PlusBus Queries

[trainJam]

From https://plusbus.info/frequently-asked-questions.html.

My first question is about buying a burner, or throwaway rail ticket from one stop outside of the PlusBus area into the area in order to gain access to PlusBus. Question 11 of the FAQ by PlusBus seems to prohibit this, with the wording "used with a train ticket," although, in practice, it would be difficult to immediately detect this. (Even with scanable tickets, that depends whether the guard or inspectors come to scan the ticket. There are no gatelines to scan at - and there isn't currently a requirement if the gates are open.)
Legally speaking, is the PlusBus not valid without using the rail ticket?

11. Can I use PlusBus if I only want to travel by bus?
Sorry, no. PlusBus is an integrated ticket that has to be bought and used with a train ticket. So you must be travelling by both the train and bus in order to buy and use PlusBus .

My second question is about question 19:

19. Does my rail station origin / destination have to link with my PlusBus ?
You can only buy a PlusBus ticket for a location that is named as either the origin and / or the destination on your train ticket. So, in order to buy a Birmingham PlusBus ticket, you have to have Birmingham named on your train ticket (as either an origin and / or the destination station).

If Q19 is true, then (there are many possible places but to name an example) why is it possible to buy a Lapworth to Dorridge rail ticket and a Dorridge to Dorridge+BUS fare? Is the Dorridge to Dorridge+BUS ticket useless then?

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

RailUK Tickets will also offer Lapworth to Dorridge with PlusBus. The link anchored to the "more info" button sends you to https://www.plusbus.info/birmingham, where the Dorridge+BUS code is not shown at the bottom of the page.

Opinions?

 

[Watershed]

From https://plusbus.info/frequently-asked-questions.html.

My first question is about buying a burner, or throwaway rail ticket from one stop outside of the PlusBus area into the area in order to gain access to PlusBus. Question 11 of the FAQ by PlusBus seems to prohibit this, with the wording "used with a train ticket," although, in practice, it would be difficult to immediately detect this. (Even with scanable tickets, that depends whether the guard or inspectors come to scan the ticket. There are no gatelines to scan at - and there isn't currently a requirement if the gates are open.)
Legally speaking, is the PlusBus not valid without using the rail ticket?

I don't see there is anything to suggest that a PlusBus ticket becomes invalid if you don't undertake the train journey. It's just that it can't be bought on its own because it would otherwise undercut the cost of some "normal" bus tickets.

My second question is about question 19:

If Q19 is true, then (there are many possible places but to name an example) why is it possible to buy a Lapworth to Dorridge rail ticket and a Dorridge to Dorridge+BUS fare? Is the Dorridge to Dorridge+BUS ticket useless then?

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

RailUK Tickets will also offer Lapworth to Dorridge with PlusBus. The link anchored to the "more info" button sends you to https://www.plusbus.info/birmingham, where the Dorridge+BUS code is not shown at the bottom of the page.

Opinions?

For many of the larger PlusBus areas - such as the Birmingham one, which covers the entire West Midlands Combined Authority area - there are multiple locations which the PlusBus ticket can be issued from, generally larger or boundary stations.

A PlusBus ticket issued to Dorridge+BUS is a Birmingham PlusBus ticket. Evidently that's not made particularly clear!

 

[lfc84]

For bus only tickets you could consider the information available here

Guide to Midlands Bus Tickets & Prices │Stagecoach

Take a look at our guide to Stagecoach Midlands tickets. Find out about tickets for children, students, adults and families.

www.stagecoachbus.com

 

[CyrusWuff]

For many of the larger PlusBus areas - such as the Birmingham one, which covers the entire West Midlands Combined Authority area - there are multiple locations which the PlusBus ticket can be issued from, generally larger or boundary stations.

A PlusBus ticket issued to Dorridge+BUS is a Birmingham PlusBus ticket. Evidently that's not made particularly clear!

Traditionally the PlusBus tickets for PTE type areas were issued with a destination reflecting that.

So you had +BusWM for West Mids, +BusGM for Greater Manchester, +BusSY for South Yorkshire and +BusWY for West Yorkshire.

Not sure when or why that changed though.

 

[NIT100]

A PlusBus ticket issued to Dorridge+BUS is a Birmingham PlusBus ticket. Evidently that's not made particularly clear!

There is a specific Dorridge and The Hawthorns Plusbus page, Dorridge, & The Hawthorns PlusBus. Very odd as they are nowhere near each other.

As stated above, Plusbus in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton etc. Is valid over the whole West Midlands PTE zone. The fact that the pdf map doesnt show all interchange stations is unhelpful.

The PlusBus website receives very basic updates, lots of the town / city pages have the incorrect URL like above. Example is Ayr PlusBus uses the URL for Grimbsy Town.

 

[kieron]

Traditionally the PlusBus tickets for PTE type areas were issued with a destination reflecting that.

So you had +BusWM for West Mids, +BusGM for Greater Manchester, +BusSY for South Yorkshire and +BusWY for West Yorkshire.

The West Midlands ones still do, although the other three just use "+BUS". For completeness, Merseytravel and Nexus don't offer use Plusbus in the same way. I don't know what appears on tickets, though.

 

[TUC]

Traditionally the PlusBus tickets for PTE type areas were issued with a destination reflecting that.

So you had +BusWM for West Mids, +BusGM for Greater Manchester, +BusSY for South Yorkshire and +BusWY for West Yorkshire.

Not sure when or why that changed though.

The tickets for the Plusbus station in West Yorkshire are similarly valid all over the county. What is frustrating is the lack of stations to the west of the county for which Plusbus can be added. The lack of Plusbus tickets for rail journeys to Hebden Bridge and Todmorden is a real gap.