PlusBus Tickets

[themeone]

Does anyone know if there's any prospect of electronic tickets becoming available for PlusBus?

 

[Watershed]

Does anyone know if there's any prospect of electronic tickets becoming available for PlusBus?

Given the industry's continuing move away from paper tickets, PlusBus will either also have to move to becoming available as e-tickets, or be scrapped entirely.

 

[Wallsendmag]

eTickets should be available fairly soon

 

[alistairlees]

There’s already a new standard for e-tickets for plusbus. TIS suppliers now need to find the time and resources to implement this.

 

[Llandudno]

Presumably if the PlusBus e-tickets can be read by the ticket machine scanner on the bus then any interaction with the driver is unnecessary which should lead to greater acceptance on board the bus as so many drivers don’t know what PlusBus tickets are.

I guess this assumes that all the bus ticket machine scanners are programmed correctly….

 

[Wolfie]

Presumably if the PlusBus e-tickets can be read by the ticket machine scanner on the bus then any interaction with the driver is unnecessary which should lead to greater acceptance on board the bus as so many drivers don’t know what PlusBus tickets are.

I guess this assumes that all the bus ticket machine scanners are programmed correctly….

Put it this way, Plusbus printed on "bogroll" have Aztec barcodes included. Bus companies use barcodes for their own ticketing purposes. I have had drivers ask me to scan a Plusbus barcode. I have never had one successfully read.....

 

[Bungle965]

eTickets should be available fairly soon

I remember seeing a list of options that they were looking at in terms of design, which option did they go for in the end?

 

[Starmill]

I guess this assumes that all the bus ticket machine scanners are programmed correctly….

Surrey it is the other way around, and the tickets aren't being issued in a compatible way? Bus companies in the UK generally don't use Aztec codes. So it's very difficult to see how they can be expected to cover the cost of accepting them.

 

[XAM2175]

I guess this assumes that all the bus ticket machine scanners are programmed correctly….

Put it this way, Plusbus printed on "bogroll" have "QR codes" (l know that isn't the correct term) included. Bus companies use QR codes for their own ticketing purposes. I have had drivers ask me to scan a Plusbus QR code. I have never had one successfully read.....

Surrey it is the other way around, and the tickets aren't being issued in a compatible way? Bus companies in the UK generally don't use Aztec codes. So it's very difficult to see how they can be expected to cover the cost of accepting them.

The vast majority of 2D barcode scanners (sometimes referred to as area-imaging scanners) will be able to read Aztec codes either out of the box or with a simple symbology update. Indeed, if by "never had one successfully read" @Wolfie means that the bus system rejected the ticket rather than just ignoring it totally, it means that the bus system was able to successfully read the Aztec code - but it didn't recognise the data from the read as constituting a ticket, because that data is encrypted.

What will be needed is for RDG and Plusbus participating companies to work out how to allow bus ticket systems to decrypt NR-issued barcodes, which will more-likely-than-not involve the bus companies making changes to their systems. That doesn't however mean that it would be at all fair to bus companies to bear the full costs of doing this.

 

[Starmill]

On the sole occasion I did scan my Plusbus code, as directed to by the driver, it wouldn't scan at all, rather than scanning it and rejecting it or returning an error message.

 

[XAM2175]

On the sole occasion I did scan my Plusbus code, as directed to by the driver, it wouldn't scan at all, rather than scanning it and rejecting it or returning an error message.

Like I said, "will be able to read Aztec codes either out of the box or with a simple symbology update". The hardware needed to read an Aztec code is the same as for a QR code, so any QR-capable scanner that can't currently read Aztec codes is only a software update away from being able to. It's the decryption of the ticket data that needs co-operation on both sides, but that would no less be the case if rail tickets also used QR codes.

There are technical considerations that mean it's very likely going to be easier to modify on-bus systems than it would be to modify the railway's e-ticket issuing systems, but again that doesn't and shouldn't mean that the cost burden falls squarely on the bus companies.

 

[Starmill]

The likelihood is that the bus companies will not accept any responsibility for even a proportion of the cost. They already sometimes won't do so in order to read the tickets issued by other bus companies, let alone ones issued by non-bus companies.

 

[Adam Williams]

I remember seeing a list of options that they were looking at in terms of design, which option did they go for in the end?

Imagine taking a PDF E-Ticket, slapping the PlusBus logo (complete with bevel and a bit of blur, for that 2002 feel) on the right hand side under the validity date and then removing the station origin/dest names, route descriptor and "valid until" date. Add a title with the PlusBus area name in it, and you now have a PlusBus E-Ticket.

 

[XAM2175]

The likelihood is that the bus companies will not accept any responsibility for even a proportion of the cost. They already sometimes won't do so in order to read the tickets issued by other bus companies, let alone ones issued by non-bus companies.

Well then, I guess they can either not scan them, or drop out of the Plusbus programme altogether.

 

[johntea]

I can't buy a PlusBus ticket for a peak (day return) rail ticket but can for an off peak from a Northern ticket vending machine, is that something to do with timings or a glitch?

 

[N1]

Are you using a railcard? There are some morning time restrictions that vary by railcard on PlusBus and whether or not you are in the South East

 

[Starmill]

Well then, I guess they can either not scan them, or drop out of the Plusbus programme altogether.

Continuing to just look at Plusbus tickets certainly seems like the most likely option. I admire the confidence of anyone expecting scanning to take place. Of course most Stagecoach buses cannot scan any tickets regardless so they are unlikely to be changing.

 

[Runningaround]

I just buy the train tickets now and pay contactless for a bus. As I cannot be bothered to go through the splits at a booking office or make an extra trip there just to get the tickets printed and as the post isn't reliable or the trains even timetabled with enough time to get them sent they've become something I can no longer get for short notice journeys.

 

[themeone]

I just buy the train tickets now and pay contactless for a bus. As I cannot be bothered to go through the splits at a booking office or make an extra trip there just to get the tickets printed and as the post isn't reliable or the trains even timetabled with enough time to get them sent they've become something I can no longer get for short notice journeys.

I'm in the same boat, hence the question.

I live in hope, but not holding my breath as PlusBus doesn't seem to get much use, based on the other thread about it.

 

[miklcct]

I just buy the train tickets now and pay contactless for a bus. As I cannot be bothered to go through the splits at a booking office or make an extra trip there just to get the tickets printed and as the post isn't reliable or the trains even timetabled with enough time to get them sent they've become something I can no longer get for short notice journeys.

It is much more expensive paying for the bus fare separately compared to using PlusBus if an appropriate railcard is held.

Although I am also avoiding the use of PlusBus, but for another reason that a lot of bus services in the country only run hourly / two-hourly that I'd rather cycle there instead even it is a long way from the station, as it clearly doesn't worth the money paid. If the bus route runs every 15 minutes or less I'm more inclined to use the bus.

 

[yorkie]

Reopened for @markymark2000 to provide an update

 

[markymark2000]

An update on Plusbus and their e-ticket range.

Julie Gray the CEO of Traveline & Plusbus has posted an update on Linkedin that e-ticket Plusbus will soon be available in Cambridge & West Yorkshire 'in June 2024, towards a wider roll out in autumn 2024'


Link to LinkedIn for the original photo and information: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/juli...ket-launch-activity-7199448925534081024-uU_k/. There are some other bits if you go through to Linkedin but nothing noteworthy.

PlusBus eTicket Launch May 2024

1. Overview
After several months of development and testing, the eagerly anticipated eTicket day product will be launched across eight PlusBus schemes in June 2024, towards a wider roll out in autumn 2024.
Making PlusBus available as a barcode ticket is a direct response to customer demand. It will enhance the customer experience by making payment and fulfilment more convenient and will appeal to the large segment of consumers that prefers e-ticketing over paper, and therefore for whom PlusBus is not currently attractive.
As well as making customers more satisfied with their public transport experience, the launch of this new product will help to deliver local authority and transport operator commitments to improve integration between rail, bus, and tram travel at a UK level.
There are no plans to replace PlusBus paper or smart ticketing; barcode tickets will be an additional method of fulfilment. All paper PlusBus tickets are currently read by bus drivers manually as there is no way of scanning these tickets on bus.
As part of the PlusBus eTicket launch, we will be publishing PlusBus data on the Rail Digital Marketplace to encourage innovation and the development of new and better information in third party apps and web services, which will make integrated travel easier to use and to understand for customers.

2. Launch Locations
The PlusBus e Ticket will be launched in Cambridge and the seven PlusBus scheme areas that are part of the West Yorkshire ticketing zone- Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Halifax, Keighley, and Dewsbury.
All the large bus groups and several independent bus operators run services in one or more of these areas, and all the ticket machine types in the UK market currently are included. The West Yorkshire PlusBus scheme is managed by the West Yorkshire Ticketing Company Ltd, and has the same ticketing zone as their local M Card. There are seven Train Operating companies that serve stations in these PlusBus zones.
This allows us to have a wide range of operating environments included in these first launches, which will provide useful lessons and highlight opportunities for a wider roll out.

PlusBus schemes in Scotland and Wales were invited to be part of this early launch, but competing time commitments to other projects mean that they will be taking part in PlusBus eTicket launches later this year.

 

[Deerfold]

An update on Plusbus and their e-ticket range.

Julie Gray the CEO of Traveline & Plusbus has posted an update on Linkedin that e-ticket Plusbus will soon be available in Cambridge & West Yorkshire 'in June 2024, towards a wider roll out in autumn 2024'


Link to LinkedIn for the original photo and information: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/juli...ket-launch-activity-7199448925534081024-uU_k/. There are some other bits if you go through to Linkedin but nothing noteworthy.

Of course West Yorkshire is one of the areas where there's no discount with Plusbus unless you use a Railcard. Buying a Day ticket without Plusbus, they're £5.00 (or discounted to £4.50 for 10, with smaller discounts for 3 or 5). Single ones are buyable on the bus. I do wonder how many (or few) they sell, now. Before the MDay price dropped in 2022 you saved about £1 with a Plusbus.

Bizarrely period Plusbus tickets are more expensive than Mcard prices (though are now the only way to get such a ticket that isn't on a smartcard or phone).

 

[redreni]

Presumably if the PlusBus e-tickets can be read by the ticket machine scanner on the bus then any interaction with the driver is unnecessary which should lead to greater acceptance on board the bus as so many drivers don’t know what PlusBus tickets are.

I guess this assumes that all the bus ticket machine scanners are programmed correctly….

Many bus drivers can be reasoned with (though not all). Scanners can't.

But, as you say, if they're programmed to accept them they'll accept them, even if it's the first and only time anybody has ever tried to use a Plusbus ticket on that particular bus, so that's good.

 

[OscarH]

The trial is now live. If you're using a supported site (TrainSplit and LNER both are, don't know if there are any others) you should be able to get eTickets for Cambridge and West Yorks.

Initially they are to be used as "flash passes", as the barcode scanning work isn't complete yet.

 

[Adam Williams]

LNER are

At present, LNER is forcing ToD for me, despite the fact they've fulfilled these digitally in the past.



Best to use the forum site or another TrainSplit-powered engine.

 

[OscarH]

At present, LNER is forcing ToD, despite the fact they've fulfilled these digitally in the past.

View attachment 159996

Best to use the forum site or another TrainSplit-powered engine.

LNER will offer me an eTicket for Stevenage to Cambridge with Cambridge+Bus. Perhaps it is somewhat flaky based on your test though

 

[Haywain]

At present, LNER is forcing ToD for me,

LNER offers eTicket for me for Kings Cross to Leeds with PlusBus.

 

[bearhugger]

Put it this way, Plusbus printed on "bogroll" have Aztec barcodes included. Bus companies use barcodes for their own ticketing purposes. I have had drivers ask me to scan a Plusbus barcode. I have never had one successfully read.....

In my area, Teesside, the two main bus companies use different ticket machines. Arriva seem to have the type that could read Aztec style tickets whereas Stagecoach you would have to show the driver the ticket. I heard a rumour a while ago from an ex bus driver colleague that Stagecoach were going to upgrade their machines again to the newer types.

 

[Adam Williams]

LNER offers eTicket for me for Kings Cross to Leeds with PlusBus.

Odd, perhaps there was something wrong with the initial journey I used to test it with.

It does show up having emptied the basket and started again, with a LST->CBG ticket