The number 666 bus, long a macabre joke on Poland’s Baltic coast, is back in service. The route, which runs from the city of Wladyslawowo to the resort town of Hel, was suspended during the pandemic. Now, as summer approaches and European travel rebounds, the bus has returned to its regular schedule. But while Poles smile at the dark humour of a bus to ‘Hell’, the UK government is sounding alarms about a different kind of chaos brewing across the continent.
For many British holidaymakers, the revival of the ‘Highway to Hel’ is a quirky travel footnote. But ministers in Whitehall see it as a symbol of a deeper malaise: a continent still reeling from inflation, strikes and supply chain fractures. The bus route, operated by a local transport company, was cancelled in 2020 as passenger numbers plummeted. Now, with demand surging, the company has reinstated the service. But the decision is not without controversy. Some locals complain the route is a ‘blasphemous’ joke, while others see it as a clever tourist gimmick.
Yet the UK’s warning about ‘continental chaos’ is no laughing matter. British officials have been quietly monitoring the situation in Europe, where labour unrest is spreading. French refineries have been blockaded, German trains have been halted by strikes and Spanish truckers are threatening to down tools. The Polish bus is a small cog in a much larger machine, one that the UK believes is about to grind to a halt.
The resurrection of the 666 bus is a timely reminder of the cultural differences that still divide Europe. In Poland, the route has become a bizarre rite of passage for tourists and goths alike. But in Britain, where the cost of living crisis continues to bite, the idea of a bus to ‘Hell’ feels less like a joke and more like a metaphor. As one Treasury source put it: “We are watching the continent with a very careful eye. Any disruption to supply chains could hit our shelves within days.”
The bus, which runs every hour from dawn to dusk, costs just a few zloty. But the real cost of European instability could be felt in British pockets. The UK has already seen inflation remain stubbornly high, with food prices rising sharply. If strikes or shortages on the continent worsen, the impact could be severe.
For now, the ‘Highway to Hel’ is a tourist attraction, not a policy warning. But its revival, and the UK’s reaction, shows how much the world has changed. Once, a bus to ‘Hell’ was a joke. Now, it feels like a glimpse of the future.
