Yep! That sounds like National Express or any other coach company come to that. The problems, according to a coach company director of my acquaintance, are that (i) The Drivers have to take statutory breaks and since the coach does not take the direct route but serves many other places both before it reaches Liverpool and then arrives at Lancaster (which is in turn probably only a stop en route to somewhere else) these breaks eat up the time. (ii) They never take the short routes but stop at many other towns to pick up and drop off thus have town traffic to contend with both into and out of the town centres.
I'm afraid the days of fast coach transport e.g Stagecoach who used to do the London - Scotland route daily with only one half hour stop for a toilet break are long gone.