National Express is tracking down ‘long distance families’ – to reunite them for the Christmas

National Express is trying to track down the UK’s ‘long distance families’ – to reunite them for the festive season.

The UK’s largest coach operator is offering free travel to the selected family, alongside £500 cash to help make the festive celebration one to remember.

Families who believe they fit the criteria can find out more about the initiative at https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/offers/partners/christmas-family-competition

Just under half of passengers travelling with National Express this December will be doing so to visit friends and family.

National Express Coach Managing Director Chris Hardy said “Christmas is a time for friends and family, and for thousands of Brits, it’s the only time this year that the entire clan is gathered around one table.

“We understand that life often takes us far away from home, and can separate us from our hometowns and family.

“We also know that Christmas can be a particularly challenging time to travel, and making your way across the country to see friends and family can sometimes feel impossible.

“We aim to make it easier for families who may find themselves separated by hundreds of miles this Christmas, by helping to bring them together.”

National Express is the only national public transport network fully operating across the UK throughout the festive period with services on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

And more than 50,000 extra seats are being added to services over the festive period.

The average Brit will travel 74 miles on their trip home for Christmas to visit family.

And four in five of those surveyed look forward to the journey home for the festivities.

Twenty nine per cent enjoy the feeling they get when they are closer to home, and one in five feel relaxed as they make tracks back to their hometown.

Though only 28 per cent believe it will be possible to see everyone they want to reconnect with this Christmas.

And 63 per cent of those surveyed said spending time with their family was the best thing about the Christmas break.