Can I use the Manchester Wayfarer between Warrington station and Northwich (via bus)?

The only map I can find is this one below, and to get from Warrington to Northwich I would have to leave the area and re-enter it, on the 9a or 9CAT buses. Idea is to travel by rail to Warrington, and return from Northwich.

It appears on the rail line between Knutsford and Northwich you do, indeed, leave and re-enter and one station (Lostock??) appears outside the zone.

I'd expect so. Warrington's Own Buses certainly accept the ticket.

I think only one of the routes goes via Lostock Gralam though? So the other one may be fully within the mapped area.

185143 said:

I'd expect so. Warrington's Own Buses certainly accept the ticket.

I think only one of the routes goes via Lostock Gralam though? So the other one may be fully within the mapped area.

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Former, hope so!
Latter, the service goes from Northwich (in the zone) past Lostock (out) then back in. Think it's a very poor map, that should have been picked up on. Any recent maps??

Howardh said:

Former, hope so!
Latter, the service goes from Northwich (in the zone) past Lostock (out) then back in. Think it's a very poor map, that should have been picked up on. Any recent maps??

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Not a clue. I've not used that ticket for years.

Not sure, but I have tried to use the TfGM Wayfarer a few times on perfectly valid cross GM boundary routes and struggled to get acceptance from the driver!

Howardh said:

The only map I can find is this one below, and to get from Warrington to Northwich I would have to leave the area and re-enter it, on the 9a or 9CAT buses. Idea is to travel by rail to Warrington, and return from Northwich.

It appears on the rail line between Knutsford and Northwich you do, indeed, leave and re-enter and one station (Lostock??) appears outside the zone.

https://assets.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/6xIEOTIMtqG66kc24ikimC/85fdfb5a1d0e2f57548c3154c80cd228/Wayfarer-bus-map.pdf

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Sorry, no, you can't. That bus route goes outside the shaded area on the map. I know it's a nuisance, it's a nuisance for me too. The only Warrington bus routes that it's accepted on are those that go to/from Greater Manchester, so not the route to Northwich. This is why the map is drawn the way it is. I wouldn't rule out a Warrington driver being unfamiliar with the detail of the map and allowing it, but they're not supposed to. The rail routes are different, by the way. The rail lines you are allowed to use are shown in black. The drawn area is just for the buses. So you can take the train through Lostock Gralam. The same applies at Parbold and Earlestown, both outside the shaded area.

About 15-20 years ago I emailed both GMPTE (as TfGM was) and Warrington Borough Transport (now WOB) to ask the same question. GMPTE said no, WBT said yes. I suspect that as WBT ran so little outside of the Wayfarer area they thought it would be simpler for their drivers if they just accepted them throughout. Given the elapsed time, I'd suggest that a quick email to WOB to check might be a good idea and give you something to show the driver if they are unfamilliar.

Jeff

Thanks for the answers, currently if they don't accept the ticket there's a nominal £2 single trip to add, not much hassle, but if the fares go back to "normal" that single could turn out to be well over a fiver; although as sugested it's a good idea to contact Warrington Buses!

Howardh said:

Thanks for the answers, currently if they don't accept the ticket there's a nominal £2 single trip to add, not much hassle, but if the fares go back to "normal" that single could turn out to be well over a fiver; although as sugested it's a good idea to contact Warrington Buses!

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Yes, I agree with you, on both points. I'm sure £2 isn't enough to stop you doing the trip. By the way, for anyone else looking at the Wayfarer map above, I've realised that the station east of Northwich that is outside the shaded area is Plumley, not Lostock Gralam. This doesn't change the answer to Howardh about the Warrington Cat 9/9A bus routes, however, as both still go outside the shaded area. Why is Plumley excluded from the bus area? I think this may be an attempt to reduce confusion. There are actually no buses in Plumley so the map avoids creating the impression that you can go there by bus; public transport there is train only.

Jack Hay said:

Yes, I agree with you, on both points. I'm sure £2 isn't enough to stop you doing the trip. By the way, for anyone else looking at the Wayfarer map above, I've realised that the station east of Northwich that is outside the shaded area is Plumley, not Lostock Gralam. This doesn't change the answer to Howardh about the Warrington Cat 9/9A bus routes, however, as both still go outside the shaded area. Why is Plumley excluded from the bus area? I think this may be an attempt to reduce confusion. There are actually no buses in Plumley so the map avoids creating the impression that you can go there by bus; public transport there is train only.

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Our ticketing system outside of rangers and rovers generally doesn't align itself to round trips, eg Manchester > Warrington > bus > Northwich > Manchester! I don't think there's a combined rail/tram or bus ticket from Preston > Blackpool South > tram/bus > Blackpool North > Preston either!

bristollh said:

About 15-20 years ago I emailed both GMPTE (as TfGM was) and Warrington Borough Transport (now WOB) to ask the same question. GMPTE said no, WBT said yes.

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More recently TfGM said it's accepted on First Bus services between Hope and Castleton. First South Yorkshire said the ticket is not valid on any of their services - it's only accepted on First Manchester services.

Jack Hay said:

Why is Plumley excluded from the bus area? I think this may be an attempt to reduce confusion. There are actually no buses in Plumley so the map avoids creating the impression that you can go there by bus; public transport there is train only.

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As you say Plumley has no services but I think it was drawn that way to exclude the Northwich to Knutsford section of the 289 (now the 89) but to allow for it being accepted on trains between Knutsford and Northwich. Also to allow it to be valid on buses from Altrincham to Warrington via High Legh (that no longer exist). Although, as the Wayfarer isn't accepted by most operators in Cheshire East (now Arriva has pulled out of the area) it makes the bus map shape rather pointless.

Jack Hay said:

The only Warrington bus routes that it's accepted on are those that go to/from Greater Manchester, so not the route to Northwich.

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With the way the map is drawn I would say it's accepted on every Warrington's Own Buses service within central Warrington, but if you're heading outside the borough you need to be going towards somewhere like Altrincham or Leigh for the ticket to be valid until the termius.

northwichcat said:

More recently TfGM said it's accepted on First Bus services between Hope and Castleton. First South Yorkshire said the ticket is not valid on any of their services - it's only accepted on First Manchester services.

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The list of Participating Companies includes "First Bus Companies", so First SY are talking rubbish .... which doesn't surprise me.

Had a reply from Warrington Buses, no, it's not valid on that route. Pity!