Such a route existed before, but three years ago, in June 2023, a huge wave of emotions arose because Gdynia’s bus fleet decided to change the number of the popular seasonal bus route through the Hel Peninsula to Hel itself from 666 to 669, writes tvn24.pl.
This bus number always attracted great interest among tourists and internet users, but always caused controversy. Some people constantly pointed out that 666 is considered the number of the devil and urged to change the number. And then there’s the phonetic similarity of the peninsula’s name – Polish. Hel – with the English word Hell, which means hell.
So then the carrier succumbed to pressure and changed the number, explaining that it was doing so precisely because of the many critical letters and opinions received.
Now, a bus marked with the number 666 will travel to Hel in the summer even from Krakow, essentially through most of Poland. The decision to bring back the old number was made by the carrier “FlixBus”. According to tvn24.pl, company representatives do not hide that the number was returned purposefully – and that it will be part of marketing communication.
According to a representative of the passenger transport company, the primary goal is to distinguish this seasonal route and draw attention to a new travel offer – after all, it transports to a place called a cult Polish seaside location, the Hel Peninsula. And the number 666 is said to help popularize this route.
The carriers do not hide that before bringing back this number, they analyzed possible passenger reactions, but after the buses started running, they say they only received neutral or positive feedback.
It is interesting that this bus, traveling from Krakow to Hel and back on all days of the week, will also stop in Warsaw, Warsaw Modlin Airport, Gdansk, Gdynia, and many other smaller localities.
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The reports are full of connections to the famous AC/DC song “Highway to hell” (“Road to hell”).
That a bus with such a number can attract huge attention was shown already on the first days after such a return was announced. The news about the reinstated route “to hell” was picked up by portals and news agencies from Ukraine to Great Britain and even Brazil. The reports are full of connections to the famous AC/DC song “Highway to hell” (“Road to hell”).
As CNN wrote, Hel is a real place, and holidaymakers can once again board the controversial bus with the number 666 to reach the popular Polish seaside resort.
BBC, in turn, also emphasized that the journey from Krakow to Hel would take 13 hours.
Foreign portals also mention the circumstances of how the number was changed three years ago – allegedly, religious communities of conservative Catholics protested against the promotion of Satanism.
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