Plusbus offers available online

[laird]

It seems to be quite a common request at Reading station for the plus bus add on so you can always buy on arrival the season ticket add on if that helps.

Reading is a bit of an odd ball when it comes to Plusbus, it didn't participate when the discount promotion was running. Perhaps because much of the local network is run by a council owned company? That said the coverage is perhaps also a bit wider than in some towns covering the council owned Reading Buses, First Group, Arriva, Thames Travel and number of others.

[hornbeam]

Thanks for the info. Seems daft you can’t get it all on their web site considering you can get day plus-bus on it.

Regarding the cost- it’s the same as a weekly ticket from the bus company but I find it more hassle to buy on the bus (they don’t give change). I think its a good price, and regarding them not taking part in the deal- I think this is due to the fact that they have been struggling to make a profit- I wonder how much the TOC gets for issuing plus-bus tickets?

[Boppy]

Since Reading Buses changed their ticket system last year so that zonal (North, East, South, West) weekly tickets got scrapped the PlusBus ticket is substantially cheaper than their own weekly ticket.  Plus you're right - simply having a monthly, quarterly or yearly PlusBus pass makes life easier (well it has done for me at least!)

Boppy.

[laird]

One reason why I buy plusbus in Reading is that with a railcard discount the price is barely more than the cost of a single bus ticket.
It also helps that plusbus isn't operator specific so the travel options from my local bus stop (of which Reading buses is one of three operators), while notionally the three companies do accept each others tickets it always seem to cause some sort of query but when you produce a plus bus ticket a knowing nod from the driver and you take a seat.

Just for comparison to the Plusbus prices above based on the Reading-buses website today:
£1.70 Single (Reduced to £1.50 if bought 10 journeys at a time (smartcard)
£3.80 simplyReading (formerly Busabout like a day ranger valid anytime on a similar but operator specific basis to plusbus)
£13.00 Weekly
£52.00 30 day

For me Reading buses have their good points, notably they do seem to invest in new buses and seem to always be experimenting with trying to get the business costs down both environmentally and financially, it was admittedly  dissapointing a whiole ago when they managed to pre-purchase their fuel at the high point in the market. Then went on to buy alternative fuel buses that turned out not to be a great decision. Now it seems the flavour of the month is hybrid fuel buses.  Perhaps one day the company will be released from Reading Borough control and then it can start expand its horizons a little so that rather than bus journeys ending at a random crossroads because it happens to be the coucil boundary the routes might be drawn to attract customers, combined with their focus on environmentally fiendly transport it really could be a chance to demonstrate good practice.

[bobm]

According to the Plusbus website the bus add on is available for a flat rate £1.50 when train tickets are bought on line.

Not sure why Didcot and Maidenhead are among the exceptions.

[anthony215]

Gone up in Price compared to last summer it was only £1 then. ow well i might take advantage of this when i next book tickets online. Maybe to swansea and get a trip on the open top bristol vr down to mumbles

[johoare]

According to the Plusbus website the bus add on is available for a flat rate £1.50 when train tickets are bought on line.

Not sure why Didcot and Maidenhead are among the exceptions.

I wonder if, for Maidenhead, it's because it's such a small town with, to be honest, not the best bus service around... usually it's easier to walk (for those that can).. That is just my guess though   

[bobm]

You could argue that would be a reason to have Maidenhead in the lower price offer!

[bobm]

It was available in past years but it is back again for June & July. Online Plusbus add on for £1.50 is available with participating TOC sites.

Details at http://www.plusbus.info/homepage-offers