Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger

[46100ROYALSCOT]

Was thinking of a day out and taking advantage of the Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger ticket. As I live in Warrington I was planning to buy a GMPTE Wayfarer which gets me to New Mills Central and then using the Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger to go on to Sheffield and Derby possibly a visit to Toton via Long Eaton Station. If I use the 07.44 from Man Pic it gets me in to New Mills at 8.11 and Sheffield at 9.03. rather than have to get off train and buy the Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger ticket at New Mills and most likely have to wait for next train can i buy the Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger on the Man-Shf train ?

 

[yorkie]

Yes they can be sold on board, but you may not be able to use it on buses!

Derbyshire Wayfarers are available as scratch cards, or as normal tickets issued on normal stock. Certain stations in the area have a pouch for them to go on, so that bus drivers accept them.

I am assuming this is a Saturday. Getting off at New Mills Central will not achieve anything as the ticket office is not open.

Any ticket office should sell the ticket.

 

[46100ROYALSCOT]

Thanks Yorkie, yes I was thinking of a Saturday. I have a senior bus pass for bus travel.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Yes they can be sold on board, but you may not be able to use it on buses!

Derbyshire Wayfarers are available as scratch cards, or as normal tickets issued on normal stock. Certain stations in the area have a pouch for them to go on, so that bus drivers accept them.

I am assuming this is a Saturday. Getting off at New Mills Central will not achieve anything as the ticket office is not open.

Any ticket office should sell the ticket.

Yorkie I just noticed this on the Ranger / Rover site after I sent previous mail

Mondays to Fridays the ticket is not valid until 09.00.
There are no restrictions at weekends and bank holidays.
You cannot buy these tickets on trains

so it looks like i am out of luck.

 

[tom1649]

It depends when you want to travel but I got the following information from the Derbyshire County Council website:

"Ordering tickets by mail, fax, telephone or email
Derbyshire Wayfarer tickets can also be obtained in advance by post direct from the council. Please contact the address, fax or telephone number shown below. You do not have to specify your intended dates of travelling when ordering tickets in advance.

Please quote your credit card number and expiry date, and a full mailing address for the tickets. Please remember to say how many tickets you want, and whether you want adult, concessionary or group tickets.

Ticket orders can also be placed by email, but please note that we do not have a secure on-line facility for ordering tickets, and that there are risks associated with emailing credit card details."

"The Public Transport Unit
Derbyshire County Council
County Hall
Matlock
DE4 3AG

Tel: 01629 536738
Fax: 01629 538040
email [email protected]"

 

[yorkie]

Yorkie I just noticed this on the Ranger / Rover site after I sent previous mail

Mondays to Fridays the ticket is not valid until 09.00.
There are no restrictions at weekends and bank holidays.
You cannot buy these tickets on trains

so it looks like i am out of luck.

Well, you physically can!

They are probably saying that because if you do, it will not be put in a special wallet that is required by bus drivers.

Of course, I can make no guarantees about what the guard will or won't say, and I don't know if they are obliged to sell it or not (if it is a non-basic product or it is a non-permanent fare, then they aren't, but I don't think either of these apply, but I don't have a definitive answer).

But I do know that my local station will issue such rovers without any fuss.

 

[ashworth]

Are the GMPTE Wayfarer tickets available to buy on the train or are they only available at railway and bus stations?
Last week I arrived at Warrington Central and tried to buy one from staff on the platform issuing tickets from machines, but they wouldn't sell me one. The reason they were selling tickts on the platform was that the booking office was closed for refurbishment and there was only a portacabin selling tickets in the car park.

I hadn't seen this temporary portacabin booking office and had walked past it and even though my train was due in 2 minutes the staff on the platform wouldn't sell me a Wayfarer and insisted that i walked all the way back to the portacbin to buy one even though it meant missing my train. I got one from the bus station instead and travelled by bus to Stockport via the Trafford Centre. It took a lot longer but it was an interesting ride. Used my Wayfarer in the afternoon to travel to and from Buxton.

 

[yorkie]

Are the GMPTE Wayfarer tickets available to buy on the train or are they only available at railway and bus stations?
Last week I arrived at Warrington Central and tried to buy one from staff on the platform issuing tickets from machines, but they wouldn't sell me one. The reason they were selling tickts on the platform was that the booking office was closed for refurbishment and there was only a portacabin selling tickets in the car park. .

I'd ask them some reasons.

If it is a basic fare, and it is not a temporary fare, then I believe they are obliged to offer it under the rules of impartial retailing. I would ask them what their reasoning is, e.g. are they only selling full-fare tickets? If so it does raise the question of what their purpose is and whether walking past a temporary Portakabin really counts as you having walked past an open ticket office. I'd write to Northern asking for clarification.

 

[Max]

I bought it at Doncaster (out of area) with no problem. Any booking office should be able to sell it.

 

[scrapy]

Derbyshire Wayfarers are issued both as scrtch off tickets and also can be issued on rail ticket stock (and bus ticket stock). As mentioned earlier if they are given out on rail ticket stock they must be then placed in a sealable wallet before they are officially valid.

Whilst they can be issued from any ticket office or on train advantix machine the wallets are not stocked outside the Derbyshire Wayfarer area or by conductors so are not officially sold, although may be sold and usually are (there is no obligation to do so) with the proviso you get a wallet from a ticket office should you want to use on the bus.

GMPTE Wayfarers are only sold in card form (with scratch off date panels). These cannot be issued on rail ticket stock and therefore cannot be sold on trains or buses. This is why only the ticket office at Warrington would have been able to sell them but not the staff on platform, it had nothing to do with walking past a booking office, more to do with them not physically being able to issue them on the platform. GMPTE Wayfarers should not be confused with GMPTE dayrangers which are issued on train ticket stock (these are not valid to/from Warrington anyway).

 

[Chapeltom]

Pardon me being pedantic but a GMPTE day ranger is called a GMPTE Rail Ranger

As for the Derbyshire Wayfarer which has jumped in price massively a 18% hike, when I get round to buying one again I'll make sure I get maximum use out of it.

 

[ashworth]

GMPTE Wayfarers are only sold in card form (with scratch off date panels). These cannot be issued on rail ticket stock and therefore cannot be sold on trains or buses. This is why only the ticket office at Warrington would have been able to sell them but not the staff on platform, it had nothing to do with walking past a booking office, more to do with them not physically being able to issue them on the platform.

Thanks, that explains why. I fully understand now.
If the staff on with the machines on the platform had only explained this too me I would have quite understood at the time.

On the subject of the Derbyshire Wayfarer price rise.
If anyone is only wanting to use this ticket to travel within the peak District National Park, and not travel to Sheffield and Derby etc, the GMPTE Wayfarer is now far better value. As well as covering the Hope Vally line from Grindleford to Manchester and the Manchester to Buxton line, it also covers the line from Manchester to Macclesfield and Congleton in addition to buses throughout the Peak District as far south as Ashbourne and Matlock. This of course does not take into consideration all of the buses, trams and trains within Greater Manchester and slightly beyond to the north and west.

 

[Chapeltom]

It never helped when Trent Barton put their Zigzag Plus up to £10 at the beginning of the year, making it £1.10 more expensive than the Wayfarer. The Zigzag Plus and Trent Barton are a total rip off anyway.

A 20 mile trip in my own county is £10, cheapest ticket is now a GMPTE Wayfarer! I think I'll get a lift rather than pay a tenner.

 

[radamfi]

Suppose you want to buy a Wayfarer for immediate travel but the station has none left. Would you be allowed to get on a train and buy it at the next available staffed ticket office? If not, would you get anywhere by buying a ticket for the first train and asking for a refund?

Are stations well stocked with Wayfarers?

 

[323235]

My local station is fairly small but always has plenty of GMPTE Wayfarers.

 

[Smethwickian]

It never helped when Trent Barton put their Zigzag Plus up to £10 at the beginning of the year, making it £1.10 more expensive than the Wayfarer.

Except the Derbyshire Wayfarer has also now gone up, to £10.50 (though the adult price includes one free dog or child, if you're so minded).

The Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket is widely sold at tourist info centres, many libraries and any bus travel centres in Derbyshire and some adjoining areas where it is valid (such as Sheffield, Burton and Leek). So if you know you might be returning within a couple of years, normally travel from outside the area and are prepared to spend the money in advance it's worth buying your next ticket while in the county (that would also avoid the price rise - I wish I'd bought a couple more at the old price earlier this year).

That usually saves me, when travelling from Birmingham, hopping off the train at Burton, dashing up the stairs and dashing back down with a Wayfarer to continue northwards about 10 mins later!!

Rail ticket offices and bus drivers print off the ticket on normal stock - it's only the 'wallets' they're likely to run out of, but the ticket is still valid and at a push you could ask for an empty wallet on the next bus or at the next staffed station you alight at.

One reason to ensure you get the wallet or a scratch-off version is the freepost draw to win another ticket if you send back the details on how and where you used the ticket - yes, it's genuine: I won one last year.