PlusBus is finally available to rail users digitally, with a launch of sales for eight towns and cities having taken place ahead of a wider roll-out this autumn.
The scheme, in which an add-on to rail fares allows unlimited travel at a discount within a certain area, had been available only in paper format since introduction in 2002.
Together with digitalisation in train ticketing, that delay harmed take-up as passengers were largely unable to use PlusBus en route to the station, where it is normally picked up, unless tickets were posted. Retailer Trainline reports that 90% of all rail tickets it sells are digital and that, when digital ticketing is an option, customers choose it 99% of the time.
In March 2022, the Department for Transport promised digital availability that summer, but nothing came to fruition.
However, PlusBus eTickets are now available for Cambridge and the areas in the West Yorkshire ticketing zone — Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds, and Wakefield.
Bus drivers will initially have to manually check the ticket from passengers’ phones, but on-board technology should eventually be able to read the barcodes.
An announcement on the PlusBus website reads: “After several months of development and testing, the eagerly anticipated e-ticket 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 allow customers to purchase and use their PlusBus ticket via their smartphone.”
Traveline, which operates the scheme, emphasises it is a “quiet launch”, with the limited application to provide lessons for national roll-out.
It admits it may take some ticket-sellers longer than others to offer PlusBus digitally in these initial areas, but routeone notes it is available from at least one retailer, RailEasy.
PlusBus will continue to also be available in paper format.
Claire Walters, Chief Executive Officer of Bus Users UK, welcomed the news, saying: “Digital PlusBus has the potential to simplify ticketing and improve transport integration.”
Speaking last month before news of the launch, she said: “As things stand, there has been very little promotion of PlusBus’s availability and passengers still need to collect a physical ticket from the station on the day of travel. This feels like a missed opportunity to make public transport more inclusive and accessible.”
A spokesperson for rail ticket retailer Trainline adds: “The huge popularity of barcode ticketing in rail has demonstrated how customers value simple access to digital tickets, and bringing the full range of products, like PlusBus, onto digital platforms can only help increase access to and demand for rail.
“Digital ticketing also makes it easier to test new initiatives, from pricing to availability, and track both their commercial impact and how they change passenger behaviour.”
