New Peak Plus ticket

[northwichcat]

The PeakPlus Xtra is our NEW day ticket in conjunction with High Peak Buses and TM Travel, which is valid on all services operated by High Peak and TM Travel services within Derbyshire, and D&G Bus service 16 to and from Hanley. The Peak Plus Xtra zone includes travel with High Peak Buses to and from Macclesfield, Derby, Buxton and Matlock and travel with TM Travel to and from Sheffield. Prices are as follows:

Peak Plus Xtra Adult - £12.50 - valid for travel until midnight on the day of issue
Peak Plus Xtra Child - £8.00 - valid for travel until midnight on the day of issue - passengers must be aged 5 to 16
Peak Plus Xtra Family - £23.00 - valid for travel until midnight on the day of issue for up to two adults and three children

https://centrebus.sharepoint.com/Documents/Peak Plus Xtra Map.pdf

I don't really see the point of this new ticket the Derbyshire Wayfarer covers a lot of services included and unlike the Derbyshire Wayfarer rail travel isn't included.

 

[Robertj21a]

Doesn't the Derbyshire Wayfarer exclude the Transpeak (and other High Peak commercial routes ?)

 

[northwichcat]

Doesn't the Derbyshire Wayfarer exclude the Transpeak (and other High Peak commercial routes ?)

There are some exclusions but then the overlapping TfGM Wayfarer includes those routes so if your journey was something like Macclesfield to Matlock you could buy a TfGM Wayfarer.

 

[Robertj21a]

There are some exclusions but then the overlapping TfGM Wayfarer includes those routes so if your journey was something like Macclesfield to Matlock you could buy a TfGM Wayfarer.

I would have said that excluding the High Peak commercial routes was quite significant when you want to travel around the Peak District !

The TfGM Wayfarer only covers a small part of Derbyshire. Presumably, this new ticket is aimed at those who want to travel around much of Derbyshire.

 

[higthomas]

At £12.50!! How can it cost that much? I can get from Guildford to Margate and back for £8.50! And people say bus travel is for the poor.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Not being funny but when the Derbyshire Wayfarer was dropped by High Peak I stopped buying them. One has to wonder if High Peak are sabotaging the scheme so that it becomes pointless, if they are then most bus routes will disapear as people switch to cars.

I can go around Devon, Wiltshire and Sussex for £8.50 each and yet in Derbyshire they're charging £12.50 and your limited to where you can go on it.

 

[Thomas92]

The Peak Plus Xtra Day ticket was introduced in March 2016 following the commercial decision to withdraw from the Derbyshire Wayfarer ticketing scheme. The decision was purely commercial and only affects High Peak's commercial services (Transpeak, Skyline 199, 185/186 and 61).

The Derbyshire Wayfarer is still valid on services suported by Derbyshire County Council or operated on behalf of them. A full list of exclusions can be found on the High Peak website. Shortly the ticket will be extended to D&G Buses as well, allowing for travel on their 16 Buxton- Hanley service. It's correct to say that it is not a full replacement, in that it can't be used on all operators within Derbyshire or rail operators at the moment, but more operators are being approached to further develop the ticket.

The confusingly-named TFGM wayfarer remains valid as per the ticket validity rules set by TFGM. I believe there are only a limited number of outlets that sell this ticket though- mainly rail interchanges and TFGM Travel Shops?

 

[overthewater]

What was the reimbursement rate? It will all come down to that, and that alone might explain why High peak withdraw from Derbyshire Wayfarer.

 

[gnolife]

The confusingly-named TFGM wayfarer remains valid as per the ticket validity rules set by TFGM. I believe there are only a limited number of outlets that sell this ticket though- mainly rail interchanges and TFGM Travel Shops?

Any corner shop with a PayPoint machine in Greater Manchester is, at least in theory, able to issue them, but in practice, it's a complete pain in the backside to find it and a lot of them (in my experience) will not manage to find it.

 

[northwichcat]

Any corner shop with a PayPoint machine in Greater Manchester is, at least in theory, able to issue them, but in practice, it's a complete pain in the backside to find it and a lot of them (in my experience) will not manage to find it.

On the TfGM website there's a list of instructions for issuing one at a Paypoint machine. Obviously they accept staff working for many Paypoint outlets won't know how to do it. The man who runs the BP garage near me once said he had issues getting Paypoint to sort any problems with the machine as they always claim it's his internet connection that's the issue not the machine, while BT tell him the internet connection is fine.

 

[northwichcat]

What was the reimbursement rate? It will all come down to that, and that alone might explain why High peak withdraw from Derbyshire Wayfarer.

They've not withdrawn from the scheme. They say they are not accepted on certain commercial routes.

From Monday 4th April 2016, the Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket will no longer be accepted on the following commercial services:

transpeak (except Sundays and the 20:15 journey from Buxton and the 21:50 journey from Derby Bus Station)
Skyline 199 (except when travelling between Newtown/ New Mills on Sundays and Bank Holidays)
61 (except Sundays and the following journeys: 14:00 from Glossop, 16:00 from Glossop on Saturdays, 13:00 from Buxton and the 15:00 & 17:20 journeys from Buxton on Saturdays)
69/A/B
185/186
The ticket remains valid on all services operated on behalf of Derbyshire County Council.

http://www.highpeakbuses.com/tickets

High Peak are an operator who now charge above average fares so perhaps if the reimbursement is based on typical fares across all operators High Peak aren't happy with the level on some routes.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

They've not withdrawn from the scheme. They say they are not accepted on certain commercial routes.



http://www.highpeakbuses.com/tickets

High Peak are an operator who now charge above average fares so perhaps if the reimbursement is based on typical fares across all operators High Peak aren't happy with the level on some routes.

Trent were expensive when they ran the routes that are now merged into High Peak.

Is £12.50 expensive, depends how far you travel I suppose. Macclesfield to Derby is £23.30 by train.

In the Lake District, many single tickets on Stagecoach services are eye-wateringly expensive, as in, should I bring the bank manager with me to agree the transaction, expensive. You quickly reach the point at which an Explorer is better value - for which you can travel from Bolton to Dumfries then across to Newcastle. For example; Kendal to Keswick £9.60 single (1 hour 45 minutes journey time) with an explorer 'only' £10.80

 

[johnnychips]

Trent were expensive when they ran the routes that are now merged into High Peak.

In 1976, when I was 15 and rock climbing, my friend and I did some ascents in Cave Dale then got on a Trent 172 bus at Castleton and asked for 'The Surprise', which some of you will know as a renowned view between Hathersage and Fox House, so we could do some climbs on Millstone Edge.

'It'll be a surprise when you know how much the fare is', quipped the driver. It was 60p, half-fare, and yes it was.

Back to topic, the Derbyshire Wayfarer seems to be expensive compared with other counties' tickets, but its really useful feature is that it can be used on train routes that would be impossible or take ages by bus, namely Derby-Chesterfield-Sheffield, Derby-Uttoxeter, New Mills-Sheffield and to a lesser extent Derby-Matlock.

 

[ashworth]

Back to topic, the Derbyshire Wayfarer seems to be expensive compared with other counties' tickets, but its really useful feature is that it can be used on train routes that would be impossible or take ages by bus, namely Derby-Chesterfield-Sheffield, Derby-Uttoxeter, New Mills-Sheffield and to a lesser extent Derby-Matlock.

If the Derbyshire Wayfarer was just buses throughout Derbyshire it would be extremely expensive but it's actually very good value when you consider the distances that can be travelled by train. However, the Peak Plus Extra at £12.50 is very expensive when in a number of counties you can get countywide multi-operator day bus tickets at around £8.

On the subject of Single operator tickets I mostly find Stagecoach Dayriders and weekly Megarider tickets excellent value but prices are not consistent throughout the country. Single fares in the Lake District may be high but the Day Explorer and Megarider Gold are fantastic value considering the vast area they cover, form Bolton to Dumfries and Chester to Newcastle. I've also found similar Stagecoach tickets very good value in Devon, Kent and Sussex, and Yorkshire and the North Midlands.

However, shortly I will be spending a week in North Norfolk and the local Stagecoach daily and weekly tickets there are extremely expensive if you want to travel on the Stagecoach Coasthopper service between Hunstanton and Cromer. A ticket just for that one route, which only runs hourly in winter, is £9.50 for a day or £33 for 7 days. If you buy a Norfolk Dayrider Plus or Weekly Megarider it is valid on all other Stagecoach buses in Norfolk but not valid on the Coasthopper. The only tickets valid on all Stagecoach buses in Norfolk including Coasthopper, is the Norfolk Explorer at £11 a day or as I will be getting the East Megarider Gold costing £34 for 7 days. Very poor value for anyone who just wants to travel on Stagecoach very limited routes in Norfolk compared to other areas of the country. A few weeks later I am in the South East and the 7 Day Megarider Gold for that area is only £22.

 

[Deerfold]

Trent were expensive when they ran the routes that are now merged into High Peak.

Is £12.50 expensive, depends how far you travel I suppose. Macclesfield to Derby is £23.30 by train.

I used to regularly use the Transpeak in the nineties and used to find the day ticket very good value. Trent's day tickets are still much lower than this.

 

[northwichcat]

Is £12.50 expensive, depends how far you travel I suppose. Macclesfield to Derby is £23.30 by train.

Not if you split your train ticket

Also Macclesfield to Derby is 1 hour 30 by train, including the connection time. It's 3 hours 5 minutes by bus including the connection time, meaning the last journey option back leaves at 15:50 and if you miss the connection in Buxton then the operator doesn't have to do anything to assist you, so the train is well worth paying a bit extra for.

 

[chessie]

Just spotted that the comercially run 65 services from Sheffield - Buxton have switched operators from TM Travel to High Peak this week, whilst the subsidised services remain with TM Travel (see Derbyshire Public Transport website). As the High Peak services are commercially run exactly the same as they were previously run by TM, does this now mean that the Wayfarer is excluded on some 65s but not the others?

Despite price The Wayfarer is popular especially during the summer months at the Sheffield end and indeed many use the 65 as a gateway to/from Derbyshire, if this has happened its going to cause a fair bit of confusion and lost faith in this ticket. Proper shame really!

 

[gnolife]

Just spotted that the comercially run 65 services from Sheffield - Buxton have switched operators from TM Travel to High Peak this week, whilst the subsidised services remain with TM Travel (see Derbyshire Public Transport website). As the High Peak services are commercially run exactly the same as they were previously run by TM, does this now mean that the Wayfarer is excluded on some 65s but not the others?
!

High Peak's website does not list the 65 as a service from wich hte Wayfarer is excluded. It can therefore be assumed that it will be accepted.