In message , at
16:06:20 on Sun, 10 Feb 2019, Arthur Figgis
remarked:
On 10/02/2019 15:03, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at
13:51:40 on Sun, 10 Feb 2019, Arthur Figgis
remarked:
On 10/02/2019 13:30, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at
13:12:32 on Sun, 10 Feb 2019, Arthur Figgis
remarked:
Waiting at a bus stop yesterday, I noticed the times for a
few-days-a-year return bus service from Kingston to Eastbourne.

Why does this exist?

Does anyone actually spend 3h 5min on a bus to Eastbourne,
rather* than* take a train?
*Easily beaten by the 3hrs 50mins for the Oxford-Cambridge bus.

These days aren't those posh vehicles with according to
Stagecoach "the luxury of leather reclining seats, air
conditioning and free Wi-Fi" (and tiolets), rather than ordinary
red double-deckers like this
https://www.flickr.com/photos/drakes...hs/35717850435

Yes, it's cheap, 10 quid return compared to train fares from
GBP8.50* single... but you would spend more of the day on the
bus than in* Eastbourne. It looks like coffin-dodger passes are not valid(?).
*The X5 (above) offers an unspecified discount for card-holders
before* 9:30 which implies they are valid after 9:30.

"Special £7 Return on 774 only for Freedom Pass Holders.No other
concessions available."
*What's 774?

Dorking to Tunbridge Wells or Bluewater, it seems. GoAhead seem to
have a handful of these odd infrequent return services.
*I was wondering how 774 applied to the X5.

I was wondering how the X5 applied to transport in (or from) London...
It's a well-known example of a bus service with longer end-to-end
times than the OP's. Or do you think residents of Kingston are more
fidgety than those in Oxford or Cambridge?

I can see the need for a frequent, direct link between a major centre
of education, science, technology etc, south Midlands-ish towns not
linked by rail, and a place where marmalade comes from,

The perceived need is somewhat diluted by the ~4hr each way timing.

--
Roland Perry