Let us answer some of your most commonly asked questions.
Answers to commonly asked questions about our Commuter Service.
How can I get a coach hire quote?
If you call a verbal quotation will be made and in all cases a written confirmation of your quote will be sent to you via email.
What areas do Clarkes of London cover?
We predominantly cover London and surrounding counties, but do go further afield on a regular basis. We can also assist with touring in Northern Europe.
What forms of payment do you take for a private hire?
If the hirer wishes to cancel any agreement, they are liable to forfeit any deposit paid and to make further payments up to the following percentage of the hire price.
d. Ferry/Tunnel crossings, theatre tickets or any other such ancillary service once purchased are not returnable and must be paid for in full.
What are the procedures for late payments?
The hirer is responsible to pay any deposit and the full hire cost when due. If you fail to make due payments we are entitled to either terminate the contract or to take legal action to enforce payment. The company reserves the right to add interest at the rate of 2% compound interest per calendar month, after the date by which payment should have been made.
Yes, we do. You can view all the relevant information on serving disabled customers here.
Can I eat and drink on board a Clarkes of London coach?
Can I bring an animal on-board?
What happens if the driver isn't at the pick up?
We will do everything in our power to get your driver to the correct pick-up point and on time. However, if for any reason this does not happen please call our office straight away on 020 8778 6697and we will be happy to help.
Can an infant/child sit on a parent’s lap?
Everyone on-board the coach is required to have their own seat – we do not allow infants/children to sit on an adult’s lap. We recommend infants and children that would usually require a car seat to use one on the coach. Clarkes of London do not supply child seats or boosters.
Can you put suitcases on-board the coach?
Not on-board the coach, please use the luggage hold underneath vehicle (your driver will assist you).
Can I sit on a courier the seat?
No, the courier seat is used for Clarkes of London staff and Tour Guides only.
You may drink alcohol on our coaches, but there are strict laws preventing us allowing alcohol on a vehicle that is travelling to a football ground.
We are in Manchester can you pick us up?
Yes of course, our sister company Connections is best placed to provide a coach for you in your area. The paperwork, along with full payment, will need to be completed before your booking is confirmed.
Would multiple pick-ups/drop offs cost extra?
The price of your hire is calculated based on driving time and fuel used, so if the extra stops result in use using more fuel and using extra driving hours then the price will be calculated accordingly.
Coach hire pricing is exempt from VAT, so our prices do not and will not ever include VAT. Additional services such as parking will be subject to VAT.
Can we pay after the hire?
No, we require payment in full, within 30 days of your booking.
I've had issues in the past with drivers not turning up on time. How do I know the same won't happen with Clarkes of London?
You can locate your coach using our Coach Tracker. We are also able to track the progress of each of our vehicles here at Head Office, so if you phone we can tell you exactly when you might expect your vehicle to arrive.
A map of the individual stops, or routes, may be viewed on this site.
Are their child travel concessions?
Sorry no, full price applies to all tickets.
Tickets can be purchase via the booking portal (single, returns and local fares can only be purchased on the coach).
Please visit our fares and tickets page.
Why is my coach late?
Whilst we endeavour to run our services according to the published timetable, our best efforts can be hampered due to severe traffic congestion in and around London. We are often asked why we do not alter our timetable to compensate for this. Quite simply, our routes and timings are agreed by Transport for London as part of a larger network of commuter services travelling to and from London – any changes we make will therefore affect other commuter services. Bear in mind too that during the school holidays traffic moves more freely and timetable timings more readily achieved.
Can I use my Freedom Pass?
Why has my coach not picked up at my stop?
We monitor our services very closely to ensure our commuter vehicles do not overload, however, on the rare occasion that this may happen our vehicles are seated only and it is not possible to carry any more passengers than seats provided. i.e. nil standees.
Where is my usual coach?
A rigid cycle of maintenance checks is carried out on our fleet, in line with current Department of Transport (DOT) legislation, which will necessitate your regular vehicle being taken out of service at some point. A cover vehicle will be used until your usual vehicle is ready to go back into service.
Where is my usual driver?
Sometimes cover drivers are used when a driver phones in sick or is simply away on holiday.
How do I access the new ticketing system?
You can access the new booking portal here.
Do I need a Smartphone to use the new system?
Not necessarily, period tickets (annuals, half yearly and monthly tickets) can be printed from your PC for scanning each time you board the coach.
Carnet tickets (books of singles and return journeys) will require the use of a portable web enabled device as these tickets must be activated by you online prior to each journey and then scanned on-board the coach.
How do I purchase tickets using the new system?
Do I have to upload a photo to the digital ticketing system?
You must upload a photo for the purchase of annual season tickets, half yearly and monthly tickets.
The purchase of 10 single journey tickets and 40 single journey tickets will not require you to upload a photo.
Uploading a photo is simple and the ticketing system will ask you whether you want to either take a photo/selfie using your Smartphone or use a photo already stored within your Smartphone photo library.
Photo should be a recently taken passport-style photo of you.
Only head and shoulders should be visible.
No hats or scarves and your face should not be obscured.
The photo should be a good resemblance of you for identification purposes.
Note that your ticket may be refused if you cannot be identified clearly.
What does activating a ticket mean?
To use your ticket, you first need to activate it by clicking the Activate Ticket button. Please be aware that activating the ticket will mean that it will become available to use straightaway and it will expire per its validity.
How do I use the ticket when boarding the coach?
Your ticket is accessed in your phones web browser and displayed on your phone. If displayed on your web browser you can add a direct link for the ticket to your phones Home Screen so that you can access it easily when boarding the coach. Refer to your phones manual for details of how to save a link to your Home Screen.
Log into your account and select ‘My Account’ from the drop down menu to edit your personal details.
Log into your account and select ‘My Account’ from the drop down menu to change your password.
How do I change the mobile number/email address linked to my account?
In order to protect your account, please contact commute@clarkescoaches.co.uk if you would like your linked mobile number or email address changed.
Do I have to transfer my current annual/paper tickets onto the mobile ticketing system?
No, you can continue to use your current card/paper tickets until they expire. Any new ticket purchases made after the introduction of mobile ticketing will then by via the new system.