How can I find the canonical validity map/area for a UK train PlusBus ticket?
In the UK, for many places, there's a rather nifty thing you can add onto your train ticket - PlusBus. For normally a few quid more than the normal train ticket, you also get unlimited bus travel around that town for the day.
There are at least three official-looking sources of information on PlusBus. One of them is the National Rail Enquiries special offers section (pick a region then scroll down to P to find all the PLUSBUS entries), the PlusBus website, and often local authority sites as well.
My problem is that recently, I have discovered that the maps for a PlusBus region I use moderately often don't agree between all of these sites! This can cause problems when trying to use a PlusBus ticket in the area covered on one map but not the other, as neither myself nor the bus drivers are actually quite sure if the ticket is valid there or not...
As an example, we'll take the Hitchin zone:
- National Rail Enquiries page on the Hitchin PlusBus and PDF Map
- PlusBus page on the Hitchin zone and PDF Map
- Bushub online map of the Hitchin PlusBus zone
- Hertford Intalink May 2015 publication on PlusBus (Map on page 13)
Two of those maps show the south-west corner of the zone extending down to the Butterfield Business Park near Luton, two of those do not! I'm therefore unsure of if a PlusBus ticket is valid to there, or not, and so are the bus drivers... And I don't know which (if any of those) is the "correct" one to trust!
Where is the canonical validity of a UK PlusBus ticket defined? (And bonus marks - what does it say for the Hitchin zone and the Butterfield Business Park?)
Best Answer
The best option for clarification of which plus bus zone a location is is to input the postal code of the location.
Using the third link you had
http://plusbus.bushub.co.uk/maps/hitchin
It shows all bus stops, plus if you zoom out it will give you a defined outline
I then input the postcode of the business park
And had this message
And following the link it takes us to
So the definitive answer is that butterfield business park is in the Luton Zone.
The plus bus PDFs maps are very poor for definitive answers. So the best link to use is this one
And input a postcode
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What is a PlusBus ticket?
PlusBus is a discount price travelcard for unlimited bus and tram travel around town. A PlusBus ticket connects you with the National Rail network.Does PlusBus work in London?
PLUSBUS tickets aren't available in the area covered by the London Zones 1 to 6; instead, you can use the great value London All Zones Travelcard, which you can add to any rail ticket purchased through MyTrainTicket. This entitles you to travel on buses, trains and London Underground.Can you use bus pass on trains in Scotland?
The card gives holders free bus travel in Scotland and, through the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme, reduced fares on trains and Subway in the Strathclyde area. If you live on an island or peninsula within Strathclyde you can also receive reduced ferry fares with a Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Ferry Card.Can you use a bus pass on a train UK?
English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) passes (or bus passes as they are often referred to) are not valid on all trains.How to buy PlusBus online
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