PlusBus Tickets

[OscarH]

Plusbus appears either not to have the relevant licenses or to have no applied them properly, so OpenStreetMaps is obscuring parts of the maps they're currently using.

It's not even a license, they're just not sending a required header to the (free) tile server

 

[py_megapixel]

Plusbus appears either not to have the relevant licenses or to have no applied them properly, so OpenStreetMaps is obscuring parts of the maps they're currently using.#

Do you have a browser extension installed that prevents the "Referer" HTTP header from being sent?

To fully explain what this is would require going a bit off topic into technical details about how websites work, but to summarise as best as I can manage for non-technical users:

• the "Referer" header is a piece of information that your web browser usually sends when you load web content, which indicates which page you are loading that content from
  • for example: if I click a link from this forum thread to the Plusbus site, the "Referer" header means Plusbus can see that I came from railforums.co.uk
  • more relevant example: if my browser loads map images to show on the Plusbus site, the "Referer" header should mean the mapping service can see I am on plusbus.info (this is the part that isn't working)
• this is useful for some purposes, but obviously the owners of one site being able to see that I have also visited another carries some privacy implications, so some browser extensions for privacy-conscious users will prevent this information from being sent
• however, Open Street Map requires it to be sent - presumably as they need to be able to identify which third-party pages are loading their data, in order to put a stop to any misuse that may occur.

It's not even a license, they're just not sending a required header to the (free) tile server

They aren't proxying the map tiles through their own server or anything, the browser just directly requests them from Open Street Map. I've just checked and my browser does include Referer when making those requests (and as a result I'm not experiencing the pictured issue).

 

[OscarH]

They aren't proxying the map tiles through their own server or anything, the browser just directly requests them from Open Street Map. I've just checked and my browser does include Referer when making those requests (and as a result I'm not experiencing the pictured issue).

Yes... it's been a long day.

Given it works for you I'm assuming they are setting a Referrer-Policy appropriately, so sounds like extensions as you say

 

[Haywain]

Exactly ...you would need to exit the train at Luton and then use the Luton Plus bus .. And to have purchased a rail ticket for onwards travel from Hitchin allowing the purchase of a Hitchin Plus bus ..

In the situation I suggested, there would not be any necessity to leave or board a train at Luton.

 

[Deerfold]

Yes... it's been a long day.

Given it works for you I'm assuming they are setting a Referrer-Policy appropriately, so sounds like extensions as you say

Looks like it's my adblock extension, not Plusbus this time. I wonder why this has changed (I've been using the extension for years, but this is new).

 

[MrJeeves]

I wonder why this has changed (I've been using the extension for years, but this is new).

OpenStreetMap only recently started requiring websites using their tileservers to send a Referer header.

 

[Adam Williams]

First bus in Bristol have done the work. Has anyone else?

There's quite a few areas where we've gotten it fixed now. First Eastern Counties, Diamond Bus WM, Metroline, Metrobus, Go South Coast, Compass Travel, First West Yorkshire, First Aberdeen, First South Yorkshire, First York, First Leicester, Trentbarton. Very much a game of whackamole though.

Ipswich Buses didn't want to reply to any emails about it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Apr 2026 ==

TrainSplit I know has done a lot of work with Ticketer to ensure that relevant operators are now accepting these, why this has come from a Third Party Retailer to do this on their own intuition rather than it being led by the industry (RDG) is a mystery.

Raileasy have been doing a few things behind the scenes, incl. calls with Traveline to explain some of the technical aspects of E-Tickets, funding PlusBus & rail ticket purchases for any representatives from bus operators to use to check their systems, setting up public key change monitoring alerts for one ETM vendor, and also providing access to internal barcode decoding/visualisation tooling to the ETM vendors to help those responsible for the software check their implementations work correctly.

It needed to be done for the product to be remotely viable, in my view, and nobody else seemed interested in pushing it.

 

[tomh72]

OpenStreetMap only recently started requiring websites using their tileservers to send a Referer header.

The policy always required it, or has done for a long time, we've just only recently started trying to enforce it technically.

One extension that commonly causes problems is uMatrix as it enables referer spoofing by default so you need to disable that for tile.openstreetmap.org at least.

 

[MrJeeves]

The policy always required it, or has done for a long time, we've just only recently started trying to enforce it technically.

If it wasn't enforced, it wasn't required in my eyes

But I completely understand why it is now enforced!

 

[markymark2000]

Raileasy have been doing a few things behind the scenes, incl. calls with Traveline to explain some of the technical aspects of E-Tickets, funding PlusBus & rail ticket purchases for any representatives from bus operators to use to check their systems, setting up public key change monitoring alerts for one ETM vendor, and also providing access to internal barcode decoding/visualisation tooling to the ETM vendors to help those responsible for the software check their implementations work correctly.

It needed to be done for the product to be remotely viable, in my view, and nobody else seemed interested in pushing it.

I'd like to thank yourself and your team for doing this. I fully agree with you that more needed to be done for the product to be viable and so thank you for putting in the time and effort to make it work and try to push the right people to do the right things, as well as 'whack a mole' on any issues.

I know I criticise a a good few companies on the forums for doing the wrong things, so it's only right that I give praise too where it's due.

 

[Joey Beauchamp]

My experience of PlusBus over the Easter weekend (Tamworth and Oxford) was that every single bus driver just stared at it, didn't say anything and then turned their head away, with an almost imperceptible nod. I think none of them actually knew what it was but because I said "I've got a PlusBus ticket" in a confident, jaunty tone, they just let it slide.

 

[Mike395]

My experience of PlusBus over the Easter weekend (Tamworth and Oxford) was that every single bus driver just stared at it, didn't say anything and then turned their head away, with an almost imperceptible nod. I think none of them actually knew what it was but because I said "I've got a PlusBus ticket" in a confident, jaunty tone, they just let it slide.

Was this an e-ticket or a paper ticket?

One of the few benefits of PRT becoming more commonplace is that eventually the vast majority of tickets will have an Aztec code so the bus rather than the driver makes the initial validity decision....

 

[redreni]

Was this an e-ticket or a paper ticket?

One of the few benefits of PRT becoming more commonplace is that eventually the vast majority of tickets will have an Aztec code so the bus rather than the driver makes the initial validity decision....

I am pretty confident of talking round a driver who hasn't heard of PlusBus or doesn't remember it from their training, as long as their scanner hasn't already told them it is unrecognised or invalid.

I'm sure thanks to Adam's proactiveness and hand-holding, the probability of a PRT-issued PlusBus being rejected by the scanner on the bus is a lot lower than it was a few weeks ago, but we're still not at the stage where I would consider having a PlusBus on PRT an advantage. Hopefully things are moving in that direction, though!

 

[Joey Beauchamp]

Was this an e-ticket or a paper ticket?

One of the few benefits of PRT becoming more commonplace is that eventually the vast majority of tickets will have an Aztec code so the bus rather than the driver makes the initial validity decision....

Tamworth: "Toilet roll" paper tickets with what looked like QR codes. We went on 1 Diamond and 2 Arriva buses, but none of the drivers even tried to scan them. The only place I have had this type of ticket scanned successfully is in Stoke, but only some of them worked: we were four adults, three children and maybe two or three didn't scan.

Oxford: Credit card sized paper tickets without QR codes (I prefer these just because you can put them in a Railcard holder / back pocket without folding).

 

[Wallsendmag]

I've asked RDG to look at Bus links next for eTicket acceptance.

 

[OscarH]

I've asked RDG to look at Bus links next for eTicket acceptance.

Do most of those even have CCST acceptance in reality

 

[kkong]

My experience of PlusBus over the Easter weekend (Tamworth and Oxford) was that every single bus driver just stared at it, didn't say anything and then turned their head away, with an almost imperceptible nod. I think none of them actually knew what it was but because I said "I've got a PlusBus ticket" in a confident, jaunty tone, they just let it slide.

Similar experience to me.

I've never been refused travel with a PlusBus ticket in Aberdeen (on Stagecoach or First) whether on CCST or e-ticket.

Stagecoach don't have scanners up here, but the First scanners have always been unable to recognise them.

This Friday, I will be using a PlusBus e-ticket for the first time since Adam arranged for Ticketer to update the public keys on First Aberdeen, so let's see what happens!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Apr 2026 ==

Success with a Raileasy issued PlusBus ticket on First Aberdeen today.

If presenting via Google Wallet, you'll probably want to manually disable NFC or the Ticketer machine might attempt to process a "tap on" via your default payment card, as it did for me (Pixel 9 Pro / Android 16), which could result in an unresolved journey with maximum fare each time you use it!

Thankfully I have an Amex set as my default card, which First Bus don't accept.

Thanks again to @Adam Williams for getting this resolved with Ticketer.

 

[James H]

Anyone know if First Essex is set up for scanning of e ticket PlusBus?

Also anyone have recent experience of Brentwood PlusBus? Are we likely to have trouble with acceptance on NIBS?

 

[Wolfie]

Anyone know if First Essex is set up for scanning of e ticket PlusBus?

Also anyone have recent experience of Brentwood PlusBus? Are we likely to have trouble with acceptance on NIBS?

Given that First have owned Ensign for a number of years, does anyone know if they are likely to sign up for Plusbus given that First Essex has?

 

[Paul AC]

For info. I travelled from Manchester to Birmingham International on Wednesday this week (13/05/2026) and back to attend an exhibition. As I also wanted to stop off in Birmingham on the way home to cover the new tram extension to Millennium Point, I planned to use a PlusBus ticket - I have a Senior Railcard so it's often cheaper than short-distance local tickets, and I wanted some flexibility. As usual I bought the tickets online from this forum's ticketing site, and I admit I was surprised it offered me an e-ticket as I wasn't aware this had started to work with PlusBus. I loaded my e-tickets into Google Wallet as usual, noting that the PlusBus ticket was "attached" to the outbound rail ticket, and labelled as "Birmingham International+Bus".

I was asked to show my ticket a total of three times by on-tram staff. None of them really seemed to register what it was, and made no attempt to scan it, though they didn't query it at all. I did wonder if "Birmingham International+Bus" might confuse the situation, in central Birmingham.....

 

[Haywain]

I did wonder if "Birmingham International+Bus" might confuse the situation, in central Birmingham.....

I think you have answered your question:

though they didn't query it at all.

 

[MrJeeves]

It should be Birmingham International+BusWM, though, to alleviate some confusion.

 

[OscarH]

It should be Birmingham International+BusWM, though, to alleviate some confusion.

West Midlands+Bus would be even less confusing though

 

[MrJeeves]

West Midlands+Bus would be even less confusing though

I can't believe you're encouraging fares and ticketing reform.

 

[Paul AC]

The whole thing needs reform. It's not really obvious, unless you look quite hard, that (for example) a Coventry, or Walsall, or Dudley, or Birmingham International (etc.) PlusBus ticket is valid on all the West Midlands Metro system, despite it not going to these places.

 

[blimmo]

Tbh I think plusbus is more likely to be abolished than reformed (not that I think it should be!).

 

[MrJeeves]

Tbh I think plusbus is more likely to be abolished than reformed (not that I think it should be!).

I think we're safe from that for a while given the investment (enabling) of E-Ticket PlusBus. At least I hope.

 

[Haywain]

a Coventry, or Walsall, or Dudley, or Birmingham International (etc.) PlusBus ticket is valid on all the West Midlands Metro system,

You stated that it wasn't queried, so isn't this a case of you looking for a problem that doesn't actually exist?

 

[Paul AC]

You stated that it wasn't queried, so isn't this a case of you looking for a problem that doesn't actually exist?

Your partial quote appears to miss my point that the arrangement should be better advertised.

 

[Haywain]

Your partial quote appears to miss my point that the arrangement should be better advertised.

No, I understood the point but you seem to be suggesting that it needs to be better advertised for the benefit of the staff - the ones who aren't causing any problems to start with.