Transporting the thousands to Glastonbury Festival

Published: 1st August 2022

Glastonbury Festival is the UK’s biggest music festival and the largest Greenfield festival in the world! The festival has always been home to some of the biggest names on the planet - David Bowie headlined the festival back in 1971, the only year the festival was free.

Since then the festival has come leaps and bounds and every year the UK's biggest music festival sees National Express Transport Solutions shuttle thousands of passengers to and from the festival. When 175,000 people descend onto one farm in the middle of Glastonbury, it’s no surprise the council fear the overwhelming traffic levels. That’s where the ticket and coach combos come in, and subsequently us!

Here's a deep dive into how we continuously pull off the operation along with some insider secrets…

The Secrets Behind This Mammoth Task

Over 10 years ago, The Kings Ferry Group won a See Tickets tender which saw the company undergo a trial at Paddock Wood’s Hop Farm. Needless to say, the Kingsferry delivered and the rest is history!

For years we transport thousands of festival-goers and last year was no different as we shuttled an enormous 40,000+ passengers to and from Somerset. Utilising our own fleet and that of partner operators, we begin arranging transport for the festival a year in advance as 875 movements take place over the course of 5 days.

Festival goers are transported from 29 cities across the UK including; Edinburgh, Exeter, London, Newcastle, Norwich, and Swansea. There is then the added complexity of distributing tickets to each passenger boarding our vehicles.

We’ve asked our drivers what they enjoy most about transporting passengers to Glastonbury. Many have said it’s the atmosphere onboard the coaches and the buzz around the festival. However, it seems the lack of mud on board is the most enjoyable aspect!

The Langa Methodist Church Choir 2019

It’s not just festivalgoers we transport, when called on to provide additional requirements we are always on hand to pull this off! In 2019, amongst the thousands of festival-goers on our coaches, we transported the amazing Langa Methodist Church Choir. Originating from Cape Town, South Africa, the choir travelled to Glastonbury for their Sunday opening slot on the Pyramid Stage.

Watch them get ready for their big performance on board our coach on BBC Two iPlayer.

One Amazing Effort

We would like to say a huge congratulations, thank you and well done to the team and our partner operators! This mammoth job runs smoothly every year and without a hitch.

Thanks to the Business Development, Sub-Contracting, Contracts, Engineering, Operations and Administration teams across National Express UK. An additional huge thank you goes to 350+ drivers and our fantastic sub-contractors, whom we would not be able to do this without.

To find out how your business can benefit from our mass transport solutions, get in touch with our team at 03301 358 466 or get a quick quote here.

Alternatively, email our Business Development Team at bd@nationalexpress.com