Greyhound buses take to British roads

LONDON — The Greyhound bus, an icon of long-distance travel in the United States, is coming to Britain.

FirstGroup PLC, the British rail and bus operator that owns Dallas-based Greyhound Lines Inc., said today it will start running budget Greyhound services here next month.

Fares on the routes from London to Portsmouth and Southampton in southern England will start at 1.50 pounds ($2.46), including a 50 pence booking fee, for a service that includes leather seats, free wi-fi, air conditioning and complimentary newspapers.

In keeping with Greyhound’s role in U.S. culture, the 41-seat coaches are all named after women featured in popular American songs, such as Sweet Caroline, Barbara Ann, Jolene and Peggy Sue.

“For 95 years Greyhound has been an icon of American life carrying millions of people across the USA and Canada,” said FirstGroup in a statement. “Since FirstGroup took over Greyhound in 2007, we have hoped to bring this famous brand across the Atlantic and I am absolutely delighted to reveal the first authentic Greyhound coaches in the U.K.”

The new service will be competing with National Express coaches and Stagecoach PLC-owned Megabus in the low-cost market.

FirstGroup, which bought Greyhound’s parent company Laidlaw International for 1.9 billion pounds, plans to roll out more services next year.

Greyhound services were started in Minnesota in 1914 by Swedish-born Carl Wickman.