National Express to start low cost airport shuttle service

A new airport transfer service between Heathrow and Gatwick and central London hotels aims to undercut the cost of taxis. 

National Express group is to run the dot2dot service from November 1, which will be bookable online at at transactional website www.dot2.com from October 1. 

The company claims that the price of £22 one-way from Heathrow to central London (£35 return) will be half the price of taxis and will offer a maximum of four stops on any route for each shuttle.

The service from Gatwick will operate in conjunction with the Gatwick Express, with shuttles running transfers from Victoria Station. 

Shuttles will pick up from Heathrow’s terminals evey five minutes and a separate service is planned for when Terminal 5 opens next spring.

The company plans to have 76 vehicles operating by Christmas. Each will have 10-12 leather seats with extra legroom. 

The vehicles will be able to use bus lanes to help speed journey times to and from central London. 

As a shared ride service it is also a more environmentally friendly choice, National Express claims. 

The service is to be heavily promoted at World Travel Market in November as the company seeks to attract global travel agents and operators through volume-based commission deals, according to managing director Paul Whitfield. 

Help desks, where travellers can get further information and book a transfer, will be sited in all the terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick.

The initiative brings together the experience of National Express and Hotelink in the UK and Go Airport Shuttle, an international consortium of airport shuttle providers operating in North America, of which dot2dot is a network partner.

Satellite navigation equipment, congestion tracking systems, fully trained and experienced drivers and a range of specially configured shuttles will make the dot2dot service a simpler journey, the transportation group claims. 

Whitfield said: “Building further on the success of the recently purchased ‘Hotelink airport transfer service, dot2dot offers a very attractive option for business and leisure travellers between Heathrow, Gatwick and central London.

“The service is very comfortable with extra legroom, extremely cost effective, compared to some of the other modes of transport and very reliable. 

“It’s ideal for those looking for someone to take the strain from them of getting to and from the airport whilst saving money with discounted fares for groups and return journeys. Because the dot2dot ride is shared, it is also a highly environmentally friendly transport choice.”

by Phil Davies