Plusbus
 | This article contains promotional content. (January 2008) |
PLUSBUS is an add-on ticket, which can be purchased with rail tickets in the UK. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus operators' services in the area around selected railway stations.
Prices start from around £1 for a days travel, in addition to the rail fare. Season tickets are also available in certain areas.
The scheme is promoted by ATOC, and administered by Journey Solutions, a partnership of Britain's bus and train companies
The scheme is still relatively unknown against many rail users, despite being in operation for several years. It is not very heavily advertised on the rail network.
At present, it is not possible to purchase the plusbus ticket the from TOC's web-sites. Therefore, if a customer purchases there rail tickets online, they must take the rail tickets to a staffed station ticket office in order to buy the plusbus add-on.
Also many bus companies' drivers, are un-familiar with the ticket (particularly on in-frequent / non-major routes) and this can cause problems for the ticket holder. In fact, the plusbus website states, on the FAQ page "If you have had any problems using PLUSBUS, such as, buying it from the station/over the phone, or bus drivers not accepting it then please let us know ." This suggests that they acknowledge that many drivers are not familiar with the ticket, and over-zealous bus drivers have been known to refuse travel to a passenger presenting the plusbus ticket.
However, the ticket generally offers superb value for money (particularly when used with a railcard). Often the price of a plus bus ticket is cheaper than just ONE medium-longer distance bus journey in some towns or cities.