National Express vows to help get Scottish students home for Christmas

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
The UK’s largest coach operator has promised to make sure students across Scotland and the rest of the UK are able to get home early next month.

The announcement comes after news that universities in England will oversee an evacuation-style “student travel window” between December 3 and December 9 to minimise the risk of them spreading coronavirus.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to publish similar plans for students' return in the coming days.

The “student exodus” could impact more than a million people in higher education across the UK.

The “student exodus” could impact more than a million people in higher education across the UK. (Photo by Andy Buchanan / AFP)The “student exodus” could impact more than a million people in higher education across the UK. (Photo by Andy Buchanan / AFP)
The “student exodus” could impact more than a million people in higher education across the UK. (Photo by Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Chris Hardy, managing director of National Express UK Coach said: “Organising a million students to travel home within one week poses a significant logistical challenge for Universities and because coach travel is so flexible, we can help.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’re increasing capacity on our normal routes that serve University locations as well as speaking with Universities to help them put on special services.

“We have the ability to quickly put hundreds of vehicles and drivers on the road and the expertise and technology to organise the booking and safe movement of students in line with the need for staggered departure dates set by universities.”

The company said all its coaches have covid-secure measures in place, including enhanced cleaning, reduced capacity, wearing of face coverings, temperature screening and additional air conditioning filters.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Chris Hardy added: “Students already know and trust us to get them to and from University safely. We’re ready to work with Universities and our team of local operators up and down the country to help coordinate this safely at such an important time.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.