Co-incident with the introduction of new contracts for supported bus services in Lancashire the county council is requiring operators to issue and accept a range of one-day and one-week tickets.
Each service, or group of services, has a separate ticket and prices vary according to area. Not all services have a one-day version. Of course, it's not possible to work out how much value-for-money the tickets represent compared with ordinary fares as these are, naturally, a closely-guarded secret and can only be found by asking the driver when you travel! Nevertheless, it's a start.
Here is what is available in our area:
LANCASTER AREA:
Service 51 Carnforth - Silverdale
Day ticket Adult £6.30 Child £3.20 Weekly ticket Adult £17.00 Child N/A
Only valid for unlimited travel on the following local bus route:-
Service 51 Carnforth – Warton – The Yealands – Silverdale
Service 89 Lancaster - Knott End-on-Sea
Day ticket Adult £6.30 Child £3.20 Weekly ticket Adult £17.00 Child N/A
Only valid for unlimited travel on the following local bus route:-
Service 89 Lancaster – Royal Infirmary – Cockerham – Pilling – Preesall – Knott End
Note that although the prices are identical the tickets are not interavailable and each service requires a separate ticket, perhaps understandable as the two services have no physical connection. There is no ticket for service 33 Morecambe-Bare Circular or the Park & Ride and, presumably, Stagecoach's own tickets are considered sufficient for service 18 in east Lancaster. Nevertheless, the Bus Users Group strongly hopes that a similar arrangement will now be made for the Lune Valley, where service improvements have been promised for February.
One of the most extensive networks covered by the ticket is in the East Lancashire where 10 different services provided by three different operators are included in one ticket, with both one-day and one-week versions available. Full details of services covered are here.
Closer to home there are tickets for the Fylde Coast, Wyre and South Ribble and a full list can be obtained via this link
It is important to realise that the tickets only cover the council-supported services and do not include commercial services in the areas covered. Nevertheless it is a welcome development. Hopefully the council will consider using forthcoming powers under the Bus Services Act to expand the scheme to take in commercial services and develop a series of multi-operator tickets throughout Lancashire.
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| A Ribble bus promoting the Red Rose Rambler ticket in the old bus station in Lancaster in 1983. |
Who knows, one day we might even get back to the situation that pertained a mere 35 years ago when a "Red Rose Rambler" ticket gave unlimited, all-operator travel all over the county, with some versions even including trains as well?
Now that would be "integrated transport"!