Essex coaches

County advice overview

Both local and national coach services operate within Essex. 

It is advisable to contact the coach provider directly for details regarding wheelchair accessibility and mobility requirements as this can vary between providers and routes.  

Traveline provides information on bus routes and timetables and offers a detailed guide to all Essex travel.

Key tips

If you are planning a journey by coach, and you have reduced mobility or a disability, you may wish to consider in advance:

• If the destination stop is accessible and which arrangements you may need to make for onward travel
• Which mobility aids you will be travelling with. (Contact the provider if you are unsure whether you can travel with your scooter/wheelchair)
• Most toilets on coaches are not wheelchair accessible – If you have any concerns, speak to the coach provider or if you are travelling with National Express, contact their Assisted Travel Team prior to travel. You can ask the driver to make a stop at the next available accessible service station.

You may also wish to consider:

• Where the nearest coach pick-up point is and how you will travel there
• Which method of payment is accepted and if the ticket can be bought online to save you time
• What destination stop you need. (The bus driver should be happy to help)

Regional Operators

South East Coaches

South East Coaches website

Coach hire in London and Chelmsford.
Contact: 01245 325293

Flagfinders Coaches

Flagfinders Coaches website

Services include airport transfers, school transport and executive coach hire. 
Contact: 01376 320501

Jacksons Coaches

Jacksons Coaches website

Offe travel across the UK and Europe, including theatre trips and day excursions. 
Contact: 01245 320598

Gardner Travel

Gardner Travel website

Including airport, ferry and rail transfers, UK tours, theatre trips and day trips. 
Contact: 01245 361136

Chariots of Essex

Chariots of Essex website

Services include airport, ferry and rail transfers, UK tours, theatre trips and day trips.
Contact: 0808 189 0877

Supreme Coaches

Supreme Coaches website

Supreme Coaches provide a range of coach hire, corporate travel and transport facilities throughout the county. 
Contact: 01245 401541

Barker Bus

Barker Bus website

Offer coach hire in Essex, Hertfordshire and London for UK and European destinations. Multiple wheelchair accessible coaches.
Contact: 01279 793800

National Operators

National Express

National Express

Operate several pick-up locations across Essex. 

Megabus  

Megabus website  

Provides an extensive service from Chelmsford to destinations throughout the UK. 

Help with cost

If you are 60 or over, you can apply for a National Express Senior Coachcard. 

It offers a 1/3 saving on Standard and Fully Flexible fares to hundreds of towns, cities, and airports across the UK.

There are no restrictions on peak and off-peak travel times, and you can travel on public holidays, bank holidays and weekends. Benefits include:

• Save 1/3 on Standard and Fully Flexible fares, even at peak times.
• £15 day-return on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to anywhere in the UK (excluding airports). Just book 3 days in advance of your travel.
• Free journey if your coach is delayed for over an hour

Apply for a card on their website, by phone or at any National Express ticket outlet.

National Express Disabled Coachcard

A Disabled Coachcard offers a 1/3 saving on Standard and Fully Flexible fares to hundreds of UK towns, cities and airports. For more information, please use this link.

Check my Bus

Check my Bus will help you find the cheapest fares for your journey.

Special Assistance

National Express have created a selection of Journey Assistance Cards for passengers. They explain to staff and drivers any need for assistance or exemptions from requirements. For example, if you have a hearing impairment. 

Journey Assistance Cards can be downloaded here.

Travelling with Mobility Equipment

It is recommended to contact your coach operator to check accessibility requirements in advance of travel. 

Some coaches may be equipped with a wheelchair lift; however, it may not be deployed at all stops. Some operators will stow walking aids; however, you may be required to get up and down steps and access your seat independently.

National Express

National Express has a dedicated Assisted Travel Team who you can contact on 03717 818181 to talk through your needs. (9.00am – 5.00pm, 7 days a week.) 

It is not a requirement to book your assistance in advance, but it will help National Express to provide your assistance if you do so.

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/contact/assisted-travel

Wheelchair users are advised to book travel in advance, although this is not essential. This will allow National Express to carry out the following checks:

• that the wheelchair is compatible with the space on the coach
• that the combined weight of the customer and the wheelchair do not exceed the maximum weight capacity of being lifted by the wheelchair lift
• that the locations at which the customer plans to board and alight the coach from are accessible stops at which the wheelchair lift can be deployed
• that the specific coach on which the customer plans to travel is not already fully booked

Customers cannot travel in their mobility scooters; however, small lightweight mobility scooters that can be dismantled and safely stowed in the luggage hold of the coach are accepted.

To check if your scooter will be accepted, you will need to provide details of the size, make and model of the mobility scooter you will be travelling with. You will be advised either at the time of booking, or by National Express calling you back, about the suitability of your mobility scooter for carriage in the luggage hold.

Megabus

Megabus offers assistance to people with mobility difficulties or those who normally use a wheelchair.

They recommend that all wheelchair users contact them before purchasing their tickets to book the wheelchair space.

All coaches are wheelchair accessible and can carry one seated wheelchair user subject to size and weight limits. (Max weight 300kg, dimensions length 1200mm x width 700mm x height 1350mm including the seated passenger.)

Megabus are unable to accommodate passengers seated in mobility scooters. However, if you use a wheelchair (max weight 20kg) or mobility scooter and are able to climb the few steps into the bus, your mobility device can be stored in the luggage bay and the driver will help you to your seat.

In order to be accepted for transit, your mobility scooter must break down into separate parts, each weighing no more than 20kg. You or a companion must be able to dismantle and reassemble the mobility scooter for carriage in the luggage hold.

Assistance Dogs 

Are accepted on both Megabus and National Express services

Routes and timetables 

Traveline is a partnership of transport companies, local authorities and passenger groups which have come together to bring routes and times for all travel in Great Britain by bus, rail, coach, and ferry. They can help you find the way that best suits you for making your journey using the most up to date information. 

If you need help to plan a journey, Traveline’s national call centre can be contacted on 0871 200 2233.