Vexed
Member
Yes they are scannable, if the operator has got around to setting it up. See post #95.
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PlusBus Tickets
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Re your last para hahaha.... Given that too many bus drivers can't recognise what a paper Plusbus ticket is.... Let's just say don't hold your breath....
Vexed
Member
Theory aside, answered in the couple posts above, I just tried to use one and unsurprisingly the ticket machine said invalid barcode.
Driver was good though - after asking if I should try and scan it he said they haven't seen digital ones before and asked to take a photo for them to investigate, which I allowed. Put me down as a paper plusbus ticket on the machine. He said any sensible driver would allow it and if it keeps not scanning/I have issues to speak to the garage!
Broadly in line with my expectations - never had issues with paper PlusBus on Uno.
I've just tried one in York, but the mobile passes seem to not be positioned such that you can scan them on a Ticketer.
Will try with the PDF later.
Will try with the PDF later.
Vexed
Member
Worked for me in Google Wallet on Ticketer. I didn't try to show it on my watch though! Might have been a bit of a stretch... Works fine for railway ticket barriers though.
Uno uses the slightly older version of the Ticketer machines with the bulky driver's screen, the newer ones are thinner tablet-style. I don't know if there's a difference in the scanner between the two.
When tapping the code for full screen it seems to move lower down the screen for holding the phone upside down.
Just be careful using a PDF if there is tap on tap off as it won't inhibit the NFC... But after a quick Google it seems Google Wallet doesn't block NFC by default either. Bus apps do when showing a code.
I've tried it on another York bus and it reported invalid barcode as expected. Driver accepted after some squinting of the eyes and pressed, what I assume, was the PlusBus option on his driver display.
I disabled NFC manually to try with the PDF.
I've set up Wallet to block NFC for TrainSplit/Raileasy passes
I disabled NFC manually to try with the PDF.
Vexed
Member
Let's just hope every retailer does that.I've set up Wallet to block NFC for TrainSplit/Raileasy passes
Adam Williams
Established Member
Disappointed they put the Chinese brands first in the list of participating retailers 
Curiously the Cheshunt PlusBus area extends into Greater London as far south as Brimsdown, with the relevant TfL-contracted operators listed.
Has anyone recently travelled on a Waltham Cross "red" route with a PlusBus ticket?
Will anyone manage it with an eTicket version?! (Barcode scanners will not be installed on London buses anytime soon. If ever.)
Has anyone recently travelled on a Waltham Cross "red" route with a PlusBus ticket?
Will anyone manage it with an eTicket version?! (Barcode scanners will not be installed on London buses anytime soon. If ever.)
That's a very large area, and I too would be interested to know how London buses handle them (if they do at all).
Interestingly the Slough PlusBus explicitly excludes the TfL-managed 81, so that's a pleasant surprise that they're listed for Cheshunt.
thomasheywood
Member
Do you honestly believe that Plusbus will be accepted for travel, or that TfL drivers would even know what Plusbus even is?
I honestly believe they should regardless of operator or consession, yes - it's a depot's responsibility to educate drivers on local tickets applicable to the routes it serves.
PlusBus may be included in FoI-requestable TfL bus fares notices. The most recent issue available (on further research) is dated 2 January 2020 5 March 2023.
As for cross-London eTickets I've been informed that GTR recently enabled them in the RCS, and on Trainsplit-powered sites journeys without LU transfers (e.g. direct Thameslink journeys) can be fulfilled as such. Which means ePlusbus addons are already available (alliteration ahoy!) for those journeys too.
As for cross-London eTickets I've been informed that GTR recently enabled them in the RCS, and on Trainsplit-powered sites journeys without LU transfers (e.g. direct Thameslink journeys) can be fulfilled as such. Which means ePlusbus addons are already available (alliteration ahoy!) for those journeys too.
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Fiyero
Member
Tried the new plus bus eticket today. Driver said it should scan but every time I got near my Google wallet tried to open.
Trainpal didn't give the option to add it to my wallet or email it to me so only viewable in their app.
Driver let me on but a shame when he thought it should work! (And hopefully no taps went through!)
Trainpal didn't give the option to add it to my wallet or email it to me so only viewable in their app.
Driver let me on but a shame when he thought it should work! (And hopefully no taps went through!)
In future you need to switch off NFC to stop this as by the sounds of it TrainPal hasn't suppresed this.
Fiyero
Member
I'll see if I can try that on the way home but a bit of a faff if they don't fix it!
Success on the way home!
Had to get an app to disable NFC without digging through menus but it scanned no issue and the driver (Bluestar Eastleigh) said it was the first he had had! (22:57 19/04/25)
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Good to hear about a successful scan! I'm hoping Metrobus update their Ticketer machines soon, I tried one last week and got barcode denied.
You should complain to TrainPal really. I'm not surprised they've done it wrong to be honest, and I don't expect you to get a coherent response, but this is proper basic stuff
175mph
On Moderation
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Did you get refused travel as a result of the barcode denied message?
Nah, I assumed it wouldn't work so just showed it as a flash pass, driver said to try scanning it but don't worry if it doesn't work
Earlier today I purchased a Luton PlusBus eTicket through the LNER app* for use on various routes shared between five operators. Barcode scanners rejected the ticket every single time, which suggests the associated eTVD** is still not ready.
Unless noted otherwise I scanned the PDF barcode.
Arriva Midlands (Beds & Bucks) - 12, 24, 321 (twice), A (twice)
Accepted by all drivers, with reactions ranging from immediate acceptance to not knowing what the ticket was and needing a detailed explanation, plus (on the first 321) being assured my destination was within bounds. Driver on the second A briefly spoke about Ticketer machines not doing what they should with regard to ePlusBus.
I scanned the Google Wallet barcode on the second 321 to see if that would make any difference.
Arriva South (Herts & Essex) - 100
Had a pleasant conservation with the driver. They initially rejected my ticket before realising it was Luton +Bus and that I'd alight at Butterfield. Also had a chuckle over their going on holiday for two weeks right when ePlusBus was rolled out nationwide (they hadn't seen that format before).
Centrebus (South) - B
Driver accepted it after a brief inspection.
Grant Palmer - CX (twice), Hi
First CX driver upon inspecting the ticket - "It's Arriva!" / Their reply after a polite reminder that PlusBus is multi-operator - "IT'S ARRIVA! END OF!" Service was running late and another CX bus was close by, so I decided not to waste time on someone seemingly determined to be a rude berk.
Attitude of the second CX driver was considerably less lacking but they also refused to accept the ticket, even after I highlighted Grant Palmer on the Luton PlusBus webpage.
Didn't bother scanning my ticket on the Hi and just showed it to the driver, who accepted it. Remarked they were familiar with the magstripe version but hadn't seen the barcode version before and conversed with a colleague onboard who mentioned their scanners weren't set up to accept them yet. These two clearly knew their stuff and were enjoyable to converse with.
Stagecoach East - MK1 (twice)
First driver accepted it after a fairly brief inspection.
Showed the second driver the Google Wallet barcode after its scan and they had no idea what it was. They even thought it was a Railcard at one point (my ticket had a Network discount) and I opened my actual Railcard to show them the difference. Took me a minute or so in all to convince them of its validity within Luton, including the fact that a) I used it on the MK1 earlier that day, and b) scanner rejection doesn't always mean the ticket is invalid.***
[* To add PlusBus you have to select mix and match tickets after you've chosen the scheduled train(s)]
[** Electrical and Ticket Validation Data Base, apparently (see footnote on page 6)]
[*** In my experience of Stagecoach East, Vix ticket machines paired with HID scanners do not recognise a valid barcode ticket that isn't generated by the group's app - be it ePlusBus, Intalink Connect (All Zones) or Luton HipHop. They don't print 2D barcodes on tickets either]
Unless noted otherwise I scanned the PDF barcode.
Arriva Midlands (Beds & Bucks) - 12, 24, 321 (twice), A (twice)
Accepted by all drivers, with reactions ranging from immediate acceptance to not knowing what the ticket was and needing a detailed explanation, plus (on the first 321) being assured my destination was within bounds. Driver on the second A briefly spoke about Ticketer machines not doing what they should with regard to ePlusBus.
I scanned the Google Wallet barcode on the second 321 to see if that would make any difference.
Arriva South (Herts & Essex) - 100
Had a pleasant conservation with the driver. They initially rejected my ticket before realising it was Luton +Bus and that I'd alight at Butterfield. Also had a chuckle over their going on holiday for two weeks right when ePlusBus was rolled out nationwide (they hadn't seen that format before).
Centrebus (South) - B
Driver accepted it after a brief inspection.
Grant Palmer - CX (twice), Hi
First CX driver upon inspecting the ticket - "It's Arriva!" / Their reply after a polite reminder that PlusBus is multi-operator - "IT'S ARRIVA! END OF!" Service was running late and another CX bus was close by, so I decided not to waste time on someone seemingly determined to be a rude berk.
Attitude of the second CX driver was considerably less lacking but they also refused to accept the ticket, even after I highlighted Grant Palmer on the Luton PlusBus webpage.
Didn't bother scanning my ticket on the Hi and just showed it to the driver, who accepted it. Remarked they were familiar with the magstripe version but hadn't seen the barcode version before and conversed with a colleague onboard who mentioned their scanners weren't set up to accept them yet. These two clearly knew their stuff and were enjoyable to converse with.
Stagecoach East - MK1 (twice)
First driver accepted it after a fairly brief inspection.
Showed the second driver the Google Wallet barcode after its scan and they had no idea what it was. They even thought it was a Railcard at one point (my ticket had a Network discount) and I opened my actual Railcard to show them the difference. Took me a minute or so in all to convince them of its validity within Luton, including the fact that a) I used it on the MK1 earlier that day, and b) scanner rejection doesn't always mean the ticket is invalid.***
[* To add PlusBus you have to select mix and match tickets after you've chosen the scheduled train(s)]
[** Electrical and Ticket Validation Data Base, apparently (see footnote on page 6)]
[*** In my experience of Stagecoach East, Vix ticket machines paired with HID scanners do not recognise a valid barcode ticket that isn't generated by the group's app - be it ePlusBus, Intalink Connect (All Zones) or Luton HipHop. They don't print 2D barcodes on tickets either]
Adam Williams
Established Member
Disappointing but not entirely surprising.
I don't think the eTVD (if there actually is one) is at fault here; it's the firmware running on the on-bus machines that can't decode the Aztecs. I believe they all need software updates and local configuration to be able to work.
tram21
Member
I feel like using an e-ticket and trying to scan it is a recipe for disaster on the majority of buses.
For most drivers a failed scan= invalid, and they are much less likely to accept it.
If you show them a paper ticket, after a bit of conversation which normally is along the lines of 'that's a rail ticket'; 'no its not, it's a plusbus', the vast majority will just let you on.
For most drivers a failed scan= invalid, and they are much less likely to accept it.
If you show them a paper ticket, after a bit of conversation which normally is along the lines of 'that's a rail ticket'; 'no its not, it's a plusbus', the vast majority will just let you on.
Adam Williams
Established Member
Conversely, if the scanning worked in practice, the E-Ticket format had great potential to eliminate some of the "okay but it's not actually a rail ticket" conversations that have been inevitable with the product throughout its life, by just giving the driver a successful beep to go from.
markymark2000
Established Member
I'm wondering if the best thing to do is issues Plusbus as a redeemable code and then you go to the Plusbus website, insert your code and you get a ticket from them.
A good number of operators are already familiar with accepting Passenger QR codes (as many operator apps are done by Passenger) and so this could be an easy way out.
It adds a extra step for the user, but that extra step means less refusals as more machines will be set up with it and it'd be an easier thing to set up than decoding a new set of QR codes.
Just for the interest of the forum, I did a Plusbus day out the other day and found acceptance quite good with the paper one.
I did a train to Buxton and then got the Buxton/Peak District plusbus then I was returning from Sheffield and so had a South Yorkshire Plusbus.
High Peak accepted it fine on 2 buses, Andrews of Tideswell accepted without issue (I did confirm with them on Facebook that they accepted it too), South Pennine CT accepted it on 3 buses. First accepted it once, Sheffield CT (on the hospital shuttle) accepted it. And the tram was fine too.
One or two second checks as they hadn't seen one before but they did accept it nevertheless. It never got logged on the ticket machine though so operators likely never found out the ticket was being used to claim any reimbursement.
I used my first PlusBus eTicket on Wednesday in Brighton.
I got it from trip.com as I get a 4% discount on my rail ticket.
Although the rail ticket can be added to Google Wallet, they don't offer the ability to add the plusbus to the Google Wallet
First bus driver hadn't seen one before but did accept it after I explained they were knew. Second one did. I didn't take any further journeys on buses.
I only got the Plus Bus as it was quite a walk to where I needed to be. Usually I just walk one way and get the bus back the other way.
I got it from trip.com as I get a 4% discount on my rail ticket.
Although the rail ticket can be added to Google Wallet, they don't offer the ability to add the plusbus to the Google Wallet
First bus driver hadn't seen one before but did accept it after I explained they were knew. Second one did. I didn't take any further journeys on buses.
I only got the Plus Bus as it was quite a walk to where I needed to be. Usually I just walk one way and get the bus back the other way.
Sent an email to Grant Palmer customer services this morning and they've apologised for ePlusBus non-acceptance / driver conduct on the CX. Management will talk to the drivers concerned and their commercial team will (re)inform all drivers that Luton PlusBus should be accepted.
They're also waiting on Ticketer to implement the changes needed for validation by scanner; I guess that applies to the other operators too, Stagecoach and (non-participant) Red Eagle aside.
They're also waiting on Ticketer to implement the changes needed for validation by scanner; I guess that applies to the other operators too, Stagecoach and (non-participant) Red Eagle aside.
I thought that Ticketer had already released a software update? The piecemeal fashion to this is probably one of the biggest issues here.
They did, with Blackpool Transport announcing that they'd updated theirs (along with the tram conductor's machines) before they even launched.