PlusBus with Network Railcard (for Advance train fare not offering railcard discount)

[Bungaroosh]

I plan to travel from London Paddington to Oxford after 10am on a Friday and returning on a Sunday.
The ticket price each way is £5.40 for an Advance Single, so £10.80 return.

I would like to buy a PlusBus ticket for the Friday and one for the Sunday in Oxford at a Network Railcard discounted price, but the only PlusBus tickets being offered by GWR's website are full-price ones. I thought that this may be because the train ticket itself isn't offering a Network Railcard discount, but this info on the PlusBus website would suggest I could show the train tickets at a staffed ticket office and get discounted PlusBus tickets (I will buy the train tickets online before the price goes up):



If I have to pay full price, so be it, but from the above, it would seem that I'd be entitled to buy them at the railcard discount.

Anybody know one way or the other?
Thanks!

 

[AlbertBeale]

I've never had trouble buying a PlusBus add-on ticket separately, after getting the main rail ticket, either at a ticket office before travelling, or on arrival at the place where I want to have a PlusBus; and in all cases there's been no difficulty in getting a railcard discount. I'm not sure I've ever tried to get a discounted PlusBus ticket from a machine - so if that's a problem (and indeed I think that getting any PlusBus ticket is a problem with some machines), and you weren't at a station with a ticket office....

 

[Hadders]

You can get a railcard discounted Plusbus ticket at Paddington or at Oxford ticket offices. I've not had any issues doing this before. There is no requirement to purchase a PlusBus ticket at the same time as you purchase the tickets for your journey.

 

[Haywain]

You can get a railcard discounted Plusbus ticket at Paddington or at Oxford ticket offices. I've not had any issues doing this before. There is no requirement to purchase a PlusBus ticket at the same time as you purchase the tickets for your journey.

But at a ticket office is the only way of buying PlusBus without also buying a rail travel ticket at the same time.

 

[Hadders]

But at a ticket office is the only way of buying PlusBus without also buying a rail travel ticket at the same time.

Not in my experience.

You will need to show your rail ticket when you buy a PlusBus ticket at a ticket office but you don’t need to buy it at the same time.

 

[James H]

I think you've misread what Haywain said.

I have also successfully bought a Network Railcard discounted PlusBus when travelling on a non-discounted Advance. Pretty sure both Waterloo and Bournemouth ticket offices did this without quibble.

 

[Hadders]

I think you've misread what Haywain said.

Yes I think I have misread!

I think he’s probably correct although there were some old TVMs at my local station that would sell a PlusBus ticket without having to purchase a rail ticket. Sadly removed a couple of years ago.

 

[Jason12]

I have had issues in the past with online retailers not offering a railcard discounted PlusBus ticket. But, as others have said, a ticket office will sell you one if you take your paper ticket or e-ticket and railcard with you.

I now use the LNER site to purchase online when I want PlusBus as I've always had the railcard discount offered there.

 

[miklcct]

I now use the LNER site to purchase online when I want PlusBus as I've always had the railcard discount offered there.

Thank you for pointing this out.

 

[Haywain]

But at a ticket office is the only way of buying PlusBus without also buying a rail travel ticket at the same time.

Actually not the only way - a purchase could also be made from a guard/conductor/train manager.

 

[Bungaroosh]

Thanks very much for the valuable feedback. The LNER website tip is well worth knowing! (But why is it such a mish-mash between different ticket sellers ...)

As I'll be travelling with one other adult, I was going to just use the Network Railcard, but I found that while the discounted fare (on the Sunday where there is no £13 minimum) is not available with a Network Railcard, it IS available with a Two Together Railcard. (I looked into it on brfares.co.uk, of which I have a barely-existent understanding).

Yet ... while the LNER website I looked at just now does not allow a Network Railcard discount on the train fare, it DID show the PlusBus ticket with the Network Railcard discount on both the Friday and Sunday.

Knowing now that I can get a PlusBus from a ticket office at the Network Railcard discount even on a sub-£13 ticket (within the valid Network Railcard times) is something that I really wish I'd known about many years ago.

So while I thought there was no point just yet to get the Two Together Railcard for travel wholly within south-east England (when I already have a Network Railcard), I've gone ahead and bought them at the Two Together price and will get a TT railcard in a couple of weeks.

(On that final note, does anyone have recent experience of the wait times for a plastic TT railcard ordered online?)*

*P.S. No, I don't want a digital one on a smartphone!

 

[Hadders]

As I'll be travelling with one other adult, I was going to just use the Network Railcard, but I found that while the discounted fare (on the Sunday where there is no £13 minimum) is not available with a Network Railcard, it IS available with a Two Together Railcard. (I looked into it on brfares.co.uk, of which I have a barely-existent understanding).

A Network Railcard cannot be used to obtain a discount on an Advance ticket.

You can get a discount on Advance tickets with a Two Together Railcard.