The price of a day-travel fare

[orpine]

As someone who lives in Leamington/Warwick I've used the buses a few times (it's a Stagecoach area). The cost of a "return" between these two conjoined towns (3 miles apart, a pleasant 50 minute walk or 15 min cycle) is currently £4.60 because they actually sell you a day-travel ticket (it's "cheaper").

As day tickets go, this seems really expensive. It encompasses an area of just 20 sq km, has a single-digit number of bus routes, most of which refuse to take anything even resembling a direct route (one is a goldline and takes about 30mins) - there are some points on the route I have walked between faster than the bus traversed, and this was because of a traffic jam. And bar one of which end early evening.

Comparison prices (random ones I could easily find):
London - 6 zone Travelcard £5
Cardiff - £3.40 (bargain, and oh look, it's not privatised!)
Oxford - £3.90
Weymouth - £3
Newport - £3

I'm aware that many bus systems are subsidised, but I've never seen anywhere with a more expensive day-travel-cost than Warwick/Leamington except London.
Do they exist?

Oh, and for reference (this being a train forum and all ), the train is £1.60 return (offpeak) and takes 4 mins.

 

[GaryMcEwan]

A First Glasgow City All Day is £4, and First Glasgow Network All Day is £5.50.

However First Scotland East is even dearer, for example a 2 Zone (LMN) which is South Queensferry/Kirkiliston is £5.10, whereas Zone LM only is £7.30. And even worse is 6+ Zones will cost you a whopping £13.20.

 

[SS4]

An nbus is £4.20 which gets you right across the West Midlands from Coventry to Wolverhampton.

That said there is practically no market for singles: an average of £2 per journey means you may as well get a day ticket!

 

[90019]

Lothian's DayTicket costs £3.50 and allows unlimited travel on all Lothian buses except Airlink, tours, East Lothian zone three and special services.

If you buy after 6pm, you'll get a Day & Night Ticket, which is also valid on the night buses.

 

[orpine]

A First Glasgow City All Day is £4, and First Glasgow Network All Day is £5.50.

However First Scotland East is even dearer, for example a 2 Zone (LMN) which is South Queensferry/Kirkiliston is £5.10, whereas Zone LM only is £7.30. And even worse is 6+ Zones will cost you a whopping £13.20.

Oh yes, there are more expensive varients too; this is just the most basic! Other varients are for the dayrider "plus" (I think about £6 or £7 - the Stagecoach website is failing me), and one for all of Warwickshire which is probably even more.

The pattern I'm seeing from the replies is that the Warwick/Leamington one is definitely expensive.
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An nbus is £4.20 which gets you right across the West Midlands from Coventry to Wolverhampton.

But unfortunately it doesn't extend to Warwick/Leamington. Who needs a well regulated market anyway?

 

[WestCoast]

But unfortunately it doesn't extend to Warwick/Leamington. Who needs a well regulated market anyway?

You can get from Codsall (north of Wolves) to Leamington on a NXWM Daysaver for £3.90. Wouldn't be the quickest of journeys though.

 

[Polarbear]

Another Stagecoach product is the North West day rider. At £10.30, it's expensive if you are just using it for an out & back journey around the Lake District (eg Kendal to Ambleside & back).

However, the area it covers stretches from Newcastle on Tyne (service 685), Carlisle & Dumfries, all the way down to Chester (and even just over into Wales on local service 16 from Chester). You can (in theory) go from one end to the other in a day which would make for rather good value.

 

[overthewater]

To be fair to First Scotland East, that is a bargain.

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland_east/tickets/firstfamily/

Take your family out and about this winter using our bus services in South East and Central Scotland. Between the 30 November 2013 and the 5 January 2013 our Family day tickets will be just £8.

Treat the whole family and indulge in the festivities. Perfect for shopping and days out.

Terms and conditions: Only available for purchase with minimum of one adult and one child (5-16) and maximum of two adults and two children travelling.

 

[causton]

The Hertfordshire Intalink Explorer is accepted by Arriva buses in many places outside Hertfordshire (unsure if it has to be issued by an Arriva bus or not, as in Hertfordshire just about every service accepts the Explorer for £8.50) - which is I guess a lot but can get you from Harlow to Milton Keynes, or from Stansted to Oxford!

http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Network_Maps/South_East/All_Fare_Zones_Ntwk_Dgm_Oct08.pdf

 

[Tetchytyke]

However, the area it covers stretches from Newcastle on Tyne (service 685), Carlisle & Dumfries, all the way down to Chester (and even just over into Wales on local service 16 from Chester). You can (in theory) go from one end to the other in a day which would make for rather good value.

Are you sure about that? Stagecoach's promotional literature seems to imply it isn't valid on Stagecoach Manchester or Stagecoach Merseyside services, and is only valid as far south as Bolton.

Stagecoach in the north east charge £3.80 for a Tyne and Wear Daysaver, which is valid on all their buses in Newcastle, South Shields and Sunderland (although trying to get between those areas is interesting). Go charge £4.65 to £7.60 depending on area, and the PTE day rover is £6.80. The north east explorer, valid between Berwick, Carlisle and Scarborough on buses and Metro is £9.30, which is a bloody good deal.
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Terms and conditions: Only available for purchase with minimum of one adult and one child (5-16) and maximum of two adults and two children travelling.

That condition always infuriates me. Why is a ticket for two adults and a child cheaper than a ticket for two adults?

 

[MCR247]

Trent Barton: £5 although this covers a large area!
Nottm City Transport: £3.40

 

[GatwickDepress]

£3.40 for a Hastings & Bexhill DayRider with Stagecoach, and it's still cheaper than a day return from Clifton Road to the town centre bus stops along Queen's Road. The area isn't exactly humongous either. No wonder I get the train to 'astings when I want to go shopping in town...£1.70 off-peak return with a railcard discount compared to £3.40 on the bus.

 

[abbo1234]

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Are you sure about that? Stagecoach's promotional literature seems to imply it isn't valid on Stagecoach Manchester or Stagecoach Merseyside services, and is only valid as far south as Bolton.

Stagecoach in the north east charge £3.80 for a Tyne and Wear Daysaver, which is valid on all their buses in Newcastle, South Shields and Sunderland (although trying to get between those areas is interesting). Go charge £4.65 to £7.60 depending on area, and the PTE day rover is £6.80. The north east explorer, valid between Berwick, Carlisle and Scarborough on buses and Metro is £9.30, which is a bloody good deal.
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That condition always infuriates me. Why is a ticket for two adults and a child cheaper than a ticket for two adults?

I think you should have said,North west day explorer.It is the Lancashire day rider that only goes as far south as Bolton

 

[Mugby]

Trent Barton: £5 although this covers a large area!

It does cover quite a large area but you can't use it to travel directly from Nottingham to Mansfield, or from Mansfield to Chesterfield. There's no Trent link between Chesterfield and Matlock or between Matlock and Ashbourne. It's not valid before 0930 on weekdays and it's not valid on any of their subsiduaries.

Trent Barton, The Really Expensive Bus Company!

 

[GaryMcEwan]

Stagecoach East Scotland's Tayside Dayrider which costs £7 is good value for money. It is valid on all routes in Angus, City of Dundee, Perth & Kinross and also into Fife on services 35, 36 and 56. And even into Stirling on service 47.

 

[transmanche]

London - 6 zone Travelcard £5

Even cheaper, the daily Oyster price-cap for all TfL buses/trams is just £4.40.

 

[Polarbear]

Are you sure about that? Stagecoach's promotional literature seems to imply it isn't valid on Stagecoach Manchester or Stagecoach Merseyside services, and is only valid as far south as Bolton.

Yes. Stagecoach took over the former First operations in Chester & Wirral last January & they have advertised the availability of the NW Megarider Gold & the day equivalent locally since around March 2013. Surprisingly for Stagecoach, they still haven't updated the website.

 

[Deerfold]

The Hertfordshire Intalink Explorer is accepted by Arriva buses in many places outside Hertfordshire (unsure if it has to be issued by an Arriva bus or not, as in Hertfordshire just about every service accepts the Explorer for £8.50) - which is I guess a lot but can get you from Harlow to Milton Keynes, or from Stansted to Oxford!

http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Network_Maps/South_East/All_Fare_Zones_Ntwk_Dgm_Oct08.pdf

My wife and I used to use these quite a lot including a couple of mammoth trips out from Hitchin to Slough on a circular route (also using TfL staff passes and doing the whole of the Piccadilly line as was in one go).

Keighley and District have a day ticket for £4.80 (£3.80 after 0930) which is mostly valid on local town services but also to Bradford, Leeds, Skipton and Hebden Bridge. There was no reduction when a number of town service contracts were lost to TLC who also operate the evening service on some routes.

You can get an all-operator bus-only ticket for £5.40 for West Yorkshire (but you can't get to Skipton on that).

 

[harry42]

Trent Barton: £5 although this covers a large area!
Nottm City Transport: £3.40

And its only 9 pounds for a group of up to 5 area very large as mentioned: from coygrave to east midlands airport to ashbourne to bakewell to cjestetfield to calverton And everything imbetwerb! In just the city area with nct family ticket is £4

 

[Deerfold]

Trent Barton: £5 although this covers a large area!

£8 if you want to travel before 0900.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Yes. Stagecoach took over the former First operations in Chester & Wirral last January & they have advertised the availability of the NW Megarider Gold & the day equivalent locally since around March 2013. Surprisingly for Stagecoach, they still haven't updated the website.

Interesting.

It's been a year or so since I last used that ticket, but when I last bought it the leaflet said it wasn't valid on Stagecoach Manchester or Stagecoach Merseyside. Are they now accepting it on (what was) Glenvale too? I'm assuming you still can't use it in Manchester.

 

[Be3G]

The Hertfordshire Intalink Explorer is accepted by Arriva buses in many places outside Hertfordshire (unsure if it has to be issued by an Arriva bus or not, as in Hertfordshire just about every service accepts the Explorer for £8.50) - which is I guess a lot but can get you from Harlow to Milton Keynes, or from Stansted to Oxford!

http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Network_Maps/South_East/All_Fare_Zones_Ntwk_Dgm_Oct08.pdf

In my opinion the best deal is the Intalink Explorer group version for £12.50, because it can be used for up to four people of any age, rather than typical ‘family’ deals that require the inclusion of at least one child. What impresses me is that Intalink have clearly realised something that's often not appreciated by bus companies: the fact that it's not much more expensive for four adults to travel somewhere together by car than it is for just one.

By the way, the ticket can be purchased from virtually any bus of any operator in the Hertfordshire region; the ticket is really an Intalink product, rather than an Arriva one. One odd recent development though is that apparently it's not issued or accepted on Roadrunner bus 255, which is the main current incarnation of the constantly fluctuating service from Waltham Cross to Loughton. Not very good for a ticket that's supposedly valid on all bus services in Hertfordshire.

 

[Deerfold]

By the way, the ticket can be purchased from virtually any bus of any operator in the Hertfordshire region; the ticket is really an Intalink product, rather than an Arriva one. One odd recent development though is that apparently it's not issued or accepted on Roadrunner bus 255, which is the main current incarnation of the constantly fluctuating service from Waltham Cross to Loughton. Not very good for a ticket that's supposedly valid on all bus services in Hertfordshire.

The ticket predates Intalink who "adopted" it.

It predates Arriva as it was an NBC ticket originally - though it can get confusing as there is also the Stagcoach Explorer - Stagecoach accept the Intalink Explorer between Hitchin and Bedford but do not issue it.

The council cannot force companies to accept the ticket, but does make its acceptance mandatory on contracted services (except school services).

 

[Rapidash]

Torbay DayRider is now £5.10. I think when Stagecoach first took over Bayline it was more like £3.

I use the monthly megarider (£60) now, gives me alot more options to get around the county.

 

[bb21]

Comparison prices (random ones I could easily find):
London - 6 zone Travelcard £5
Cardiff - £3.40 (bargain, and oh look, it's not privatised!)
Oxford - £3.90
Weymouth - £3
Newport - £3

I'm aware that many bus systems are subsidised, but I've never seen anywhere with a more expensive day-travel-cost than Warwick/Leamington except London.
Do they exist?

There are many reasons why tickets valid over a bigger area costs less. The area may have a more dense population and bus usage may be high. The fares may be subsidised, so if you are not paying through fares then you are paying through various taxes. In addition, the price of day tickets are not always necessarily related to how big the validity area is. How many people do you know ride buses all day so that they can get maximum value out of it? The pricing model normally follows what most people tend to do - using only one or two buses for mostly medium-distance journeys, so a total of typically less than 4 trips a day. With vast increases in single fares in recent times, day tickets are increasingly being used where previously a return may be cheaper.

 

[orpine]

I'm seeing two patterns from the responses:

First, the Warwick/Leamington dayRider definitely seems to be amoungst the worst value tickets out there.

Second, that dayRiders for regional-ish areas can be a bargain as a way to travel longer distances. I remember getting a return bus from Peterborough way to Lowestoft (first-group X1) - about £12 for their regional dayrider, but the tradeoff was that it was stupidly slow.

 

[Polarbear]

Interesting.

It's been a year or so since I last used that ticket, but when I last bought it the leaflet said it wasn't valid on Stagecoach Manchester or Stagecoach Merseyside. Are they now accepting it on (what was) Glenvale too? I'm assuming you still can't use it in Manchester.

I don't think the NE explorer is valid on the erstwhile Glenvale services (basically Liverpool area locals). It is valid on service X2 from Liverpool northward & as far as Bolton heading towards Manchester on service 125.

You're correct to say it's NOT valid on any Stagecoach Manchester services.

 

[starrymarkb]

Stagecoach SW's Explorer is £7.50 - also valid on Western Greyhound throughout Cornwall and IIRC Country Bus services.

Western Greyhound's is £8.50 and includes all Stagecoach SW in Devon.

First Cornwall are putting their day ticket up to £10 from Jan!

 

[Be3G]

Talking of which, I've always thought the Ride Cornwall is pretty good value. Although when I tried to buy one from a Western Greyhound bus a couple of years ago the driver couldn't find it on his machine, so not being able to buy it made it less useful…

 

[34D]

The ticket predates Intalink who "adopted" it.

It predates Arriva as it was an NBC ticket originally - though it can get confusing as there is also the Stagcoach Explorer - Stagecoach accept the Intalink Explorer between Hitchin and Bedford but do not issue it.

The council cannot force companies to accept the ticket, but does make its acceptance mandatory on contracted services (except school services).

Can I say however that it is a disgrace that TfL don't accept it on their services in Herts - a real slap in the face of integrated ticketing.