PlusBus Birmingham/Wolverhampton

[LNW-GW Joint]

I had some trouble today trying to buy a PlusBus ticket covering the West Midlands Metro.
The current PlusBus site says that the whole West Midlands zone is covered by both the PlusBus Birmingham and Wolverhampton tickets, and WM Metro is one of the participating operators.
Starting from Wrexham, I intended to buy a PlusBus Birmingham ticket with my rail ticket, but the booking office was closed and I couldn't find a PlusBus option on the ATM outside.
The TfW conductor on the train tried to find it on his mobile, but gave up.
So I queued at the comedy 2-position ticket booth at Wolverhampton, and eventually was told the PlusBus tickets were local and didn't give full Metro coverage.
I gave up and bought a day ticket on the tram itself (no ticket machines, buy on board) for £5, rather than the PlusBus option with railcard at £2.60.
I travelled the whole length of the Metro including the new sections from Wolverhampton station and at the other end to Egbaston Village.
I'm not bothered about the cost, but I am bothered about whether the railway is selling the tickets correctly.

So is it true that PlusBus for Birmingham or Wolverhampton is valid on the whole WM network including the Metro, or were the staff at Wolverhampton correct that they are only valid for local journeys in each area?
The PlusBus web site seems to suggest the former: https://www.plusbus.info/wolverhampton
Like tickets involving TfL, adding PlusBus means your journey has to be ticketed on CCST stock, removing any e-ticket option there might have been for the rail portion.

 

[Wolfie]

I had some trouble today trying to buy a PlusBus ticket covering the West Midlands Metro.
The current PlusBus site says that the whole West Midlands zone is covered by both the PlusBus Birmingham and Wolverhampton tickets, and WM Metro is one of the participating operators.
Starting from Wrexham, I intended to buy a PlusBus Birmingham ticket with my rail ticket, but the booking office was closed and I couldn't find a PlusBus option on the ATM outside.
The TfW conductor on the train tried to find it on his mobile, but gave up.
So I queued at the comedy 2-position ticket booth at Wolverhampton, and eventually was told the PlusBus tickets were local and didn't give full Metro coverage.
I gave up and bought a day ticket on the tram itself (no ticket machines, buy on board) for £5, rather than the PlusBus option with railcard at £2.60.
I'm not bothered about the cost, but I am bothered about whether the railway is selling the tickets correctly.

Is it true that PlusBus for Birmingham or Wolverhampton is valid on the whole WM network including the Metro, or were the staff at Wolverhampton correct that they are only valid for local journeys in each area?
The PlusBus web site seems to suggest the former: https://www.plusbus.info/wolverhampton
Like tickets involving TfL, adding PlusBus means your journey has to be ticketed on CCST stock, removing any e-ticket option there might have been for the rail portion.

Wolvo ticket office were (unsurprisingly given my experience of them) wrong. However if you don't buy your Plusbus ticket when you buy your train ticket you won't get the railcard discount.

There have been multiple discussions about exactly this subject on here before e.g.

Plusbus - knowledge of bus driver?

That is not the case, almost all of the railcard discounted PlusBus tickets I've bought have been bought separately from the rail ticket, and usually with a different discount on the rail ticket as Priv isn't available on PlusBus. Interesting and contrary to what LNWR told me. I will probe...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Willie Bee]

However if you don't buy your Plusbus ticket when you buy your train ticket you won't get the railcard discount.

Last year, at the time I booked my LNER train ticket I had never heard about the PlusBus scheme.

Several weeks later, I called in at my local station (Newcastle), showed them the rail ticket and my railcard and was sold a discounted PlusBus ticket

Maybe the station was wrong in doing this, I don't know

 

[James H]

However if you don't buy your Plusbus ticket when you buy your train ticket you won't get the railcard discount.

That’s not been my experience

 

[Wolfie]

That’s not been my experience

Interesting as it was West Midlands Trains who told me that and indeed l routinely get told at their stations that there are no discounted Plusbus fares on their system (but can purchase online from their website with a train ticket).

 

[redreni]

I'm not sure why eligibility for a railcard discount would depend on buying the train ticket and the PlusBus add-on at the same time?

It hasn't ever been my experience that you need to. I often buy advances a long time ahead of travel and work out the detailed local travel arrangements later. Much as I don't like to, sometimes it makes more sense to share taxis. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's better to pay two £2 single bus fares. Sometimes I want to buy the train ticket before I've checked whether my final destination is even within the town's PlusBus zone, or whether any of the buses I may want to use to get there are excluded from the PlusBus scheme.

I don't think it's necessarily reasonable to assume the customer will know when they buy their train ticket whether they want the PlusBus add-on, so there really shouldn't be any punitive element if the person wants to buy the add-on later.

 

[Haywain]

However if you don't buy your Plusbus ticket when you buy your train ticket you won't get the railcard discount.

That's not true.

I'm not sure why eligibility for a railcard discount would depend on buying the train ticket and the PlusBus add-on at the same time?

It doesn't. I have frequently purchased PlusBus separately from rail tickets and still received railcard discounts; in fact, as far as I remember the only time I have bought PlusBus online is a few years ago when there was a deal for an online only discount.

 

[Hadders]

Plusbus tickets in Wolverhampton and Birmingham are issued to +BUSWM. It is valid throughout the whole West Midlands County area, including the Metro throughout. I purchased a WM PlusBus ticket at Euston ticket office a few weeks ago specifically to use on the tram with no problems whatsoever.

I often find it helps to take the ticket destinatiobcode from the Plusbus website available to hand in case of any issues. From Wolverhampton the code is J835.

 

[Sniffingmoose]

Thought I would share my experiences of buying Birmingham Plus Bus Tickets.

As I understand, if buying Plus Bus for Birmingham or Wolverhampton you have to travel by train from outside the area covered to eligable to buy one, so in this case from outside the Westmidlands county.

When I have used the Plus Bus on the tram I have usually been challanged and had to show the conductor the Plus Bus website on my phone and then after much discussion, they let you use the ticket. Most tram conductors say they have not seen this type of ticket before so its more lack of publicity and it appears to be lack of use by the public is the problem.

I have bought a Plus Bus ticket from New Street Station when my local ticket office is closed as Plus Bus do not seem to be available from East Midlands Railway ticket machines where I live.

Its a great ticket but getting one and using one sometimes can be difficult.

 

[redreni]

Thought I would share my experiences of buying Birmingham Plus Bus Tickets.

As I understand, if buying Plus Bus for Birmingham or Wolverhampton you have to travel by train from outside the area covered to eligable to buy one, so in this case from outside the Westmidlands county.

When I have used the Plus Bus on the tram I have usually been challanged and had to show the conductor the Plus Bus website on my phone and then after much discussion, they let you use the ticket. Most tram conductors say they have not seen this type of ticket before so its more lack of publicity and it appears to be lack of use by the public is the problem.

I have bought a Plus Bus ticket from New Street Station when my local ticket office is closed as Plus Bus do not seem to be available from East Midlands Railway ticket machines where I live.

Its a great ticket but getting one and using one sometimes can be difficult.

Yeah, you have to have a train ticket to and/or from one of the WM PlusBus stations, coming from or going to a station outside the WM area. So locals can get PlusBus tickets and use them, but only on a day when they're going somewhere or coming back from somewhere by train.

In most places there's no publicity whatsoever so most people are unaware of them. They're never going to be used by a significant proportion of tram passengers in the West Midlands, of course, because most passengers are fairly local and are not also going out of the area, or coming back from out of the area, by train on the same day. But with decent publicity you wouldn't expect this to be such a niche product that bus drivers and tram conductors don't know about it - if even a quarter of a percent of all bus and tram journeys were made with PlusBus tickets that'd be more than enough for all the drivers and conductors to see them regularly.

It is a shame as they can be a really good value and convenient ticket for some journeys. The objective of giving people seamless, integrated train and bus ticketing in addition to the value for money aspect is defeated, however, as soon as passengers start getting grief when trying to use these tickets. It's supposed to take the stress out of it and give people simplicity and predictability!

 

[MrJeeves]

For what it's worth, there are ways to "game" this.

Obviously not in the spirit of the rules but if you've got a Railcard a Lapworth to Dorridge single (£1.65), plus Dorridge+BusWM ticket (£2.60) would undercut the West Mids nBus by 35p, for example.

The only exception to the local journeys rule is the Brighton PlusBus area which has an exemption for whatever reason (probably something to do with the fact that Go-Ahead run most buses and all trains within the area...!). I do find it stupid that for huge areas, like PlusBus WM, these rules apply, even for relatively long journeys like Coventry to Birmingham. I feel like if I get that as a rail ticket I really should be able to get a PlusBus ticket for it, too.

I've not had issues in the West Mids before (in fact I often get a PlusBus ticket just in case I'm taking the tram, but if I'm doing rail too it'll be a Daytripper). I've never had an issue buying one at the New Street ticket office on presentation with my existing ticket (and my Railcard too).

Tram staff can record passengers making journeys with PlusBus on their phone (or I assume that's what they're doing after I show my ticket).

This one predates the renaming to +BusWM (and the price increases).