Barnes Coaches
Established in 1920
Average rating:
(4.91 out of 5 from 2065 reviews)
Company Vehicles
8 seat Luxury MPV
19 seat Luxury Mini Coach
30 seat Executive Coach
41 seat Executive Coach
41 seat Executive Coach
49 seat Executive Coach
61 seat Executive Coach
72 seat Standard Coach
96 seat Executive Double Decker
96 seat Standard Double Decker
100 seat Standard School Bus
About
Barnes Coaches are one of the leading coach companies in the area, hopefully you may well have heard of us and seen our distinctive green coaches out on the road. For those of you who already use our services, thank you for your continued custom, for those of you who haven’t used us before, why not give us a go and see what you are missing out on.
We have a range of coaches from 8 seat mini-buses to 96 seat double deck coaches.
We always offer an exceptional service and can offer you some amazing deals on coach hire! The safety of our passengers has always been of paramount importance and we have been vindicated in the pursuit of this goal as we were amongst one of only 11 founder members nationwide of the DVSA’s EARNED RECOGNITION scheme for coach operators.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Luke Barnes
Director
Operator Licence
Barnes Coaches currently holds a International licence.
Location
Customer Reviews
Showing reviews 1 to 10 of 15
Customer, London
(3/5)
2 weeks ago
"I had asked for the driver's mobile in advance and was told it would be given to me 2 days before. It was not. The coach was booked for 9.30 and the coach arrived at 9.35. I knew that our journey was complicated. So I had wanted to clarify the instructions with the driver in advance. There was clearly something wrong with the Satnav as we were first driven to the 3rd stopping place. We were then dropped at Destination 1. We then went to Destination 2. It was 3 miles to Destination 3. The Satnav took us on a roundtrip back to Destination 1., and we did not arrive at Destination 3 until 3.00, 45 minutes late. It was all very frustrating. Otherwise, driver was helpful, coach was comfortable and clean."
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 16th April 2024, 9:00am:
"Hi, I can only apologise that not everything went perfectly on your trip. I will certainly look into what went wrong here so that we can make things right in the future."
Wantage Silver Band, Wantage, Oxfordshire
(3/5)
1 month ago
"Our band has been using Barnes Coaches for years. As a very loyal customer, we had a great journey to Newport for the Welsh Open Brass Band Contest, but were less than impressed that the driver couldn’t wait an extra 10 minutes to allow us to stay for the results. We finished with a selection of prizes and felt shortchanged as we couldn’t all be there to collect them in person. We’ve always booked with Barnes Coaches as we like the fact they understand brass bands (with ‘banders’ as owners) and the way in which they work in contest days. We really hope that this doesn’t happen again."
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 11th March 2024, 6:45am:
"Hi, I am really sorry this has happened. We are fully aware that Brass Band Contest's don't always run to time and can only apologise that there wasn't more flexibility on this occassion. I have looked at the driver's hours for the day in question and he would have been close to his legal driving limit for the day but I appreciate this would have disrupted the end of your day, for which I can only apologise. I will always try to ensure in the future that we build in a contignecy plan if this happens again. Thanks."
Natasha Eden, Swindon
(3/5)
5 months ago
"Whilst the journey was fine and the coach was clean and comfortable, there was a half an hour delay due to the previous school drop. We appreciate this cannot be helped but there was no flexibility to extend our pick up to compensate for our 30minute delay which was disappointing for children who had to cut short their activities."
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 16th November 2023, 1:53pm:
"Hi, I am sorry about this, please can I have your private hire ID so that I can investigate further?"
Customer, Cichero
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"Bus was excellent and very clean. The driver was very helpful to us as a group, however he was driving was quite aggressive at a couple times. There was one point where an accident almost occurred due to this behaviour. Blame could have been afforded to the other driver, but it was unnecessary aggressive driving. Ultimately the driver is responsible to 16 other passengers...whether or not the other driver is in the wrong"
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 28th November 2022, 6:47am:
"Hi, I am sorry you haven't had an amazing experience with regards to our driver's driving and it is certainly not the standard of driving we expect so I will be speaking to the driver concerned. Apologies again, Luke Barnes."
Customer, Bucklebury
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"Booked Coach for a school residential trip but the size of the coach didn't take into account the luggage space required for a week away. Also the driver was asleep in the coach on site when we approached it and was not in the best mood. The coach was not clean as it was used for school runs. Glad it was only a 40 minute journey !"
Would they recommend: No
Jean, Cirencester
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"25/1/22 - Thank you to the driver Jason for a delightful Mystery Trip. The vehicle was clean and very comfortable, looking forward to my next outing!"
Would they recommend: Yes
Ian Hicks, Ruskin Junior School
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"The driver seemed like a lovely guy but unfortunately took us to the wrong school destination. Was very prompt on picking us up and a very smooth drive back to school."
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 23rd November 2021, 8:35am:
"Hi, really sorry about this, I will speak to the driver and find out why that happened as he had all of the information he needed.
Thanks"
Customer, Swindon
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"Thursday 13th day trip to London zoo Over all the journey was very bumpy and uncomfortable the driver kept braking like he wasn’t playing attention and all over the place on the motorway, over the solid white Rumble line to the left and the next lane on the right. The driver himself was very pleasant and well dressed however could have been more professional when giving the safety speech and on the return journey done up his top 2 buttons and put on his tie. Finally the coach was very clean and fresh however the arm rests on the aisle seats pinch in whatever position you put them in and feel like the seats are made for children rather than all shapes and sized adults and something on the coach was squeaking constantly towards the rear of the centre. Also the driver told us as we got off that he would be picking us up at the same location or near to there but instead he has parked in a different location and sent one of the passengers (all be it Barnes Staff) to collect us on foot and walk us to the coach. One of the other passengers obviously struggled to walk the distance as was out of breath and had to stop during the walk on multiple occasions. This was our first time travelling with Barnes we will try it again but if we have the same treatment again that will be our final time which will be a shame as we’ve heard such great things"
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 17th August 2020, 7:22am:
"Hi, I am sorry that you didn't feel everything was quite up to our expected level on this trip. I will certainly be speaking to the driver and have taken all of your comments on board."
Customer, Didcot
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"We had some issues regarding timings on the day of our journey. The driver arrived late for collection, and stated that he had gotten lost on the way. He then got lost twice on the journey to Marwell Zoo, despite obvious signage, which meant that we arrived at the venue late for our event. On the return journey, we arrived at the coach, which was really hot, as the driver hadn't turned on the air conditioning. The driver left the venue, and then pulled over to the side of the road to figure out how to turn on the air conditioning. The driver missed the nearest junction to our site, which meant that it took longer to get back than it should have done. Overall, the vehicle was nice, clean, had working seatbelts and was comfortable (once the AC was on) and the driver was polite."
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 25th September 2019, 12:59pm:
"Hi, thank you for your honest review. I will send a separate e-mail to you outlining what we will be doing regarding the poor service you received. Thanks"
Mrs C Warr, Swindon
(3/5)
More than a year ago
"The driver arrived on time. We made the journey in excellent time. We had a scenic journey through London along the river. Drop off and pick up points explained. And although it was busy with other coaches, pickup was made in good time at 5.15pm It was evening rush hour and extremely busy. With pedestrians and traffic. Our driver and a taxi driver were driving side by side both determined to get to the single lane ahead first and our driver became agitated when the taxi driver won. He began to tailgate the taxi, and had to stop suddenly when the taxi driver dangerously put on his brakes for no reason... there was no close traffic ahead of him....in an obvious road rage incident. Both taxi driver and our coach driver gesticulated angrily at each other. There was 56 elderly people on board and if they hadn't had seat belts on, there could have been injuries. Our driver then overtook the taxi and side swiped him with the coach. Although no contact was made, and coach and taxi went different ways at the next junction. But thereafter until we were well out of London our driver drove aggressively.. There were a couple of complaints from other passengers after the journey. His appearance was clean and tidy ,as was the coach. He was polite and helpful. Did a couple of extra stops in Swindon to let out passengers I have always used your coaches and this is the first time I have left an adverse review. I would make a point of refusing to accept this driver again. He let his anger cloud any judgement of his responsibility to take care of his passengers."
Would they recommend: Yes
Operator replied on 19th July 2019, 10:14am:
"Thank you for your review. Road safety is our number one priority and I will certainly be seeing the driver concerned regarding this incident. I will also be reviewing the dashcam footage of the event as this is certainly behaviour we expect from or drivers or tolerate. If you have any further concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Luke Barnes"
