Not a service update that will bring delight to you. A number of operators have announced changes to their ticket arrangements and prices that are taking affect soon. This means that you might find your ticket is no longer available, or has gone up in price.
Now, I was sure that I let you know somewhere that CityRed was pushing people towards the App. I can’t find that post so I have not linked it here for you to see; but a number of companies seem to having a similar thought process.
For those that do not know of them, most of the companies around the south have some sort of app or smart card scheme. When I used it much more, I had a Stagecoach Smart card. GoAhead have The Key which I think was first in use on Southern Railway in the Brighton area for it’s trial before it spread to the bus networks.
Almost all of the companies have some sort of App to supplement their services. So if you are a local to Stagecoach, First or GoAhead; you should seek them out.
Ticket Changes at First Solent
The important bit though is that tickets are changing at First Solent. These changes will take effect on Thursday 3rd February (Why? Why mid-week?) and will have a number of ticket withdrawals as well.
On bus Single and Return ticket prices are not changing, all First Solent changes will be to period season tickets.
Tickets no longer available:
First Solent have followed a number of other First companies across the country (Wessex and City already have done this) in withdrawing the following:
- All annual season tickets
- All quarterly (3 Month) tickets
- 5 Day Carnet tickets (a mTicket available on the App)
- All Group weekly Tickets (day tickets as a group will still be available)
It is interesting to note that although the 5 Day carnet is no longer available – Portsmouth 10 Trip Carnet will continue to be.
The withdrawal of annual season tickets is also not a surprise. I suspect take-up was lower than previous even before the COVID pandemic, many workers simply would not have the fluid funds to pay out multiple hundreds in one hit.
Tickets no longer available as a ticket:
Some tickets will no longer be available to buy on the bus, however they will still be available on the First Bus App (available from the Google Play Store and Apple Store) – I wonder if this is to prevent tickets being shared, because the tickets fade quicker these days, or simply because more people use the app.
- Portsmouth Month
- Eclipse Month
- Waterlooville Month
- Hampshire Month
Price Increases
You can see all of the price increases on the First Solent news page which shows that there are some alignments.
Of note is that the day tickets will continue to be the same price on the app as it is as a paper ticket, but that weekly tickets will be slightly cheaper on the app.
Bluestar
Bluestar have also announced their first price increase since 2019, and will take place on the slightly more logical Sunday 6th February.
There are no tickets being withdrawn or moved exclusively to the app. For Single or Day tickets, Bluestar do still recommend that you try their Tap On – Tap Off although at the same time, there are a lot of disclaimers on their page for people who should not use it…. including people for which the return ticket might be cheaper.
Huh? Surely the back-end should be able to work that out and charge appropriately. It should not be that hard to code. Check price, if cheaper then charge cheaper.
Sorry – just a little rant.
Almost All Fares Rise
Bluestar are raising the price of the single and return tickets as well as period and season ones. There are far too many different groups of tickets for me to list them all (but they are on the Bluestar News Page), but I want to bullet point a few things:
- Dayrider tickets are the same price on the app and on paper tickets
- Dayrider is not available on The Key smartcards
- Dayrider “Bundles” are available on App only
- The Key is the most expensive way to buy Adult season tickets
- Paper tickets are cheaper for weekly tickets
- App is the cheapest way for all season tickets
- Paper tickets are cheaper for weekly tickets
- Bluestar still offer quarterly and annual season tickets
Other Multiple Operator Options
Don’t forget that there are other options as well, particularly if you are travelling across areas where there are a number of different operators.
PlusBus
If you are travelling by train at any point, then there is still the PlusBus. You must buy these either from a railway station, or via one of the ticket websites that are available, and you must also have a valid train ticket to use them.
If you are getting a train from Portsmouth to Southampton (for example) then you are eligible for both a PlusBus for Portsmouth and Southampton for the same day. If you are buying tickets in advance, you might find that particularly helpful.
PlusBus has a dedicated website as well, so you can check if towns further afield have options in place. So far though, the only place I have not found a PlusBus for when I have needed it is London (because of the Travelcards) and Isle of Wight.
SolentGo
You also have the SolentGo tickets and travelcards. Most bus operators participating in the scheme can issue day and week tickets as a paper ticket, but you must use a smart card or app if you want to include the Gosport Ferry or Hythe Ferry.
The SolentGo is slightly more complicated because of various restrictions. According to their website, you can top-up your smartcard online, but only activate it on Bluestar, Xelabus and Wheelers. The ferry inclusive tickets, as we already mentioned, are not available on the paper tickets.
SolentGo also has a dedicated website as well though; if you are interested.
It was all much simpler….
When it was the Explorer Ticket, valid as far as Weymouth, Bath and Swindon. Valid on almost all bus operators and a pre-bought ticket with a scratch off date.