Intercity travel start-up Sn-ap has launched in Bristol, its second city after launching in Nottingham last year.
It has partnered with local operators including Berkeley, Centurion and Bakers Dolphin to provide new low-cost coach journeys to London.
The software-based company matches demand for intercity travel with coaches from independent operators. Passengers can book online, choosing from existing trips or creating their own.
Founder Thomas Ableman says: “There are thousands of fantastically high-quality coaches owned by independents that are frozen out of intercity routes by the established multinationals. We can use technology to change this.”
After every trip passengers rate their experience, and Sn-ap uses these ratings to allocate new trips to the operators that passengers like best, keeping quality high. Nine out of 10 of Sn-ap’s online reviews are five-star.
Trips are confirmed only when there’s enough demand – allowing Sn-ap to guarantee low prices.
Paul Adcock recently joined the company as Operations Director, from Arriva. He says: “We only pick the best of the best operators. Because they’re local and independent, they take more pride in their work. The most common passenger feedback we get is ‘lovely friendly driver’.”
