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Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London, and is operated by Victoria Coach Station Ltd., an arm of Transport for London. In UK English, a coach is a luxury or long distance express bus.
History
Victoria Coach Station was opened on its present site in Buckingham Palace Road, London, in 1932, by London Coastal Coaches Limited, an association of Coach Operators. In 1968 this became a subsidiary of the National Bus Company (NBC). During the 1970s Victoria Coach Station became the responsibility of the NBC subsidiary, National Travel (South East) Limited. In 1978 London Coastal Coaches Company was brought back to life and renamed Victoria Coach Station Limited. In 1988, following the privatization of the NBC companies, Victoria Coach Station Limited was acquired by London Transport, and ownership passed to Transport for London in 2000.
Operation
Victoria Coach Station has separate arrivals and departures terminals, located on the opposite sides of Elizabeth Street. The main departures building includes food outlets, shops, left luggage facilities, and ticketing. The combined area of the two terminals is about three acres (12,000 m²). The coach station accommodates mostly National Express and Eurolines services. A rapid growth of coach travel in the 1990s led to the opening of the nearby Green Line Coach Station which accommodates several other coach operators, including Stagecoach's new Megabus operation.
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