knowing and being left in the dark is guaranteed to irritate even the mildest mannered punters. It might even make ‘em consider going by car. Or, horror of horrors, it might make ‘em consider buying a car! So think-tankers bear this in mind.

Watts in Victoria Coach Station, so you don't have to be.

Siani writes on 8th April 2008...

On the subject of 'express' - that's today's Heads or Tails theme word. The first thing that came to mind was 'National Express'. I guess National Express is the UK's equivalent of the Greyhound buses in the US. The company runs a network of coach services, serving many of the UK's cities and towns. Personally, I HATE travelling by National Express.

Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against the company. My main bugbear arises from the fact that I suffer from travel sickness. I need plenty of fresh air, and lots of space around me when I embark on a long journey. Guess what? The windows on National Express coaches don't open. They have annoying little nozzle things above the seats that are supposed to supply you with a puff of fresh air, whenever you yank on them. But they never do.

If you ever have to travel on a National Express coach, try to avoid sitting anywhere near the back. That's where the lavatory is located. I once made the mistake of sitting near the back, and was almost gassed by nasty pongs coming from the lavatory. Not to be recommended, especially if, like me, you suffer from travel sickness.

Another difficulty I have with National Express coaches, is getting off the wretched things. The steps are very high. I can get on alright, but thanks to my arthritic spine and accompanying balance problems, the only way I can safely get off a National Express coach, is by sitting on the steps and bouncing down on my bottom. That doesn't go down too well with fellow travellers. Tough!

The last trip I took with National Express was most unpleasant. Some drunken fool sat by me on the return journey, but moved when I refused to talk to him and pretended to be asleep. Then, a silly student insisted on talking on his phone, very loudly, in a foreign language, for most of the four hour journey. When I tried to ask him to keep the noise down, he pretended he didn't speak English. Oddly enough, he understood immediately, when I finally snapped and said: 'either you shut up or I'll make you eat that phone'. Then, as everyone got off the coach, a poor old lady fell off those horrid steps and cracked her head open. Not nice. Especially for her.

I hope you'll forgive this rather lacklustre post. I just don't feel very creative when I'm sitting at a desk. It feels too much like work, and a lot less like fun. So I'll wrap it up in a minute. But before I do, I'd like to pay a tribute to the hostesses who used to dish up hot drinks and snacks on National Express coaches, at an exorbitant price. I don't see them aboard their coaches any longer which is a relief shame. I used to have fun watching them trying to serve teas and coffees on a moving bus, without drenching the intended recipient, or flirting with young men half their ages.

Hackney Gazette website shows on 4th April 2008...

A WEEKEND by the seaside turned into a nightmare after a dispute over a cat left a family of four stranded miles from home.

The Steppings family, from London Fields, were abandoned in Clacton, Essex, after being told they would not be allowed on their return National Express journey to London because they had their cat with them.

They had taken the cat without incident on the trip from London, only to be told to make alternative arrangements to get home.

This was especially galling for dad Mark, who had been told twice that there would be no problem in having Gypsy on the coach.

He said: "I checked twice to see if we could take the cat with us on the coach.

"The first time I rang up and asked and then I asked again when I brought the tickets.

"Both times I was told that it wouldn't be a problem."

To make matters worse, Mr Steppings, 47, then had to pay more than £50 to get the family home to the Morland estate by train.

A spokesman for National Express said: "It's our policy not to allow animals on our coaches except for guide dogs.

A Transport of Delight writes on 28th March 2008...

NatEx's BIG secret.

Free concessionary travel on a nation-wide scale within England is introduced next Tuesday (1 April) and with it comes something the UK's most popular coach operator and world-ranked 179th Superbrand would rather you not know. Around 20% of National Express' coach services are registered as local bus services and qualify as services that must allow free concessionary travel. The following Q&A should shed some light......

Why do National Express register their services as local bus services?
If an operator, any operator, runs a PCV service that has gaps of a maximum of 50km between stops, Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) can be claimed by registering the route as a local bus service.

What is BSOG?
As we mentioned in a recent blog entry, BSOG is a form of fuel rebate paid for by the government to bus and coach operators. Within England the rate is 41.21 pence per litre (against the price many bus operators pay for their fuel - estimated to be around the 90-95 pence per litre mark). This payment can be worth a substantial amount of money to bus and coach operators and in recent cases brought before a Traffic Commissioner, often the first form of punishment is to prevent an offending operator from claiming BSOG for its services for a set period.

So how do we know which NatEx routes are affected?
Good question! It is not being widely advertised, actually it almost certainly will not be advetrtised at all, although we plan to upload a file showing which routes have registered sections. In a few cases, sections of routes that are less than 50km have not been registered for reasons known only to NatEx, but generally if you wish to go from A to B and at no point travel more than 50km between any bus stop along the full length of your journey, you should be able to travel from free on NatEx services, provided you comply with the National Guidelines for free concessionary travel, i.e. between 0930-2300 weekdays and at any time during weekends and bank/public holidays.

Give me some examples!
Okay, within the LEYTR area these are the registered sections within NatEx services:
Service 322 (Brecon) between Scarborough-Bridlington
Service 322 (Swansea) between Hull-Scunthorpe and between Mansfield-Nottingham
Service 350 between Manchester Airport-Grantham and between Stamford-Peterborough
Service 390 between Leeds-Bradford
Service 447 (south) between Lincoln-Peterborough
Service 447 (north) between Grantham-Lincoln
Service 448 between Grimsby-Peterborough and between Peterborough-Stamford
Service 449 between Mablethorpe-Peterborough
Service 534 between Hull Docks-Beverley and between Sunderland-Newcastle Airport
Service 562 between Beverley-Scunthorpe
Service 563 between York-Whitby

There are some oddities, for example Service 350 is not registered between Stamford-Grantham (21 miles) and Service 390 is not registered between Hull-Hull Docks (4 miles), but generally the rule for registered services is adhered to.

Did NatEx want this?
We suspect not. Last year they briefed their workforce saying they only anticipated services within Cornwall as being affected by the forthcoming free local travel on a nation-wide basis, as these Cornish sections of route operate as local services - in many cases being the only services linking settlements in that area. It would appear that the DfT have not given NatEx any special dispensation, preferring the "you want to claim the BSOG then you have to accept free concessionary travel!" line.

So I just turn up at the permitted time with my pass do I?
Yes. So long as it's one of the new-style English concessionary passes, baring a rose in the top-left and a hologram on the right. Drivers have a special form to complete, taking details from your pass, in order for NatEx to claim back your fare. Just make sure the section you wish to travel on is registered - we suggest you telephone them to confirm your journey, they won't be legally able to lie or not answer you.

They'll get all of it back will they?
No. As with all bus and coach operators, they will only be reimbursed the agreed percentage by the local authority in whose area each journey commenced. Taking North-East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) as an example, a passenger boarding Service 448 in Grimsby for a free ride to Peterborough would expect to pay £15.60 if they were paying an adult fare. NELC will reimburse NatEx 60% of this fare - £9.36. The percentage differs from local authority to local authority, some paying less than 50%! A journey in the opposite direction (Peterborough-Grimsby) would be reimbursed to the tune of 70% (£10.92) by Peterborough City Council.

Any strings attached?
Free travel is only permitted if sufficient space is available on the coach and free travellers will board last. NatEx are understood to be lobbying the DfT in order to get this situation overturned and should they be successful we'll let you know, but until they are, happy travelling!

Jill Rees writes on 28th March 2008...

You know those milk shakes that are made of mainly vegetable fat? Well would you squeeze a cup of it into the pocket of the seat next to you on a National Express coach and not say anything when a new passenger sat down in the dark? So that her knees pushed on it while she was sleeping on the 3am drive to Heathrow? And it gushed all down her leg, makng her one pair of travelling trousers smell of milk shake for days and sending greasy white stuff all over the coach floor? Well would you?

After that the connecting coach to Gatwick suddenly ceased to exist and the ‘helping’ woman at Heathrow eventually, after saying we all had the ‘wrong ticket’ - How?! told us to get on the next coach anyway. Then the rude driver told us to stay away, then to hurry closer with our bags and stop messing about. And it’s not yet 7 am when he then decides not to let you on cos you’ve got the wrong bus number on your ticket. Everyone yells at him so he lets us on. Then finally, as we’re all thinking thank god we’re leaving this awful country, he takes your case out and drops it face down into the one huge puddle at Gatwick, making all your clothes wet.