PlusBus dying off?

[trainJam]

PlusBus is advertised on my railcard wallet. There's a WMR leaflet about the Shrewsbury line which advertises PlusBus to go from Telford to Ironbridge. With the railcard discount it was certainly cheaper than paying £2 for each single journey.

I went on 3 buses with PlusBus. Here were roughly the responses from each bus driver:

1. It's not valid, but get on as the bus is late
2. Never seen one before
3. Asks for the ticket to be handed over, takes a few seconds, then accepts it

I also show the bus driver the relevant PlusBus page.

I wouldn't know what to do if I was rejected; it feels like I am chancing it to get on each time.

 

[Kilopylae]

Maybe the PlusBus supplement should be printed on thin white paper with bus operators' logos on it so it doesn't look like a train ticket

 

[m00036]

Reading Station has just gained a brand new poster advertising PlusBus which is positive.

 

[jon0844]

Now that Aztec codes are becoming widely used on the railway, it would be ideal to integrate PlusBus into a rail ticket and have it accepted on a bus as now you could buy your ticket at home and use it on the bus to the station. Indeed, you could also buy a simple ticket that covers buses to the station and your onward journey by train, and potentially a bus ride at the other end. One simple ticket and a combined/discounted price, but not unlimited travel. Your choice.

That would be very beneficial to passengers, but I have no idea if the industries could work together to make it possible.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Now that Aztec codes are becoming widely used on the railway, it would be ideal to integrate PlusBus into a rail ticket and have it accepted on a bus as now you could buy your ticket at home and use it on the bus to the station. Indeed, you could also buy a simple ticket that covers buses to the station and your onward journey by train, and potentially a bus ride at the other end. One simple ticket and a combined/discounted price, but not unlimited travel. Your choice.

That would be very beneficial to passengers, but I have no idea if the industries could work together to make it possible.

Isn't one significant potential issue the sharing of said Aztec codes - which would essentially act as area bus passes.

Perhaps mobile NFC-based tickets?

 

[markymark2000]

Plusbus has allegedly already started working with GWR and Ticketer on such a scheme but whether it becomes mainstream in my lifetime I highly doubt it given the lack of urgency to get anything done. There's more chance of Plusbus being withdrawn as a scheme than them doing anything to actually improve it.

 

[Adam Williams]

I've seen some encouraging progress. I don't think it's all doom and gloom.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I often use PlusBus in the Brighton area (though only occasionally anywhere else), and the worst that's ever happened is that the driver looks at it for a few seconds and stops to think, rather than the usual quick glance and waving me on. (There was one occasion where there was an interesting discussion with a ticket inspector - a rare breed down there in my experience - as to the exact last bus stop where the PlusBus was allowable in one rural direction miles out of Brighton. I thought I could save a few more minutes' walk; he dug out a fairly detailed map to suggest I couldn't. But that was a very different problem from the one some people seem to be experiencing of the PusBus not being recognised and accepted at all.)

 

[northwichcat]

Maybe the PlusBus supplement should be printed on thin white paper with bus operators' logos on it so it doesn't look like a train ticket

For areas like Manchester that would need a very big ticket to include the logo of all operators!

 

[Dougal2345]

I use PlusBus fairly frequently... The Bournemouth+Poole area one is good value with a Railcard discount.

One oddity with the SWR ticket machines though - after choosing your rail ticket, you have to add Railcard details and PlusBus supplement in the correct order - from memory, if you add the PlusBus first, you can't add a Railcard (or maybe it's the other way around, I usually get it wrong and have to start all over again..)

 

[fandroid]

Reading Station has just gained a brand new poster advertising PlusBus which is positive.

A year or so ago, Reading claimed to be the station for which most PlusBus tickets were sold. They were ahead of most anyway in having a comprehensive bus network and good information at the station for bus connections

 

[Wallsendmag]

A year or so ago, Reading claimed to be the station for which most PlusBus tickets were sold. They were ahead of most anyway in having a comprehensive bus network and good information at the station for bus connections

And run by a bus company

 

[Benjwri]

A year or so ago, Reading claimed to be the station for which most PlusBus tickets were sold. They were ahead of most anyway in having a comprehensive bus network and good information at the station for bus connections

I believe there was a point where Plusbus was a lot cheaper for Reading and priced slightly wrong which will have helped. It actually isn’t any use anymore as the non discounted PlusBus add on is more expensive than a standalone all day ticket bought on the bus.

The only use is railcards, which come out cheaper than an all day ticket so are useful for students etc.

 

[Joe Paxton]

I often use PlusBus in the Brighton area (though only occasionally anywhere else), and the worst that's ever happened is that the driver looks at it for a few seconds and stops to think, rather than the usual quick glance and waving me on. (There was one occasion where there was an interesting discussion with a ticket inspector - a rare breed down there in my experience - as to the exact last bus stop where the PlusBus was allowable in one rural direction miles out of Brighton. I thought I could save a few more minutes' walk; he dug out a fairly detailed map to suggest I couldn't. But that was a very different problem from the one some people seem to be experiencing of the PusBus not being recognised and accepted at all.)

It's really no surprise to hear that you don't have problems with PlusBus on Brighton & Hove Buses - they are a very well run and well regarded operator, a bit of an exemplar for how things should be elsewhere.

B&H Buses were actually part of a scheme that was a precursor to PlusBus, which was called the "Brighton RailBus ticket" - this essentially operated in the same manner as PlusBus.

 

[MrJeeves]

B&H Buses were actually part of a scheme that was a precursor to PlusBus, which was called the "Brighton RailBus ticket" - this essentially operated in the same manner as PlusBus.

I think they're also one of the only cases of a bus operator that even offers a "PlusTrain" (my vocabulary) ticket you can buy on the bus!

Helps they're run by Go-Ahead who part-own the GTR franchise, of course.

• Unlimited travel for a day on every Brighton & Hove bus in the citySAVER area (not valid on City Sightseeing).
• One day return journey on a Thameslink train between Brighton and Bedford (but not before 10.00 on Mondays to Fridays).

Or, for the Southern Saver:

• One day return journey on a Southern Railway train (but not before 10am on Mondays to Fridays nor returning from Victoria, London Bridge or Clapham Junction between 16.15 and 19.15 on Mondays to Fridays).

Southern & Thameslink SAVER

Catch the bus to catch the train

www.buses.co.uk

 

[Hophead]

It appears that the Thameslink SAVER at £24 on the bus is cheaper than the regular off-peak return from Brighton to Bedford (£25.80 - no buses included). Though I'm guessing that the market for a day return from the South Coast to Central Bedfordshire is rather limited.

 

[miklcct]

It appears that the Thameslink SAVER at £24 on the bus is cheaper than the regular off-peak return from Brighton to Bedford (£25.80 - no buses included). Though I'm guessing that the market for a day return from the South Coast to Central Bedfordshire is rather limited.

But they are inflexible as it can't be used on Southern / Gatwick Express trains. Catching the first train as far as possible and changing when necessary can be faster than waiting for a direct Thameslink train.

 

[planetf1]

In Brighton I may want plusbus to apply locally, as part of my rail journey. GTR's 'keygo' works great for this as I can tap it in/out on the bus, and in/out on the train and it charges the correct plusbus far. If not train component it will charge the correct capped bus fare. Works super, though very specific to brighton/gtr/B&H buses.

 

[paul1609]

In Brighton I may want plusbus to apply locally, as part of my rail journey. GTR's 'keygo' works great for this as I can tap it in/out on the bus, and in/out on the train and it charges the correct plusbus far. If not train component it will charge the correct capped bus fare. Works super, though very specific to brighton/gtr/B&H buses.

It actually works pretty well through most towns in Sussex (and Surrey) that have Go-Ahead bus operators: https://www.metrobus.co.uk/keygo
Includes a 2 Plusbus Zones cap as well.

 

[MrJeeves]

It actually works pretty well through most towns in Sussex (and Surrey) that have Go-Ahead bus operators: https://www.metrobus.co.uk/keygo
Includes a 2 Plusbus Zones cap as well.

Main issue is that you can't use it between zones, really. It would be great if it worked across the entire network with bus pricing but only used PlusBus cap within the PlusBus zones.