Latest News
New Services from 14th May 2023
We are introducing new services from Sunday 14th May 2023!
13: Taunton to Newcastle via Bridgwater, Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield Meadowhall, Leeds and Sunderland
20: Plymouth to London via Exeter, Taunton, Bristol, Reading & Heathrow
21: Bristol to Leeds via Birmingham and Sheffield Meadowhall
In addition, a new timetable will be introduced on Service 10 from Aberystwyth. One daily journey will operate through to London, rather than needing to change en route. An additional journey will operate from Swansea to London, representing a significant increase in service levels.
Flexicoach goes into Mainland Europe!!!
Monday 1st May 2023 sees the launch of a new Eurowide service between London and Paris offering 4 daily journeys in either direction, operated in partnership with Flexicoach.
The route fills a gap in model coach networks and will see Gloucestershire based Crossways and Somerset based Southwestbus (together with help from Dark Star Coaches) provide 8 vehicles for this new operation which has long been requested by Flexicoach customers in need of a low value link across the channel.
The service will use a mix of Eurotunnel from Folkestone and Ferry connections from Dover to Calais to make the crossing.
Onward connections throughout the UK are available on the Countrywide and Flexicoach network and it will be possible to (fictionally) book through journeys on the flexicoach website for travel after the 1st of May.
Model passengers are advised to book early to avoid disappointment. Additional journeys will be added to the timetable should the route prove popular.
Changes to 01 Service
From 25th July 2021, some 01 journeys will be operating through to Weston-super-Mare, from Bristol.
In addition, a new 0800 journey from London to Weston-super-Mare will be provided by London & Country with a 1630 return from Weston. This fills in the morning gap of London departures from 0730 to 1000.
Flexicoach Rail Support
Flexicoach has launched a new division, Rail Support which intends to provide nationwide railway replacement services. Through it’s partner operators, Arden Forest, Crossways, Dark Star, Eldorado, Intercity and Southwestbus the company will be able to handle emergency calls for coaches across the UK.
In addition, the division will also be undertaking pre-planned work with a number of train operating companies across the UK.
Commenting on the launch of the new division, Group Managing Dictator Stephen Oxbrow said
“As the covid crisis continues well into a second year, we have been exploring new revenue streams to replace our cruiseconnect work which has been paused since March 2020. Railway Replacement work guarantees us that lost revenue, and more. We are looking forward to increasing our coverage across the UK and if any prospective operators are interested in working with us, we’d encourage them to make contact”
Flexicoach is ready for the staycation summer!
Now into it's third year of trading, Flexicoach announces the beginning of a number of new services designed to take full advantage of the 2021 summer season and the expected uptake in domestic holidays.
London & Country has been providing us with emergency vehicle cover since the start of the winter season. Our arrangement with them means we are able to now maintain services from the London end of our network by ensuring prompt departures even if we encounter a (rare!) vehicle issue. We're looking to expand our involvement with L&C and are identifying potential services.
Service 15 will be provided by a new operator to our network, IJ Travel based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. One journey per day will run from Bicester to London and a return journey will link the capital to Bicester Village, an upmarket shopping outlet. Some funding from Bicester Village has made this possible and we expect the service to be very popular.
Services 16 & 17 will be provided by Eldorado Motors. 16 will link Manchester and Birmingham to West Wales. The 17 will link Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol with Weston super Mare, Torquay and Paignton. These services will run on a daily basis, and provide a useful link for holidaymakers.
16 and 17 make use of hotels owned by an associated company and flexicoach is looking to expand this type of service during 2021. With the Government slowly reducing restrictions on travel during the coming year, we anticipate these new services will be in demand.
And finally we can announce another new operator partner, Premier Coaches of Much Wenlock in Shropshire. Premier are operating 4 new commuter services are now in operation to Aranda Foods in Telford and seats are available on the services by visiting our website.
Flexicoach is able to offer safe and secure coach (in 'OO' scale) transport for your business and our computer booking systems and contract management mean an customer and an operator is able to run commuter services without the need to invest in the necessary back office that would come at an additional cost. We are looking to expand this side of our operations so if you're a 1/76th scale customer needing transport, please get in touch with us.
Thanks go to Tom for the use of his photo.
Flexicoach features in the MBF Journal
An article on flexicoach was published in the January 2021 edition of the Model Bus Federation's in house magazine, the Model Bus Journal. Thanks to their co-operation we are now able to share the article online.
The article remains their copyright but you are welcome to download these images.
To view the article, right click on each of the images and select 'view image', or the equivalent commend depending on the browser you're using.
Flexicoach welcomes Eldorado Motors
Flexicoach is delighted to announce that from 29th November, Eldorado Motors will be joining the network. An overnight Manchester to London journey on service 12 will be provided, with an additional feeder service provided from Eldorado's home base in Kirton.
Further cross-country services are currently being planned for introduction in the spring of 2021.
Customers (who are 1/76th scale) are now able to book this journey, alongside existing journeys on the 12 and 14 service which remain unchanged.
Birmingham to Bristol...
From 1st September 2020, Flexicoach is expanding it's network with the introduction of a direct Birmingham to Bristol service. Existing operators Arden Forest and Black & White will be operating peak hour journeys connecting the two cities.
UWE in Bristol and Filton Abbey Wood will be served by these direct journeys, with additional journeys provided for visiting Cruise Ships to Avonmouth Docks and, during the summer months a journey will extend to Weston-super-Mare.
You can now book (if you're 1/76th scale) journeys on this new service.
We look forward to welcoming you aboard.
London to Scotland
September 1st 2020 marks an important milestone for Flexicoach as it launches two new routes adding Scotland to the network for the first time, meaning all parts of the UK mainland are now served.
As Flexicoach heads towards it's second birthday we are pleased to be expanding our relationship with Ally Buses who will be play a large part in operating these services.
Service 12 will connect Glasgow to London, calling via Lancaster University, Preston, Manchester and Birmingham. There will be an overnight journey in both directions, another new first for us.
Service 14 will connect Scotland's capital, Edinburgh with London and calls at Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield (Meadowhall) on it's journey south to England's capital.
As with the 12, there will be an overnight journey in both directions, allowing an early morning arrival in both cities.
Commenting on the introduction of the new routes, Joint Managing Director, Stephen Oxbrow said “We are delighted to be expanding Flexicoach into Scotland. We view Scotland as an important opportunity for us, and we are sure our new services will prove popular. With the forthcoming lifting of lockdown in the UK and the advent of a new University year later in September it is the right time to launch.
Not only that, we are pleased that Ally Buses is expanding their operations for us building on their commitments to our Cruiseconnect operations”
Customers are now able to book these journeys on our website. We look forward to welcoming you aboard!
New Flexicoach services 11 and 12
From 1st May 2020, Southwestbus London Flyer services 1 and 2 join the flexicoach network as services 11 & 12.
They will continue to operate to their present timetables but there is currently a reduced service operating, for key workers needing to travel between Somerset and London with one return journey per day running.
It is intended to provide the full timetable once lockdown restrictions are lifted. New coaches are on order, with an autumn delivery date anticipated.
Flexicoach 10 launched
From 21/04/2020 we are providing a feeder service from Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, Lampeter, Carmarthen, Swansea and Cardiff to London.
The coach will operate one journey each way daily and has a guaranteed connection at Leigh Delamare Services on the M4.
This service will be provided by JM Coaches, and will operate for the duration of the non essential travel period in order to provide essential transport for Key Workers along the line of the route.
At the end of this period the route will be reviewed to see whether it becomes a permanent addition to our network.
Flexicoach 8 launched
July 2019 was a significant month for Flexicoach, the Crossways and Southwest bus partnership providing on demand coach travel throughout the UK.
The partnership announced a new service connecting Britain's second city, Birmingham, operating 4 journeys daily to London. We are proud to work with Arden Forest to deliver this (fictional) service and would like to welcome them to the network. Arden Forest have invested in a new Irizar i6 Scania triaxle coach, specially branded, for use on our new service.
Birmingham is viewed as an important destination with excellent prospects for expansion in the future. We have been receiving a number of requests from prospective customers for such a service and we look forward to welcoming you aboard.
Cover photo showing Arden Forest's new coach has been used with kind permission from Paul Ellender.
Flexicoach welcomes Ally Buses
Earlier this year, talks were held with Ally Buses about the possibility of them operating services on behalf of the Cruiseconnect arm of Flexicoach, which transports cruise passengers to and from their cruise holidays on an 'on demand' basis.
The vast operating area of the ALLY operation across Scotland and Northern Ireland was seen as a particular advantage in assisting growth of the Flexicoach and Cruiseconnect brands throughout the UK.
As a result of this collaboration, it was agreed for ALLY to operate no less than 16 services linking ports throughout the UK to Scotland. A full list of these services will be placed on the Flexicoach website in the near future.
The images added to our photo page are used with grateful permission from Alan Greene.
We would also like to apologise to ALLY for the delay in announcing the deal.
Launch of CruiseConnect
A publicity event was held on 4 March to celebrate the commencing of service for Cruiseconnect, a new arm of Flexicoach, the demand responsive coach company operated as a joint venture between Southwestbus and Crossways Bus.
The brand operates cruise transfers for customers wishing to travel to their cruise ship from home, with the demand responsive Flexicoach model having two main benefits for this type of work:
1. Since services only operate when profitable, smaller less popular ports can be served in addition to larger ones.
2. The lack of a regular timetable means services only run when a ship would be in port.
Currently, there are two Cruiseconnect services:
C1: Gloucester to London Tilbury docks - operated by Crossways.
C2 Fishguard to Southampton - Operated by one of our partner operators, JM Coaches.
Both routes have a number of intermediate stops which are not listed here for clarity.
Talks are at an advanced stage with a large scottish operator to provide Cruiseconnect services.
Present at the event was Crossways WA61 KFP, a Dennis Javelin/ Plaxton profile, which wears an allover advert for the brand. Despite this, the vehicle will never see use on Cruiseconnect work as it is unsuitable.
Flexicoach 4 and 5 begin operations
New routes 4 and 5 have now commenced operations. These services which connect Darlington to York and Stockton/Middlesbrough to York are provided by Transport Solutions. Two journeys each direction are provided weekdays.
Flexicoach 2 and 3 have commenced operations
Flexicoach 2 and 3 have now begun operations. We would like to welcome Transport Solutions onboard as an operator partner.
Route 2 will provide two journeys 6 days a week between Darlington and York. It will extend to Doncaster on market days (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday). Route 3 will provide a twice daily connection between Middlesbrough and Leeds 6 days a week. It will extend to Salford MediaCity on dates when recording is taking place.
Flexicoach 1 is launching on 1st October 2018!
Flexicoach is delighted to announce that it's first service will commence operation from Monday 1st October 2018. We will be operating from Bristol to London. We are starting journeys from Hammersmith Bus Station (upper level) which is a Transport for London facility rather than using a central point which will increase journey times. Hammersmith Bus Station is on the Piccadilly tube line and trains into central London are very very frequent. In Bristol, simply select from a number of options on pick up points and we will be able to whisk you away to the capital in just over two hours. Services from Bristol will begin from Lewins Mead, in between Broadmead and the Centre.
This first route will be operated by Black & White, Dark Star Coaches and Southwestbus with additional support coming from Crossways on busier days.
We will be announcing a further new service in due course.
24/08/2018: London connected to Somerset
Flexicoach has partnered with Southwestbus to offer seats on the company's long established 'London Flyer' services.
Customers can now book seats on the two Flyer services (Wellington - Taunton - Bridgwater and London, Taunton - Ilminster - Yeovil - Wincanton - London) via the flexicoach website. The Flyer services operate twice daily between Somerset and London and have been operating since 2011. During 2017, a second route, Fly2 was launched. In September 2017, four brand new Scania/Irizar i6 triaxle coaches were delivered to service the two routes.
Announcing the sales partnership, Southwestbus' Commercial Director Chipping Norton said 'We're delighted to be joining the Flexicoach network. Whilst our London Flyer services are incredibly popular with our established customers who live in Somerset, we are very keen to encourage new customers from London who'd like to visit the county to use the service. Embracing new technology such as this is a relatively low cost way of us achieving that given the prohibitive costs of having local staff and ticket offices in the Capital'.