PlusBus now available as digital E-Tickets
Since October 2002, rail passengers have been able to benefit from the PlusBus scheme - which allows you to purchase a supplementary ticket alongside your train tickets for unlimited bus journeys in the area around your origin or destination station. These tickets can be used with a selection of railcard discounts, and can represent great value if you’re hoping to roam around an area with the help of public transport. It’s not just buses, either: in a number of areas your PlusBus ticket will grant you unlimited trips on the tram, too.
One of the challenges with this scheme has always been that it required you to use paper tickets - and this meant that if you added PlusBus to a journey that would’ve otherwise been E-Ticketable, all of the tickets for the journey had to be collected from the station. From June 2024, this will no longer be the case and you’ll be able to use digital E-Tickets for your PlusBus ticket in a number of pilot areas - with more to come in due course. Store the tickets your way - with the choice of loading the tickets into Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, downloading a screen-friendly PDF that you can easily share with friends & family, or by printing out your PDF onto normal A4 paper if you prefer a hard-copy.
We’re hopeful that this move will also improve ticket acceptance and driver familiarity with the scheme, as a number of bus operators will be able to simply ask passengers to scan their barcode ticket to confirm validity. Though in the initial stages of the trial, you’ll most likely just show your e-ticket to the driver, it’s that simple!
Where will I be able to purchase PlusBus E-Tickets?
The initial pilot areas are:
West Yorkshire
- Bradford
- Dewsbury
- Halifax
- Huddersfield
- Keighley
- Leeds
- Wakefield
Cambridge
- Cambridge
- Cambridge North
Remember, you’ll usually need to be travelling into or out of a PlusBus area in order to benefit from a PlusBus ticket. Train journeys within a PlusBus area usually don’t qualify.
These pilot areas are subject to change.
When does this change take place?
E-Ticket availability is being activated in these pilot areas as of June 7th.
TrainSplit has worked to support E-Ticketable PlusBus tickets from launch, so you’ll be able to start purchasing these new digital ticket add-ons straight away in the pilot areas. To celebrate, we’ll be writing some blog posts about days out and longer trips you can do in these areas over the coming weeks.
How do I purchase a PlusBus ticket?
These can be purchased via our homepage, just search for a journey starting or ending in a trial area, and select the PlusBus addon during the purchase process on the Ticket Information screen.
Why should I buy from TrainSplit?
Great value PlusBus tickets and great value split tickets are a perfect match. Our customers save an average of £21.60 when they make bookings with us, so the PlusBus ticket is as good as free in many cases! Whether you're travelling for work or leisure, our great value tickets, smart journey notifications, seat selector and full Apple & Google Wallet support raise the question: Why book anywhere else?
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