The pay row between rail workers has been threatening the UK for the past few weeks but yesterday the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) Union confirmed that its members would hold a 48-hour strike from 17:00 on 9 June. If the threatened strike does go ahead, this will affect two of the biggest festivals in the summer calendar; Download Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival. In response, Big Green Coach, the festivals’ official ticket and travel partner, and the UK’s largest events travel company, has promised fans extended services and bigger coaches to ensure they get to their festivals on time.

The planned strikes will see 16,000 rail workers stage walk-outs across the company’s operations and maintenance teams, threatening to put the UK at a standstill. As Official Ticket + Travel partner to Download Festival (10-14 June) and the Isle of Wight Festival (11-14 June), Big Green Coach has vowed to get fans to their festivals with extended services.

Download Festival takes place at Donington Park from 10-14 June and welcomes around 90,000 people across the weekend. Big Green Coach will be picking up from 53 locations across the UK making the festival more accessible than ever. This year’s headliners are Slipknot, Muse and Kiss, as well as performances by Judas Priest, Faith No More, Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, A Day To Remember, Slash, Black Stone Cherry, Marilyn Manson, Enter Shikari, and many more. Coach tickets to Download with Big Green Coach start at just £31 (plus booking fees), making festival travel low-cost and hassle-free with coaches taking fans directly to the action.

The Isle of Wight Festival takes place at Seaclose Park from 11-14 June and welcomes over 58,000 music fans across the four days. This year’s headliners include Blur, Fleetwood Mac, The Black Keys and The Prodigy, as well as exciting performances from the likes of Pharrell Williams, Paolo Nutini, Paul Oakenfold, Billy Idol, Ash, The Charlatans, You Me At Six, Foxes, James Bay, and many more. Coach tickets to the Isle of Wight Festival with Big Green Coach start at just £64 (plus booking fees).

Danny Newby, Director at Big Green Coach, said:

“Whether these strikes are necessary or unreasonable isn’t out concern. Our priority is making sure that people with tickets to Download and the Isle of Wight Festival don’t miss out. Both festivals have seen phenomenal growth; there is a 20% increase in Download fans travelling by coach this year and we’ve had to introduce more seats nationally to the Isle of Wight Festival alongside a brand new through service from London.

“This is great news for the festival scene and we want to make sure that fans still get a great travel experience with us. We pride ourselves on getting the festival started early; travelling by Big Green Coach not only takes the stress away from you but it also means you don’t have to worry about driving after a heavy night partying away to headliners. All of our coaches are timetabled to arrive before the music begins and to depart once the music has finished so you won’t miss any of the action.”

The rise in coach travel is being seen across the festival spectrum, with more people choosing a greener, more reliable, and cost effective approach to festival travel. Big Green Coach was born from the desire to provide environmentally friendly travel to events with audience travel emissions to music venues being the single biggest contributor to the music industry’s environmental impact; accounting for a huge 68% of the festival sector’s total emissions, festival fans are becoming savvier about their method of transport.

Kevin Green, Director at Big Green Coach, added:

“The green approach to events is why we set up Big Green Coach; we made a commitment to make a positive impact on the environment, and for every customer who books their travel with Big Green Coach we sponsor and protect five square feet of Amazonian Rainforest for 10 years. In the past two years alone we’ve been able to protect 800,000 square feet and I’m confident that we can reach our overall target of three million square feet over the next five years, particularly with festivals like Download and the Isle of Wight growing at such a great speed. Added to the environmental benefits, of course, it means that rather than sitting in a car park queue after four days dancing in a field, you’re straight out of the site and on your way home.”

To book your place visit www.biggreencoach.co.uk.