A belated thank you for all the answers. Rather a busy and problematic week! Trip delayed until (almost certainly!) Monday. Still time to offer a lift!
Meanwhile I’m going to research all the options suggested. Favourite at the moment seems to be BlaBlacar coach from Poitiers to London Victoria. Not keen on central London, but at least I van get a train easily enough to Woking, then taxi to Chobham Business Centre. Ironically opposite Fairoaks AIRPORT. Heathrow it isn’t!
Well, I’ve booked Flixbus Poitiers to London Victoria, avoiding Blablacar following negative comment on here. Strangely, Flixbus were €80 against Bla’s €100, for pretty much the identical journey other than Bla’s being marginally quicker.
Next question! I need to get a Nouvelle Aquitaine bus from here to get to Poitiers Gare Routiere. It looks like they won’t accept debit/credit card for payment. Obvious means of payment but hey, we’re in France where logic is an unknown concept. I can see paying by smartphone … not an option. So, can I pay by cash?! I’m a bit worried another option is a prepaid card (Modalis) and that might be the only option. I don’t have time to get a Modalis card, crucially I don’t want to be refused travel if cash or cheque is all I can offer.
Many thanks both, that’s one thing less to worry about!
Gareth, got me worried there … but that is route 113 which only runs from Vouille so no good to me in Chalandray. I am aiming to catch route 100 bus from Chalandray at 13.34.
Many thanks, that would be really really helpful … except why just on blinking mobile phone? Why not something I can see on my laptop?…. like the map showing bus progress …. how easy will that be to see on a phone screen? I’ll try and get the app up on my phone but suspect I’ll get nowhere, wasting time I can’t spare! Wish me luck.
Well, a good hour out of my life and much cursing, I think I have the Transit app working. The thought of really being able to “see” my bus actually on its way here was so overwhelmingly mind-at-rest putting, I couldn’t ignore it. The thought of standing at my stop and nothing arriving was horrible. At least now, I can ring for a taxi in good time if it seems I’m to be let down. So much rides on getting to Poitiers in time for my coach!
Take a taxi, at least you will be dropped right outside the station and it might not be as much as you think, I got a surprise when I used one to travel 20 mins to the local airport here and supported a self employed worker at the same time.
An Uber? So the most precarious of employment options with often none of the normal French employment protections, and possibly minimal insurance for you. A standard registered taxi to poitiers woukd be €75-80 which isn’t cheap in my book.
Not an Uber. He was a registered taxi and also a hospital ride that you know a lot of taxi firms work for. I don’t know the region the OP lives in and thought it was just a bus ride from his posting so if that is the cost, then no, but for somewhere closer it would make sense
I’ve taken the overnight bus from Paris to London on a number of occasions, I quite like it tbh. I’ve had some good chats with people, and it saves on a night’s accommodation… sort of. One thing I would say though is that Paris Bercy bus station isn’t really somewhere where you’d want to hang around in. I get the train to Austerlitz and the bus station is not a long walk, so I tend to have a coffee and sandwich somewhere on route to avoid a long wait at the bus station.
Hmm, arrive Bercy, depart Bercy, 3 hours to wait. See if I can find somewhere for a meal.
Transit does show bus arriving here 13.34, the one I want, so hopefully all good. Mind you it also says my 12 minutes walk from home will take 43 minutes!
Had breakfast a couple of times in the IBIS next to Bercy Bus Station whilst waiting for my further long-distance bus home from Bercy after arriving (shattered) overnight from London.
Agree with you that unless there are a lot of people at the bus stops in Bercy waiting there in the early houra of the morning feels a bit scary.
