Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

Valley Express 21/22 season (Ed. Price reduced)

13»

Comments

  • Drove up yesterday from Bexhill but would be interested to hear from anyone using the Hailsham, Bexhill, Hastings route how it went yesterday. Maybe @PemburyAddick? Did they use the new coach company or was it still the Rambler Service? On the way up I was surprised to see a few people at Hurst Green awaiting the coach well past the time I would have usually expected them to have been picked up. Were there any problems? Asking in case we want to use it soon.

    Humble apologies for not responding sooner, I don;t read CL much these days! You've probably used it by now so this is probably far too late, but here goes. Can't remember the coach company, but the first weeks were a disaster. Always arrived at Pembury late (down to the addition of the Hailsham stop at the start?) and adding two stops after Pembury without building in additional time meant we arrived at Charlton no more than 20 minutes before KO. By the time you walked round to the ground and queued ( new bag checks, e tickets system etc) you were lucky to see KO. I wrote to the club and suggested they bring forward pick up time by 15 minutes, which they have now done. Not had chance to use it on a Saturday yet and only get coach back for evening games so will see if that has worked in due course. The absence of a steward could cause a problem (ticking off names at pick up and return) but not yet. 

    As regards comments above about empty seats, there are about 12 or so regulars from previous seasons that I don't see any more. A couple are deterred on health grounds - they have vulnerable family members and worry about Covid. A few others have changes in cirumstances (eg have moved) and the rest i simply don't know about. In short I don't think price has deterred the ones i know of, and I suspect a wide range of factors will apply, from getting out of the habit, fear of crowds post pandemic, to shit "on the field" performance. 

    I'll be getting the coach back on Tuesday so if you are give me a shout - I still don't know who you are!
  • edited October 2021
    Drove up yesterday from Bexhill but would be interested to hear from anyone using the Hailsham, Bexhill, Hastings route how it went yesterday. Maybe @PemburyAddick? Did they use the new coach company or was it still the Rambler Service? On the way up I was surprised to see a few people at Hurst Green awaiting the coach well past the time I would have usually expected them to have been picked up. Were there any problems? Asking in case we want to use it soon.

    Humble apologies for not responding sooner, I don;t read CL much these days! You've probably used it by now so this is probably far too late, but here goes. Can't remember the coach company, but the first weeks were a disaster. Always arrived at Pembury late (down to the addition of the Hailsham stop at the start?) and adding two stops after Pembury without building in additional time meant we arrived at Charlton no more than 20 minutes before KO. By the time you walked round to the ground and queued ( new bag checks, e tickets system etc) you were lucky to see KO. I wrote to the club and suggested they bring forward pick up time by 15 minutes, which they have now done. Not had chance to use it on a Saturday yet and only get coach back for evening games so will see if that has worked in due course. The absence of a steward could cause a problem (ticking off names at pick up and return) but not yet. 

    As regards comments above about empty seats, there are about 12 or so regulars from previous seasons that I don't see any more. A couple are deterred on health grounds - they have vulnerable family members and worry about Covid. A few others have changes in cirumstances (eg have moved) and the rest i simply don't know about. In short I don't think price has deterred the ones i know of, and I suspect a wide range of factors will apply, from getting out of the habit, fear of crowds post pandemic, to shit "on the field" performance. 

    I'll be getting the coach back on Tuesday so if you are give me a shout - I still don't know who you are!
    As you could buy a season pass for £230, the fare didn’t have to much effect on regulars - the problem was the £16 plus booking fee for one-off purchases.

    The A21 coach has been the most used this season, largely because they combined two routes by withdrawing Eastbourne, hence the backwards running to the coast. I don’t personally think the number of stops now is tenable, but if we can get the numbers back up again with the lower fare (and better football) then we can make the argument to reinstate the second coach. That won’t happen quickly as the first thing is to fill the existing seats.

    I think the alternative would have been the club trying to make the £14-£16 per match the norm for the season pass holders, which would probably have killed it off completely.
  • Just looked up this new congestion charge from October, so my four year old eco boost focus fails the limits & I’ll have to pay £12.50 to enter.  Add this to a ticket price & it’s just making a day at the footie even more expensive!  I can see a lot of people not bothering!   Same to visit the 02 on top of ridiculous parking charges or even to visit Greenwich Park!  
    It's not the congestion charge. That remains for Central London. I'd be very surprised if a 4 year old car fails the emission test for the expanded ULEZ. I think you should check again. 
  • We are coming up on the 30th . Is the Whitstable pickup point changed . It used to be behind  B&Q @ 12.50 but the postcode on the site is different and says time 12.20. Can anyone confirm details please 
  • Crusty54 said:
    Just looked up this new congestion charge from October, so my four year old eco boost focus fails the limits & I’ll have to pay £12.50 to enter.  Add this to a ticket price & it’s just making a day at the footie even more expensive!  I can see a lot of people not bothering!   Same to visit the 02 on top of ridiculous parking charges or even to visit Greenwich Park!  
    It's not the congestion charge. That remains for Central London. I'd be very surprised if a 4 year old car fails the emission test for the expanded ULEZ. I think you should check again. 
    He did. It's covered in the thread, in posts after the last one you read! 
  • Has anyone used the Valley Express from Strood before, I'm pretty sure I know where the pick up point is (the bus stop in front of Matalan) - But the post code provided on the OS sticks me right in the middle of the Retail Park.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!