What does *ALSA Bus Guaranteed mean?

[mauveglass]

I'm booking a bus from Madrid airport to Pamplona for September. Does anyone know why some tickets say ALSA Bus Guaranteed and some don't? The ones that don't are 13 euros cheaper. Would it be another bus company even though it's on the Alsa site?

 

[Castilian]

AFAIK, Alsa bus guaranteed means they guarantee you that you'll travel on an Alsa bus and not on a third party one.

 

[mauveglass]

Is a 3rd party bus as safe? Who would it be?

 

[Felipe]

The "non ALSA buses" from ALSA (!) may or may not have some perks as wide chairs, wifi, tv.

 

[Castilian]

Is a 3rd party bus as safe?

Yes, all buses in Spain have to meet rigorous safety requirements. The only difference regarding safety that comes to my mind is that older buses weren't required to include seat belts for passengers and newer ones (from 2007 or 2008 onwards) are required to have them so you may find still some old buses without them. But you can't know beforehand how old will be the bus... regardless of the bus company you use.

Differences would be basically in comfort and amenities but that's true too for buses of a single bus company. Some models are more comfy than others... Some buses have more amenities tan others (e.g.: Some Alsa buses have wifi and some Alsa buses doesn't have it)...

Personally, I would go for whatever schedule suits you better.

P.S.: With Alsa, the route from Madrid to Pamplona involves a change of buses in Soria. If just one of the buses was an Alsa bus, that means your time in a non-Alsa bus would be roughly 2h. 30m. what isn't too much anyway.

 

[Olivares]

Per previous comments, ALSA Buses provide some services that many other bus companies in Spain don't-- this ranges from bathrooms, wide seat, seat belts, turntables, soda service, seat with charger, Wi-Fi, a movie, etc... This may mean little to you but if the ride is longer than 3 hours, that onsite bathroom may come in handy and that charger may be a lifesaver...

 

[mauveglass]

Thank you everyone!

 

[mauveglass]

One more thing...should I buy my ticket now or at the kiosk at the airport? I get into Madrid at 7am and have hotel reservations in Pamplona that night. Last time, I spent time in Madrid and then took a train.

 

[Olivares]

One more thing...should I buy my ticket now or at the kiosk at the airport? I get into Madrid at 7am and have hotel reservations in Pamplona that night. Last time, I spent time in Madrid and then took a train.[/QUOTE

Check the stats on your flight--- if the flight is rarely delayed, buy the ticket. I opted twice to NOT buy a bus ticket because my flight was transatlantic and when I got to the kiosks the time/route was sold out. I still got to Pamplona that day because you WILL have plenty options either train and bus, but if you have your mind set on a particular time and feel pretty confident that you are not going to miss that bus, buy the ticket.

 

[whariwharangi]

¿Qué es el Bus ALSA Garantizado?

"Si durante el proceso de compra y selección de horario, aparece "autobús ALSA garantizado" esto significa que nos comprometemos a que el autobús en el que viajes sea ALSA."

http://ayudaonline.alsa.es/preguntas-frecuentes/

ALSA is part of a conglomeration of bus companies owned by National Express. Other bus companies providing service to Pamplona on ALSA schedule would likely include CONDA.

About ALSA
https://www.alsa.es/en/about-alsa

 

[hikingmd_05]

One more thing...should I buy my ticket now or at the kiosk at the airport? I get into Madrid at 7am and have hotel reservations in Pamplona that night. Last time, I spent time in Madrid and then took a train.

Will be arriving around the time you'll be arriving at terminal 4s on Sept 2. Will be transferring to terminal 4 to catch the 10:45 Alsa bus to Pamplona. The "garantizado" tickets costs E26.25. Will be staying overnight in Pamplona before bussing to SJPdP the next day to start the Camino on Sept 4. Who knows we might meet along the way.