National Express pricing - Luton to Stevenage; a return costs more than 2 singles

[AnkleBoots]

Luton to Stevenage single on any coach today was £8.30
Open return was £29.40

How can this be ? Are coach tickets more complicated than train tickets?

 

[Smethwickian]

An open return is a flexible fare (CFL}. Are you comparing it with two standard (CST} singles? They're not the same fare type. Standard fares are amendable for a fee but not refundable, flexible fares are amendable without a fee and can be refunded up to 72hrs before outward departure. Note that when booking on the NX website you are first quoted 'from' prices then the full choice when you've selected your journey(s).

 

[Mwanesh]

It is to discourage short haul passengers .There is the Arriva 100/101 that go that way 100 goes to the airport.They price it that way.

 

[AnkleBoots]

Thank you. How much is the 100 local bus service? Any possibility of using Plusbus on it?

 

[AnkleBoots]

An open return is a flexible fare (CFL}. Are you comparing it with two standard (CST} singles?

I guess I was. What do CFL and CST stand for?

 

[causton]

Thank you. How much is the 100 local bus service? Any possibility of using Plusbus on it?

Not sure on a single or return price but an Intalink Explorer is £9.00 - a PlusBus won't cover you all the way from one end to the other.

 

[Mwanesh]

You can use plusbus on it am not to sure of the single price .Its cheaper than National Express

 

[Statto]

Not sure on a single or return price but an Intalink Explorer is £9.00 - a PlusBus won't cover you all the way from one end to the other.

An Arriva all zones day ticket is £7.80, annoyingly there doesn't seem to be a day ticket available for just Arriva Hertfordshire zone, there's an Arriva Orbit ticket £6.50, the map is confusing references Stevenage but the main Arriva site doesn't mention that the ticket is valid that far. Arriva rather annoyingly don't publish single fares.

Orbit fare from Arriva site
https://tickets.arrivabus.co.uk/herts-and-essex/orbit/

PDF Orbit map
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/globala...-tickets/beds-and-bucks/orbit-map-2019web.png

 

[NorthOxonian]

An Arriva all zones day ticket is £7.80, annoyingly there doesn't seem to be a day ticket available for just Arriva Hertfordshire zone, there's an Arriva Orbit ticket £6.50, the map is confusing references Stevenage but the main Arriva site doesn't mention that the ticket is valid that far. Arriva rather annoyingly don't publish single fares.

Orbit fare from Arriva site
https://tickets.arrivabus.co.uk/herts-and-essex/orbit/

PDF Orbit map
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/globala...-tickets/beds-and-bucks/orbit-map-2019web.png

Confusingly, Arriva sometimes charge less for their day tickets than for a return - they even advertise a £6.80 (I think) return to Oxford at Aylesbury bus station when the Orbit costs £6.50! There's probably no way of knowing until you're on the bus, though.

 

[Typhoon]

… there's an Arriva Orbit ticket £6.50, the map is confusing references Stevenage but the main Arriva site doesn't mention that the ticket is valid that far.

Also applies to four other Hertfordshire zones. Making bus travel easy.

 

[Smethwickian]

I guess I was. What do CFL and CST stand for?

They don't appear to stand for anything, they're just the codes used to distinguish the fares that appear on fare charts and tickets themselves.