Plusbus

I wonder if someone knows the answer to this. If I buy a return from say Edinburgh to Manchester, and only on arrival at Piccadilly do I decide to use local buses*, can I then buy a local Plusbus ticket at the booking office on the strength of the train ticket which I already have, possibly just the return half as the outward portion may have been eaten by the barrier? All of the information on the scheme seems to assume that the add-on is bought at the same time as the train ticket. The difference in cost between a railcard-reduced £2.70 for Plusbus and the TFGM Anybus at £5.80 is worth having.

* Or I arrange train travel through Trainsplit, whose site says they can't issue a Plusbus ticket.

Manchester Piccadilly ticket office should be able to issue the Plusbus ticket if you show them the return portion of your ticket. You could always ask to keep hold of your ticket when exiting the platforms.

In addition the ticket office at Edinburgh should be able to issue the Plusbus ticket if that’s an option for you.

I have bought a Manchester Plusbus at Piccadilly after arrival with a ticket from Sheffield. Issued with no problem at all.

Ask the guard when they are checking your ticket. I have done that in the past on Virgin Trains.

I've never had a problem buying Plusbus at the arrival station, when I've only decided it would make sense during the journey. (Except at Brighton, where the ticket office is now hidden, and even when you find it you might have to queue for 15 minutes behind people just wanting things like picking up a timetable leaflet - which they won't put out on display, but you have to go to ask for. What is it about Brighton station? They make it harder and harder to deal with anything there. Sorry - end of off-topic rant.)

I tried buy one on the train to Blackpool south a few years ago and got a resounding 'no, you should have purchased at the begining of the journey'

I would advise against purchasing at Piccadilly purely because Avanti staff will print it on bog roll and the local Stagecoach drivers tend to have a coronary when presented with anything other than their own tickets.

It can of course be purchased there, or at any station, even with only the return portion.

Thanks for information. If I decide it's wanted, I'll try at Waverley before leaving.