A Liverpool fan has bought the ‘cheapest coach in the UK’ so he can drive a bus-load of Reds to the Champions League final.
Liverpool and Real Madrid will square off at Stade de France on Saturday, May 28 as they fight for the European title. Liverpool booked their place in the final after beating Spanish side Villarreal 5-2 on aggregate.
However, following their win, demand for transport to the French capital led to significant price rises, with fans charged hundreds of pounds for a flight or ferry. Appalled by the sky-high prices, one Liverpool supporter has taken matters into his own hands.
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Simon Wilson is charging fans just £1 for a return trip to Paris after buying what he says is the cheapest coach in the UK.
Simon will be a familiar face to many Reds after he famously drove a £40 Skoda to the Champions League final in Madrid in 2019. But his latest challenge focuses on Liverpool fans having ‘the experience of a lifetime’ without the steep price tag.
Speaking to the ECHO, Simon said: “A couple of years ago I saw fans getting charged extortionate prices. People who were massive fans and just wanted to go to the game couldn’t because it was so expensive.
“For this final, I was going to take the Skoda but there’s only a couple of seats in the car. We wanted something a bit bigger so we could help people out.”
Taking to Google, Simon said he searched ‘cheap coaches’ before stumbling upon one that he says looks like an ‘old 1950s school bus’. Simon said: “I bought the cheapest coach in the UK that I could find. I was just Googling ‘cheap coaches’ and I came across this one.
“We’ve wrapped the coach and put stickers on it, for perspective, the stickers have cost more than the coach.
“The guy we bought it off just seemed to be a very nice, helpful guy, so that sort of gave us a bit of confidence, but we’ll let you know if the coach is any decent if we get there.”
Earlier this week, Simon put a call out on social media saying he would only charge £1 for a return trip for fans struggling to find transport to Paris. Simon said: “That weekend it’s half term and it’s coming up to the Queen’s Jubilee. There’s not one ferry from the UK going to the Netherlands, Paris or Spain that’s free, all transport is virtually taken. It’s just a nightmare weekend.”
He added: “As soon as I put the post on my Instagram, we had thousands of people [contacting us] within minutes.
“Unfortunately, we can’t take everyone, but we are going to try and take as many people as possible.”
The coach will leave Anfield Stadium on Thursday and head to Dover. The group will then get a ferry to Calais and after an overnight stay, drive onto Paris before making their way back to Liverpool on Sunday. Simon said: “The only ferry I could get was one at night, but even that was a cancellation.
“I was on the phone with them constantly, I kept ringing them every 10 minutes just to see if they had anything - I had to swim the Channel just to book the ferry.”
Simon added: “For me, it’s just about helping people get there. The petrol is costing over £1500, I’ve paid for the coach, the drivers are both on a wage, you have the insurance and so on.
“The cost of doing this is a small fortune, but we’re only charging people £1 for a return.
“This is about making it affordable for people who want to go and have the experience of a lifetime.”
You can watch Simon’s videos, including the trip from Anfield to Paris, on his YouTube channel.
