Heathrow Central bus station

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Heathrow Central bus station
Heathrow Central Bus Station - geograph.org.uk - 582008.jpg
The bus station in 2007
General information
Location Heathrow Airport
London Borough of Hillingdon
Owned by Heathrow Airport Holdings
Operated by National Express
Bus stands20
Bus operators
Connections

Heathrow Central bus station is a large bus station that serves terminals 2 and 3 of Heathrow Airport, in London, England. It provides urban bus and long-distance coach services to destinations in London and to regional destinations across Britain. It is the UK's busiest bus and coach station with over 1,600 services each day to over 1,000 destinations. [1] An estimated 13% of air passengers using Heathrow Airport use bus and coach services from Heathrow Central bus station. [2]

Contents

Services

Interior of the station in 2021 Heathrow Central Bus Station - interior 1.jpg
Interior of the station in 2021

Abellio London, London United, London Sovereign, Metrobus and Metroline operate local bus services from stands 18 and 19 on behalf of Transport for London from Heathrow Central as far as Uxbridge, Ruislip, Harrow, Greenford, Hounslow, Kingston and Croydon. A night bus operates into Central London. [3]

First Beeline, Arriva Herts & Essex, Carousel Buses and Diamond South East operate bus services from stand 20 to destinations including Maidenhead, Slough, High Wycombe, Whitley Village, Watford, St Albans and Harlow. [3]

Long-distance coach services by First Beeline (RailAir), Flixbus, Megabus, National Express and The Airline operate from stands 6 to 17 connecting with other airports, main towns and cities across the United Kingdom. [4]

Transport interchange

Heathrow Central bus station is situated directly above Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station on the Piccadilly line of London Underground linked by escalators and lifts. It is also linked by underground walkways to Heathrow Central railway station, which is served by the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express. Both these stations provide direct rail links with Central London. [5]

Access to terminals

Heathrow Central bus station is open 24 hours a day and it is connected to Terminals 2 and 3 via underground walkways.

Air passengers travelling through Terminals 4 and 5 can use the rail and Heathrow Express services free of charge within the Heathrow free travel zone to reach Heathrow Central stations and change to the bus station. A travel centre at the central bus station provides travel information. [5]

The free travel zone for buses was suspended in January 2021 due to financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [6]

Passengers using Central Bus station but not connecting via flights from the airport are directed to use paid parking at Terminal 2. The cost for parking for the first hour as of Dec 2023 was £9.60. Terminal 2 car park is in excess of 1km walk from the bus terminal and wheel chairs are available for those requiring mobility assistance by calling the help points near the lifts in the par park in terminal 2. The number of wheel chairs is limited as is the resource and can take up to an hour to arrive. [7]

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References

  1. "Services - 120558-2018 - TED Tenders Electronic Daily". ted.europa.eu. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. Blow, Christopher (2012). Transport Terminals and Modal Interchanges. Routledge. p. 103. ISBN   9781136352300 . Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Buses from Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3" (PDF). Transport for London. 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  4. "Coaches | Heathrow". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Heathrow Transport - Rail, Coach and Bus". Heathrow Airport. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  6. Business Traveller https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2020/11/19/heathrow-suspends-free-travel-zone/
  7. "Heathrow Airport Central Bus Station | National Express". www.nationalexpress.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

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