Great Western Coffee Shop

I'm seeing various comments about moves to more mobile ticketing - with a chance for you to buy before you get to the station (and not to them have to queue to collect you paper ticket).

Will / does mobile ticketing allow me to purchase a PlusBus ticket at home so I can start my journey on a bus?

It would be really good if all bus and trains where able to sell point to point tickets that covered buses and trains for a given journey.

For example, If I chose to see a presentation near Oxford, it would be good if I could get a bus from home to Bristol Parkway, train to Oxford Station and finally a bus to venue, and later a return all on ONE ticket.

Whilst this may sound insurmountable, surely NR could introduce a fixed scheme that all bus and rail companies claim some money for the said ticket being presented and scanned.

One benefit of this is that local bus companies would be forewarned of large crowds heading for one bus.

I'm afraid that this sounds horribly like something called 'integrated public transport' an idea that works extremely well in other countries so is therefore clearly not British so not desirable.  ::)

I wouldn't like to be a passenger on a bus that's delayed by several people board and request onward rail and bus tickets at the same time from the driver. I'd be worried about missing my connection. Now if there was a mobile app that did that, that would be better.

Not just on the bus. Sometimes I sit on the bike behind a bus at a stop and think the one passenger who has boarded is negotiating to buy the bus it takes so long.

Sadly not

I have an annual plus bus ticket, which I have had for over 4 years now, and at least once a week a driver struggles to recognise the ticket - I almost have to barter with them to let me board

An annual ticket which you've had for over 4 years. That sounds like good value!  ;D

To answer your question, at least for now, GWR's new mobile tickets do allow you to buy a plusbus ticket, but when you do so you get told you will have to pick this up from the station! So good if you starting your journey on rail and using the bus at the end (and travelling via or to a station that has a ticket machine), but not good if you want to start off using the bus before getting to the station!