PlusBus tickets and the lack of bus driver knowledge

[scouseyb123]

Hi there, has anyone else had problems with bus drivers not knowing/not accepting perfectly valid Plusbus tickets? I got stopped twice in Liverpool attempting to use my Liverpool Plusbus ticket and after a heated debate with both drivers allowed me to travel as they were unsure whether it was valid or not!

 

[Merseysider]

Oh, plenty! I've lost count now. Stagecoach Manchester are particularly bad at it, but the problem isn't confined to one city or area, by any means.

I'll only ever get a PlusBus now if it's really necessary - I'll walk otherwise.

 

[dave87016]

I have used plus bus tickets in Blackpool and Edinburgh on both trams and buses no problems at all on the trams or Edinburgh buses but a few Blackpool bus drivers looked perplexed and after a conversation and showing them the page on my phone they accepted them

 

[JohnR]

Yes indeed. I get the impression some drivers just nod it through without knowing what it actually is, despite the bus being plastered in adverts for PlusBus. Others seem not to know what it is at all.

 

[FenMan]

I'm wary of using PlusBus in small towns. Had major problems in Aylesbury, where the drivers knew of the scheme but were emphatic their company did not participate in it. One driver continued to be in denial even when shown the relevant PlusBus page that listed his bus company.

That said, I've not had any issues when using PlusBus in places where bus travel is very popular, such as Oxford,

 

[PermitToTravel]

All the major operators have audio recording in the cab. Writing a complaint about a refusal should actually result in a real improvement in driver awareness

 

[ashworth]

It's not always an easy situation if you in a queue of passengers boarding a busy bus and the driver refuses to accept your ticket saying that is not valid. I had this on a number of occasions earlier this year in the Greater Manchester Area, not using Plusbus, but a Manchester Wayfarer issued from a rail station booking office and looking like train ticket.
This was discussed in detail in another thread.

 

[185]

Hi there, has anyone else had problems with bus drivers not knowing/not accepting perfectly valid Plusbus tickets? I got stopped twice in Liverpool attempting to use my Liverpool Plusbus ticket and after a heated debate with both drivers allowed me to travel as they were unsure whether it was valid or not!

Rock Ferry's Stagecoach 1... boarded in Upton-by-Chester, with a Chester Plusbus going into Chester (valid as far as Backford Dip) only to be told "can't use that..." "well, this is a Merseyside bus". (??!!) - think last time I seen a Merseyside bus I was behind the wheel of it in the mid 1990s.

Stayed calm, paid two singles. Made a phone call and promptly alighted one stop early and stepped off the bus straight into Chester depot - their allocater quickly handed me a fiver over the counter, they also called Rock Ferry's boss who later called me, v apologetic. Rubbish driver but as a company can't fault them.

 

[Flying Snail]

Rock Ferry's Stagecoach 1... boarded in Upton-by-Chester, with a Chester Plusbus going into Chester (valid as far as Backford Dip) only to be told "can't use that..." "well, this is a Merseyside bus". (??!!) - think last time I seen a Merseyside bus I was behind the wheel of it in the mid 1990s.

Stayed calm, paid two singles. Made a phone call and promptly alighted one stop early and stepped off the bus straight into Chester depot - their allocater quickly handed me a fiver over the counter, they also called Rock Ferry's boss who later called me, v apologetic. Rubbish driver but as a company can't fault them.

That's great for you and well done getting a swift resolution but the average passenger is not going to know who to call or where to go to get an instant refund.

Most people are going to be left with 2 options; get assertive with the possibility of a lot of aggro and unpleasantness or pay up again and waste time dealing with customer services in companies that more often than not don't give a toss.

It's not always an easy situation if you in a queue of passengers boarding a busy bus and the driver refuses to accept your ticket saying that is not valid. I had this on a number of occasions earlier this year in the Greater Manchester Area, not using Plusbus, but a Manchester Wayfarer issued from a rail station booking office and looking like train ticket.

Not wanting to take the thread off topic but have the former pre-printed scratchcard Wayfarers now been replaced completely? I see looking at the TfGM website they are also now available at PayPoint outlets so presumably these are till roll issued which are probably just as likely to get refusals as rail ticket stock.

That the old style Wayfarers seemed to be well known by staff in the area and you were unlikely to gt that sort of nonsense using them was a big advantage with them over other products like PlusBus.

 

[northwichcat]

Hi there, has anyone else had problems with bus drivers not knowing/not accepting perfectly valid Plusbus tickets? I got stopped twice in Liverpool attempting to use my Liverpool Plusbus ticket and after a heated debate with both drivers allowed me to travel as they were unsure whether it was valid or not!

Stagecoach Manchester are particularly bad at it

PTE plus bus schemes are more confusing than standard schemes e.g. D&G Bus run one route which goes in to Greater Manchester (to Altrincham) and they accept Plusbus. However, as they participate they have to accept PlusBus from any Greater Manchester station on the service so the drivers basically have to know the full list of Greater Manchester stations.

 

[Scotty]

Oh, plenty! I've lost count now. Stagecoach Manchester are particularly bad at it, but the problem isn't confined to one city or area, by any means.

I'll only ever get a PlusBus now if it's really necessary - I'll walk otherwise.

What about when you present them a PlusBus ticket from another town in the TFGM area? That really must confuse them... I vaguely remember using a Manchester Plus Bus ticket in Droylsden.

 

[ag51ruk]

PTE plus bus schemes are more confusing than standard schemes e.g. D&G Bus run one route which goes in to Greater Manchester (to Altrincham) and they accept Plusbus. However, as they participate they have to accept PlusBus from any Greater Manchester station on the service so the drivers basically have to know the full list of Greater Manchester stations.

To their credit, D&G are one of the few bus companies I know of that actually mention PlusBus on their own website (and have a comprehensive list of which buses it is valid on, and where)

http://dgbus.co.uk/tickets.html

 

[WelshBluebird]

To their credit, D&G are one of the few bus companies I know of that actually mention PlusBus on their own website (and have a comprehensive list of which buses it is valid on, and where)

http://dgbus.co.uk/tickets.html

To be fair two of the biggest bus companies, Stagecoach and First, do mention it too.

 

[Merseysider]

What about when you present them a PlusBus ticket from another town in the TFGM area? That really must confuse them... I vaguely remember using a Manchester Plus Bus ticket in Droylsden.

I used a Stalybridge-issued PlusBus near Stockport, and the Stagecoach driver's obstinance delayed his bus by almost ten minutes

The other passengers were also telling the driver to accept it!

Two hours later, another Stagecoach in town, same problem, but quickly resolved when I showed their Twitter team's apology regarding the previous incident!

I've never ever had a problem on a First bus, even on their 'premium' Vantage routes.

 

[northwichcat]

To their credit, D&G are one of the few bus companies I know of that actually mention PlusBus on their own website (and have a comprehensive list of which buses it is valid on, and where)

http://dgbus.co.uk/tickets.html

I picked D&G just to show how complicated it can be for an operator who runs one run in to Greater Manchester to accept Plusbus.

 

[northwichcat]

I used a Stalybridge-issued PlusBus near Stockport, and the Stagecoach driver's obstinance delayed his bus by almost ten minutes

I once used an Altrincham Plusbus on the X50 between the Trafford Centre and Piccadilly Gardens and was surprised the driver accepted it without even questioning it, given Arriva drivers in Altrincham are sometimes confused when you show them an Altrincham Plusbus ticket.

 

[RJ]

I had an issue using a Loughborough PlusBus on the Kinchbus Sprint university service once. The driver reckoned they were putting a stop to them, which was wrong. I complained to the company, received an acknowledgement and heard nothing else. It wasn't like London where it's normal for people to brazenly argue with the driver so thought I'd be better off following it up later. Fat lot of good that did! It was the only time I had an issue in 3 solid years of almost daily use.

Conversely, I've had problems as a driver - when I drove the TfL route 607 (Uxbridge to White City limited stop), there were a few passengers who got on showing Slough PlusBus tickets. Some of them even protested when I told them to pay up or get off! Most drivers will pass them as they haven't the foggiest what they are, so the people should have accepted it gracefully as they could try their luck again 10 minutes later.

 

[JohnR]

I wouldnt care if this was some rural route - its in a Major city on a bus operated by one of the largest Bus operators in the country!

 

[Rail Ranger]

That's great for you and well done getting a swift resolution but the average passenger is not going to know who to call or where to go to get an instant refund.

Not wanting to take the thread off topic but have the former pre-printed scratchcard Wayfarers now been replaced completely? I see looking at the TfGM website they are also now available at PayPoint outlets so presumably these are till roll issued which are probably just as likely to get refusals as rail ticket stock.

That the old style Wayfarers seemed to be well known by staff in the area and you were unlikely to gt that sort of nonsense using them was a big advantage with them over other products like PlusBus.

Yes the scratchcard Wayfarer tickets finished a few years ago but a benefit of the change is that you can now buy a Wayfarer from the conductor on the train.

 

[sheff1]

Yes the scratchcard Wayfarer tickets finished a few years ago but a benefit of the change is that you can now buy a Wayfarer from the conductor on the train.

... in theory.

 

[gnolife]

... in theory.

If they want to sell you the right one - on the Buxton and Hope Valley lines from New Mills, it's possible to buy either the GM or Derbyshire variants, and in my experience, they always try and sell the wrong one.

 

[lejog]

Hi there, has anyone else had problems with bus drivers not knowing/not accepting perfectly valid Plusbus tickets? I got stopped twice in Liverpool attempting to use my Liverpool Plusbus ticket and after a heated debate with both drivers allowed me to travel as they were unsure whether it was valid or not!

Yep, not helped in West Yorkshire, by the driver pointing to a WYMetro poster announcing "To travel on this bus you MUST have one of the following tickets" followed by a short list not including Plusbus.

 

[185143]

I used a Stalybridge-issued PlusBus near Stockport, and the Stagecoach driver's obstinance delayed his bus by almost ten minutes

The other passengers were also telling the driver to accept it!

Two hours later, another Stagecoach in town, same problem, but quickly resolved when I showed their Twitter team's apology regarding the previous incident!

I've never ever had a problem on a First bus, even on their 'premium' Vantage routes.

Really? I've only ever had problems with WorstBus! I'm talking specifically in Greater Manchester here. Had a driver on Vantage not long after it first started, I showed my Manchester plusbus-he asked where I was going. I said 'Leigh, why?', to which I rudely got the reply 'No you're not. That's only valid in the city centre' I checked the validity map and politely explained at Salford Central Station (Manchester City Centre according to the driver(!)) Why I would not be leaving the bus. The driver eventually got bored of waiting for me to get off and drove away.

You may find on some First Buses a dent in the wall-that perfectly resembles the shape of my head when I've boarded with a Wayfarer and been told 'That's a train ticket' or 'What's that?'

Though they sunk to a new low one day last week. I boarded a 36 at Piccadilly Gardens-showed my ticket and was told 'That's expired mate.'

Did I show a PlusBus or a Wayfarer or something they might not see often? Nope-it was a FirstWeek M-ticket!

 

[rmt4ever]

All the major operators have audio recording in the cab. Writing a complaint about a refusal should actually result in a real improvement in driver awareness

Voice recording that's shocking. How did the unions let that one slip in?

 

[ashworth]

You may find on some First Buses a dent in the wall-that perfectly resembles the shape of my head when I've boarded with a Wayfarer and been told 'That's a train ticket' or 'What's

I had exactly that problem when I tried to board a First Bus at Rochdale Bus Station with a Wayfarer printed on rail ticket stock earlier this year. The driver absolutely refused to accept it insisting it was only valid on trains. No amount of explaining would make him change his mind. I went straight into the GM Travel Centre next door and although the lady there was very apologetic all she could say was it's a format of ticket that he probably would never have seen before. She then gave me a Wayfarer leaflet to show to drivers if I had any further problems. I was never completely refused travel again but even with showing the leaflet some drivers took some convincing. The main issue was that my Wayfarer Ticket looked like a rail ticket and it had the words Rail Rover clearly printed on it.

 

[Cantab26]

I've only once encountered a problem using a Plusbus ticket with Midland Bluebird (a First Group operation). The driver eventually realised that, unlike him, I wasn't running to a timetable.

 

[paul1609]

Down here on the Kent Sussex Borders no problems with accepting Plusbus. I think that most Stagecoach South-East Buses have a stickers advertising it.

 

[mm333]

Yep, not helped in West Yorkshire, by the driver pointing to a WYMetro poster announcing "To travel on this bus you MUST have one of the following tickets" followed by a short list not including Plusbus.

Here in Leeds I tend to only have problems with Yorkshire Tiger drivers. One, I think, on the airport bus thought it was an add-on to the airport and complained that I'd not paid enough, but still let me on.

And I used one yesterday on the airport bus as well, the driver stared at it for a good 5 seconds before letting me board. I got the sense he didn't know what it was.

 

[d1672]

In Glasgow the main problem is McGills buses. There are still a couple of buses in the McGills fleet which have Arriva "We welcome Plusbus signs" on the cab doors, and they still tell you that it is not valid. However an inspector told me to tell the driver to phone his route controller and that normally results in acceptance of the ticket.

 

[mikeg]

I must be one of the few people who hasn't had problems with PlusBus. Had a couple of long hard stares at it, in particular from Alnmouth to Alnwick on Arriva before being nodded on, which surprised me given the nature of the two settlements and the excellent value of the plusbus fare versus the rip-off bus fare - I'd have thought they'd be quite used to seeing them.

Never had any problems in York or Edinburgh, always accepted without question, had a Transdev driver in York ask where I was going once, as the bus service went outside the validity area, seemed to know where it was valid to. Maybe I'm the luckiest PlusBus user around!