Hmmm. That's better than the Manchester ones which don't include trams. But you do get bus travel anywhere in GM for £3.50 so I suppose it's swings & roundabouts.
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PlusBus Tickets
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There were a few local bus drivers that reluctantly accepted mine, but made out as if I wasn't paying my way - and that it would soon be discontinued and I'd have to pay normally like everyone else... a bus operator that has two buses painted in a PlusBus livery!
They're quite often not valid on "Special" or night buses (or tour buses).
The number of operators who don't take them seems to be dropping - I just had a look at a couple of areas where I thought there were non-participating operators and they do take Plusbus now.
Slough - Carousel do not take Plusbus on the council subsidised 74 on a Sunday, though on a weekday both Arriva and First do (on the 74 and X74).
http://www.plusbus.info/slough-burnham-plusbus
Luton - Plusbus is not valid on the Luton Airport parkway - Airport bus run by first though it *is* valid between Luton and the Airport on other services and on other services that run past the Parkway station.
http://www.plusbus.info/luton-leagrave-plusbus-includes-dunstable
In Loughborough, Plusbus seems not to be valid on most services
It seems only to be valid on the "Sprint" servicehttp://www.plusbus.info/sites/default/files/pdfs/Loughbor OTP Sept 12.pdf
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I used to have a Hitchin plusbus - but there was one driver who had an argument about its validity every time he saw me, despite me carrying a leaflet listing all the routes it was valid on. He always let me on eventually but I tended to get dirty looks from other passengers for slowing the bus down. After having one for a year I let it lapse and started walking half an hour to the station.
With a family railcard they are a great bargain. The only problem I had was a couple of years ago when Haymarket station refused to issue Edinburgh plus bus tickets. Never had an issue with a driver taking them. What I don't understand is why in some areas where here are several stations within the plusbus area they can only be issued as add ons for certain specified stations. For instance the West Yorkshire plusbus which is a real bargain cannot be issued as a Horsforth plusbus only a Leeds plusbus meaning that you need a ticket from say Harrogate to Leeds rather than Harrogate to Horsforth to start using the buses from Horsforth as far as I can see from the publicity.
I wish that bus operators could issue a ticket for your initial trip to the station that could be refunded against the cost of the plusbus ticket (for people who can't easily get to the station without the bus in the first place).
Our bus operator has brand new ticket machines, which accept smartcards (only used for OAPs/disabled users though with seemingly no plans to use them for anything more) and surely they could issue a differently printed ticket - with a barcode or something to allow a discount at the station (albeit only from a manned station)?
The bus operator that issued that ticket might even get a larger cut of the revenue as an incentive.
Buying in advance to have them posted to you at home is one alternative but requires planning ahead. I just booked a return to Bristol in December and forgot to add plusbus, now I'll be at a station between now and then to add it, but otherwise I'd still have to pay £1.50 for my trip to the station!
Our bus operator has brand new ticket machines, which accept smartcards (only used for OAPs/disabled users though with seemingly no plans to use them for anything more) and surely they could issue a differently printed ticket - with a barcode or something to allow a discount at the station (albeit only from a manned station)?
The bus operator that issued that ticket might even get a larger cut of the revenue as an incentive.
Buying in advance to have them posted to you at home is one alternative but requires planning ahead. I just booked a return to Bristol in December and forgot to add plusbus, now I'll be at a station between now and then to add it, but otherwise I'd still have to pay £1.50 for my trip to the station!
There was a bit of a "clearout" in the May fares round IIRC, removing some of the least used PlusBus destinations. If memory serves, some in the Birmingham area were lost in said cull.
Quite why anyone would wake up fancying a day out in Hull is beyond me but there is no accounting for taste I suppose!
Lothian don't accept them on the Airport bus (I think the Airport is outwith the PlusBus area and it's pick up only until the airport) or their night buses. Other than that the Edinburgh one is great value. £2.00 with my Railcard, £3.50 to buy a day ticket on the bus.
Glasgow must be the best value? There is not a direct comparison, but a First Glasgow Day ticket is £4.50, only allowing travel on First ServicesPlusBus costs £2.10 with Railcard, £3.20 without. Allows travel on almost all buses operated by First Glasgow, McGills and Stagecoach West.
Glasgow must be the best value? There is not a direct comparison, but a First Glasgow Day ticket is £4.50, only allowing travel on First ServicesPlusBus costs £2.10 with Railcard, £3.20 without. Allows travel on almost all buses operated by First Glasgow, McGills and Stagecoach West.
This would only work if the Plusbus is more expensive than the normal bus fare. For me a Plusbus in Southampton costs £2.30 (£1.55 with railcard), a day return costs £2.70, which is quite cheap compared to some other tickets in Southampton.
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Down here in sunny Southampton, it costs £4 for a day ticket on First or £3.40 for a day ticket on Bluestar (only other major competition). Whereas the Plusbus is £2.30 or £1.55 with railcard.
bb21
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In Loughborough, Plusbus seems not to be valid on most services
http://www.plusbus.info/sites/default/files/pdfs/Loughbor OTP Sept 12.pdf
Town services, operated by Kinch mainly, are not listed in this poster.
The Leeds Plusbus is great value as it covers the whole of the West Yorkshire area for just £3. I used one a few weeks ago and bought it at Chesterfield with no problems when I got a Day Return from Chersterfield to Leeds.
kieron
Established Member
The Wrexham one is only valid on buses owned by the people who run the railway station. Some of the other bus companies accept Plusbus elsewhere.
Uno? Complain to the operator and if that fails to intalink (who are pro plusbus).
Can I invite someone to send a message to the operator asking for their reason, and then follow this up with a message to the relevant council? Aren't carousel part of Go-Ahead now? May be a more useful line of attack if so.
Again, worth a question to FCC. It could well be an oversight, though surely the extra cost to the Airport rather than Parkway is less than the cost of a plusbus (think typical air traveller - out one day, back in a few).
In Loughborough, Plusbus seems not to be valid on most services
http://www.plusbus.info/sites/default/files/pdfs/Loughbor OTP Sept 12.pdf
But sprint is part of Kinch who are part of Trent Barton/Wellglade so this seems a bizarre own goal. Again, could I suggest someone messages the operator to see what their reasons are?
My understanding is that a rail ticket from any station outside WY to any station in WY is all that is needed to get the WY plusbus - so a Weeton to Horsforth ticket or a Rochdale-Hebden Bridge ticket, however I will double check this at work later.
You are correct as always barry, however I understood that a ticket from outside to any WM station allowed the bigger plusbus to be purchased?
I see. So just arriva? May I enquire which other operators serve the mapped area here? It may be worth speaking to those operators and then (particularly if services are tendered) speaking to the local authority too.
MCR247
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In Loughborough, Plusbus seems not to be valid on most services
http://www.plusbus.info/sites/default/files/pdfs/Loughbor OTP Sept 12.pdf
Bearing in mind most of these buses will be going out of the boundary
bb21
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Also, except the Shepshed bus (4) which is run by a small independent, the rest only have a tiny section of their routes in the PlusBus area.
A more intriguing question is why Arriva's 126/127 is not part of the PlusBus network.
How tiny is tiny? 3 or 4 stops? 2 or 3 miles?
Let's get the question asked then - ideally someone with a local address.
Stroud comes to mind as an example - PlusBus is only valid on Stagecoach, not Cotswold Green. Sure there are lots of other examples but can't think of any right now (except Didcot where PlusBus isn't valid on the Milton Park shuttle bus operated by Courtney Coaches).
Reading on the other hand is excellent value - valid even on the few rag-tag operators (Fleet Buzz, First, Arriva) and is valid on night buses. And with a Railcard, half the price of a Reading Buses day pass!
I wonder if this is because the service is subsidised by South Bucks council. A High Wycombe plusbus *is* valid on Carousel - including the 74.
Kinch *do* accept plusbus on their other services but sprint is their only service that serves the station - my point was that with 6 services going into the town centre which is a bit of a walk away it was a shame you can only use the sprint, especially at off-peak times. The sprint is every 10 minutes during the day but none run to the station after 9pm (earlier in university holidays and at weekends) whilst other buses do.
That should be fine.
Bury St. Edmunds is a good example of a PlusBus location with limited usability only one of the operators that serve the area is signed up to the scheme.
On the other hand, one thing that's always surprised me is how the Theobalds Grove/Waltham Cross/Cheshunt PlusBus is valid on London buses and on the couple of occasions I've tried to use it, the bus drivers haven't minded either. Could this be the only example, excluding the national concessionary bus pass, of TfL buses accepting non-TfL-approved (for want of a better word) tickets?
Either way, it's handy. I live just within London, as are my local stations, but if travelling to destinations north of London, it can work out much cheaper to get a PlusBus to one of the applicable stations and pick my train up from there, in order to avoid the London surchage on train tickets.
On the other hand, one thing that's always surprised me is how the Theobalds Grove/Waltham Cross/Cheshunt PlusBus is valid on London buses and on the couple of occasions I've tried to use it, the bus drivers haven't minded either. Could this be the only example, excluding the national concessionary bus pass, of TfL buses accepting non-TfL-approved (for want of a better word) tickets?
Either way, it's handy. I live just within London, as are my local stations, but if travelling to destinations north of London, it can work out much cheaper to get a PlusBus to one of the applicable stations and pick my train up from there, in order to avoid the London surchage on train tickets.
sheff'd victoria
Member
I would have thought that they would have lumped Sheffield . Rotherham & Doncaster together since they all come under South Yorkshire PTE and have a South Yorkshire Plus Bus area ?
In what way do they not lump them together?
bb21
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I think our friend misunderstood the maps provided on the PlusBus website, which are actually quite misleading, by not showing the whole of South Yorkshire together.
However the darker areas on each map do extend beyond the locality and a closer inspection of the boundary points listed in the pdfs provided on the Doncaster and Sheffield PlusBus pages does suggest that they are the same scheme.
sheff'd victoria
Member
I was misunderstood by the maps provided on the PlusBus website
no wonder passgeners get confused
bennorthyork
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Not sure if this is the right place to ask this so apologies if not. Is plusbus Penzance for 2 adults 1 child with f&f railcard cheaper than a single for the same people from Penzance to Mousehole? First Bus on the phone told me to ask the bus driver.
Phone again and ask for the driver's phone number? It really annoys me how secretive some bus companies are with fares (and in some cases timetable) information.
I don't know the answer but at £1.35 I'd guess PlusBus will be cheaper.
No, see here http://www.essex.gov.uk/Travel-High...us-Travel/Pages/Fares-and-PlusBus-Info.aspx#2
Essex Savers and Essex Sunday Savers are "valid but not issued on Transport for London bus services starting or finishing in Essex" (so you could get as far into Greater London as Walthamstow on the 20, or Ilford on the 167, starting from Debden/Loughton)
There may be similar tickets in other counties neighbouring London, even if cross-border services are now somewhat rarer (and shorter) than they used to be!
Just as bad, the Didcot PlusBus isn't valid on the town services operated by White's. It wasn't valid on the services that RH used to operate there either, but now those routes are in the hands of Thames Travel, they do accept PlusBus.
trainophile
Established Member
A further comment on PlusBus - when booking train tickets online, if I book two tickets for me and my husband, but only want one PlusBus ticket as he has a pensioners' bus pass, I have to book the train tickets in two operations. Doesn't make much difference on the services I use as they don't give seat allocations anyway, but for those TOCs that do, it could be a nuisance as there's a chance of getting non-adjacent seats.
Also sometimes the Eastcoast website doesn't offer a PlusBus ticket at all, so on those occasions I have to cancel my order and re-do it on the ATW site. It seems quite random as to whether Eastcoast offer them - it's always the same journey, usually same days of the week, yet sometimes it offers me a PB add-on and other times it doesn't.
Also sometimes the Eastcoast website doesn't offer a PlusBus ticket at all, so on those occasions I have to cancel my order and re-do it on the ATW site. It seems quite random as to whether Eastcoast offer them - it's always the same journey, usually same days of the week, yet sometimes it offers me a PB add-on and other times it doesn't.
Interesting! Although being pedantic, the Essex Saver still doesn't quite seem to offer the same hop-on-hop-off flexibility within the London area that PlusBus does.
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