Intercity (travelling between cities) travelling is becoming increasingly important when planning UK staycations recently. We aren’t talking about the intercity long-haul express passenger services in the British Rail days but the clever and efficient intercity service offered by Blacklane.
Jens Wohltorf and Frank Steuer
Blacklane are a chauffeur service operating in 50 countries offering fast, COVID-safe, luxury trips between cities across the U.K. (and other cities worldwide) in proper cars like Mercedes and BMW vehicles. Blacklane was founded by Jens Wohltorf and Frank Steuer in 2011 with a vision of a smarter way to book and manage rides. As well as intercity services, Blacklane also offer chauffeur hailing and of course the ever popular airport transfers.
We planned a Luxuriate Life staycation (just two of us) in Brighton and wanted to go from London by train as we are too old to do the whole coach adventure. We tried to work out if it was better/cheaper/faster/more comfortable than the train and this is what happened.
Booking
This was super easy and best of all flexible as it can be changed or cancelled for free up until one hour before pickup. The app is easy to use but sometimes it’s even easier to use the computer. The website has routes to/from London in the “United Kingdom” tab. We tap in the details and a price pops up.
Pricing
This was the best bit. On a Saturday morning, the price to travel from London Bridge to Brighton with Blacklane was £139 all in as you pay per car (there are two of us travelling), not per seat. The first class train tickets came in at £47 each so we have only spent £45 more than train! With Blacklane, it is door to door travel with no stress of getting tubes to stations, carrying bags or delays due to leaves on the train tracks. This was too good to be true already. So what was it like?
The car
Saturday morning arrives. Right on time, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class turns up looking all sparkling and shiny. Our chauffeur Brian jumps out. He is suited and we can see him buffing up the car to make it even shinier. 10 minutes later we emerge and Brian loads our luggage for us. The car is comfortable, spacious and nobody is missing the train.
The ride
Brian asks if we had a route in mind. We don’t so we let him sort it. We recline in the spacious leather seats and let Brian do his thing. This is such a private way to start our intercity trip and it’s a similar price. It is a Saturday morning so it takes us 2 hours door to door. It really could not have been more easy. The train took the same time but here we had the luxury of being picked up at home so overall it saved time.
I am working on my laptop and Brian offers a charger and charging ports for the ride. The other passenger is daydreaming of their Maldives trip, playing games and plotting other intercity trips. Safety standards are also really high with drivers thoroughly disinfecting cars and even the water bottles before pickup.
Arrival
We arrive fresh, rested and happy about the value and service for such a great price. The intercity service goes to and from many cities across the UK including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and many more.
Blacklane Chauffeur Hailing and airport transfers
Now back in London, we try out the new on-demand chauffeur hailing in electric vehicles. Available in over 20 cities across the world, the cars in London are all-electric Jaguar I-PACE and Teslas. Done via the app, chauffeur hailing was also easy and it is always nice riding in a Tesla. Blacklane are also 100% carbon neutral and offset the carbon footprint of all rides around the globe and will offset all their prior emissions dating back to Blacklane’s founding in 2011 by the end of this year. The ultimate aim is to become all-electric chauffeur service.
Airport transfers are something we will all be doing more of and Blacklane offers a service that will take you to your destination directly from / to the airport. Wherever you go drivers can track your flight and adjust for any delays outside of your control. An hour wait time is included and the drivers are locally knowledgeable too.
To discover more about Blacklane, visit: blacklane.com
Download the Blacklane app here: Apple / Android
All imagery courtesy of Blacklane.
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