Case Study: Glastonbury Festival (See Tickets)

Year of Event: 2005–2025 (operating in 2027 after fallow year)

Client/Event Name: Glastonbury Festival (See Tickets)

Description of Services Provided:

The Kings Ferry, part of The Coach Travel Group, is the principal delivery partner for the Glastonbury Festival national coach programme, delivering one of the UK’s largest and most complex mass transport operations.

Each year, the operation delivers approximately 900 coach movements over a three-day period, transporting in excess of 30,000 passengers from nationwide departure points, including long- distance services. As part of the official “Coach + Ticket” programme, drivers issue festival entry tickets onboard, ensuring a controlled, secure and seamless customer experience.

The operation requires up to 12 months of detailed planning and continuous collaboration with the client to manage demand, confirm departure locations, and secure vehicle capacity during peak seasonal periods. All pick-up locations are assessed for safe access, parking, and boarding, ensuring compliance and operational efficiency.

A comprehensive operational plan is developed annually to manage the staggered arrival of hundreds of coaches into the festival site, preventing congestion and ensuring safe passenger disembarkation. A dedicated on-site management team oversees all arrivals and departures, supported by a national network of operators working to detailed instructions and schedules.

Live service delivery is managed through a 24-hour central control function, maintaining real-time communication with the client, on-site teams, and operators. This enables rapid response to delays, disruptions, or changes to service requirements.

Key operational metrics include:

• Over 900 coach movements per event
• Over 30,000 passengers transported
• Over 15,000 tickets distributed onboard
• Over 120,000 miles operated
• Over 350 drivers deployed

Post-event support is also provided, including management of lost property and customer enquiries,
ensuring continued service quality beyond the event itself.

This experience demonstrates The Coach Travel Group’s proven ability to manage high-volume, multi-origin, time-critical transport operations with extensive stakeholder coordination, centralised control, and robust contingency planning, directly comparable to large-scale event delivery such as UEFA EURO 2028.