Just a warning to anyone tempted to take the 757 coach from outside
Victoria Station to London Luton Airport: since the 1st May it no
longer goes all the way to the airport. As I've just discovered to my
amazement, it stops in the old Vauxhall car park about a mile from the
airport, at which point you have to change to an ancient unmarked bus to
which takes you a bit nearer.

This shuttle has far fewer seats than the coach, so when I used it many
had to stand, and there wasn't enough space for luggage either. I
suspect with a full coach-load many passengers would have to hang around
for a later shuttle bus in a rather exposed car park completely without
shelter from the elements.

Then at the airport the shuttle bus doesn't actually reach the bus
station outside the terminal, but leaves everyone on the far side of the
car drop-off point. Passengers then have to negotiate a couple of
hundred yards of railed-off pathways and cross several roads to reach
the terminal. The whole thing adds at least 15 minutes and a huge
amount of inconvenience to the journey. I can't imagine why they have
done this - perhaps it's so they can save a tiny amount in charges by
avoiding use of the bus station at the airport?

I think the company are deliberately misleading the public by still
putting "London Luton Airport" on the front of their buses.

--
Clive Page

Clive Page wrote:

Then at the airport the shuttle bus doesn't actually reach the bus
station outside the terminal, but leaves everyone on the far side of the
car drop-off point. Passengers then have to negotiate a couple of
hundred yards of railed-off pathways and cross several roads to reach the
terminal. The whole thing adds at least 15 minutes and a huge amount of
inconvenience to the journey. I can't imagine why they have done this -
perhaps it's so they can save a tiny amount in charges by avoiding use of
the bus station at the airport?

No, it's because the airport have signed an agreement with National Express
for exclusive access, so Green Line (Arriva) are no longer allowed in for
London services at any price. I understand they are taking legal action.
If this isn't successful, I expect the service will be deregistered and go
away or become a less frequent Luton town to London commuter bus, but as
it's a registered local bus service (because of the distance between stops)
56 days notice must be given.

To be fair to them they've cut the fare to pay for the inconvenience.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

In message , at 00:39:22 on
Fri, 17 May 2013, Paul Corfield remarked:

The alternative question is to ask Luton Airport and Luton Borough
Council (owners of the airport)

The Borough might own the land, but haven't they leased it to a
Spanish-owned company to operate as an airport?
--
Roland Perry

On Fri, 17 May 2013 10:57:41 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 00:39:22 on
Fri, 17 May 2013, Paul Corfield remarked:

The alternative question is to ask Luton Airport and Luton Borough
Council (owners of the airport)

The Borough might own the land, but haven't they leased it to a
Spanish-owned company to operate as an airport?

Yes, to my surprise, you're right: it's operated by London Luton
Airport Operations Ltd, which is90% owned by Abertis, a Spanish
company.

In message , at 11:48:25 on
Fri, 17 May 2013, Recliner remarked:
The alternative question is to ask Luton Airport and Luton Borough
Council (owners of the airport)

The Borough might own the land, but haven't they leased it to a
Spanish-owned company to operate as an airport?

Yes, to my surprise, you're right: it's operated by London Luton
Airport Operations Ltd, which is90% owned by Abertis, a Spanish
company.

Before that it was operated by a company controlled by Barclays Bank,
iirc. The council has had no direct involvement for a generation.
--
Roland Perry

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at 11:48:25
on Fri, 17 May 2013, Recliner remarked:
The alternative question is to ask Luton Airport and Luton Borough
Council (owners of the airport)

The Borough might own the land, but haven't they leased it to a
Spanish-owned company to operate as an airport?

Yes, to my surprise, you're right: it's operated by London Luton
Airport Operations Ltd, which is90% owned by Abertis, a Spanish
company.

Before that it was operated by a company controlled by Barclays Bank,
iirc. The council has had no direct involvement for a generation.

I think the 1985 Transport brought direct council management to an end.

Colin Rosenstiel

In message , at 12:57:22 on
Fri, 17 May 2013, Paul Corfield remarked:
The alternative question is to ask Luton Airport and Luton Borough
Council (owners of the airport)

The Borough might own the land, but haven't they leased it to a
Spanish-owned company to operate as an airport?

I knew the operation was separate from ownership. However I struggle
to believe the council have completely "washed their hands" of what
goes on at the airport.

I find it hard to believe they have any levers they can pull, especially
when it comes to relatively minor housekeeping issues like this.
--
Roland Perry

On 16/05/2013 21:55, Steve Fitzgerald wrote:
Maybe you should read the multitude of messages here about how this has
happened before criticising? It's not like it was a secret after all.

I hadn't seen any messages in this group about this which is why it came
as a surprise to me. Since Google Groups interface is now so
user-hostile, it may be that it doesn't work at all. But searching for
757 or greenline for this group for the past year gets me:

Your search - 757 OR greenline site:uk.transport.london - did not match
any documents.

So if you can tell me where I missed something, that would be useful
information.


--
Clive Page

On 17/05/2013 00:39, Paul Corfield wrote:
The whole situation is bizarre beyond belief. Quite why EasyBus have
retained access for a service to Luton Airport, having previously had
a "shared service" arrangement with Arriva, is also open to question.
I can understand why Arriva feel distinctly aggrieved - they have made
significant investment in the service over many years.

It is extremely odd. After all Arriva are still serving the airport
using buses, just not those with their logo on the side, hence forcing
the passenger transfer in the Vauxhall car park in both directions.

On the bus I took, one man got on with an easyBus ticket which he said
had printed on it that it was also valid on the Greenline 757 service
(presumably bought before the split). He and the driver had an argument
about its validity, and in the end he was allowed on.


--
Clive Page

Clive Page wrote:

It is extremely odd. After all Arriva are still serving the airport using buses,

Possibly legally not, if they belong to the car park operator and are free
to anyone. But something is afoot - Arriva have registered a route A
starting from June, which shuttles every 15 minutes between Luton railway
station (not Parkway) and the airport every 15 minutes...

It is all very odd.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.