Bus tips & tricks

MSE_Laura_F

I'd love to hear some of your tips and tricks for bus travel.

Here are a few of mine (bearing in mind that I'm a Londoner):

• A kid told me that he always looks out for the brand new buses by checking their reg plate, because the new ones in his area of South London are equipped with charging ports. He'll wait until a new model of bus comes along and happily charge his phone for the duration of his journey. 
  
  
• If you're in London, there's the Hopper fare that gives you unlimited tram and bus rides within one hour of touching in. But did you know there's a grace period of two minutes? There used to be a 10-minute grace period, but that was reduced, so make sure you don't get caught out by going over your time, meaning you'd have to pay afresh for the next bus/tram.
  
  
• On a cold night, I'll head to the back of the bus where the seats are warmed by the engine.
  
  
• On long journeys, on double deckers, I'll opt for the upper-deck front seats for the best view. I usually have to balance that with the lack of leg room though - you get more space when you can tuck your feet underneath the seat in front.

MilesT6060842

I prefer the seat that is just behind the stairs on a double decker, then you can see who is coming up the stairs without looking round, but still get a good view.

Hang on tight on electric buses, they can accelerate faster and catch you off guard if you are standing up.

Riding a bus in London in between train/tube rides can sometimes increase your costs for the day.  Some pairs of train/tube stations are linked by "out of station interchanges--OSI", and the fare system will "join" two legs of a journey together as one zonal journey.  OSI stations can be up to 10 minutes walk apart (approximately).  (There are lists of OSI quickly findable with an internet search).  But a bus journey between two OSI "breaks" the journey into two separate zonal fares

This won't matter if you hit your fare cap for the day, of course, or if you have a season ticket or concessionary pass.

This website will show you what buses are coming next on a London bus route or a London Bus stop, if you want a particular age of bus.

Bus companies in some areas of the UK allow you to purchase a discounted all day unlimited use bus ticket as an add-on to a train ticket (at start and/or end of journey where applicable), usually breaks even with 2 bus journeys.  The scheme is called plusbus, train operator websites will usually offer this as an option at checkout if available, but I'm not sure if sites like trainline/redspottedhanky etc. do.  (London is not part of plusbus, but has Travelcards instead for bus/tube/tram/zonal train, Travelcards these will be offered as an option at train site checkout if applicable).

(TfL is consulting on withdrawing travelcards within London and it is likely that train companies will follow suit for the "add on" travelcards if TfL withdraws Travelcards)

MSE_Laura_F

Really useful stuff, thank you. 

Good shout - the seats behind the stairs are probably my second favourite ones.

Just thought of another thing: the Citymapper app's special route options are now free to all users, and the 'Bus+' one is a game-changer. I use it to see if I can take one long bus ride instead of trains/tubes with changes. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'd rather one long bus journey than a shorter train one full of changes - the long bus ride means I can switch off and read/listen to a podcast.

katejo

MSE_Laura_F said:

I'd love to hear some of your tips and tricks for bus travel.

Here are a few of mine (bearing in mind that I'm a Londoner):

• A kid told me that he always looks out for the brand new buses by checking their reg plate, because the new ones in his area of South London are equipped with charging ports. He'll wait until a new model of bus comes along and happily charge his phone for the duration of his journey. 
  
  
• If you're in London, there's the Hopper fare that gives you unlimited tram and bus rides within one hour of touching in. But did you know there's a grace period of two minutes? There used to be a 10-minute grace period, but that was reduced, so make sure you don't get caught out by going over your time, meaning you'd have to pay afresh for the next bus/tram.
  
  
• On a cold night, I'll head to the back of the bus where the seats are warmed by the engine.
  
  
• On long journeys, on double deckers, I'll opt for the upper-deck front seats for the best view. I usually have to balance that with the lack of leg room though - you get more space when you can tuck your feet underneath the seat in front.

My favourite bus seats have  always been  top deck at the front (ever since the top desk smoking was scrapped in 1985 0r 86!). Sometimes the seats on 1 side have more legroom than the other. I now benefit from the Oyster 60+ card so get free off peak travel within the zones. 

Teapot55

Started travelling on buses again after a gap of a few years and discovered that the FirstBus vehicles (by me anyway) have large mirrors near the door that hang down. I found out the hard way. The Stagecoach buses have similar mirrors but they’re higher up. 

MilesT6060842

Teapot55 said:

Started travelling on buses again after a gap of a few years and discovered that the FirstBus vehicles (by me anyway) have large mirrors near the door that hang down. I found out the hard way. The Stagecoach buses have similar mirrors but they’re higher up. 

+1 on the mirrors, fortunately I noticed before being struck and keep an eye out.  

And your website name reminds me of a variant of the children's rhyme:  "here's my handle, here's my other handle, Oh s**t I'm a sugar bowl!"

RAS

Teapot55 said:

Started travelling on buses again after a gap of a few years and discovered that the FirstBus vehicles (by me anyway) have large mirrors near the door that hang down. I found out the hard way. 

Which wouldn't be quite so much of a problem if:

The bus doors didn't open exactly opposite the doorway in the bus stop
And people stood back to let others off using the doorway, rather than forcing them to duck out under the mirror.

Annoying for the driver too, having to reset the mirror repeatedly.

Nelliegrace

My tip would have been, don’t holiday in Malta with a vintage bus enthusiast. 
Comfortable air- conditioned buses would go by, while we got scorched by the sun, and he would say it was not “our” bus, and then a very noisy rattletrap would arrive late. The road was visible through the large holes in the floor. 
He didn’t leave the bus station all day in Valetta.

Saver73

Check out the different ticket types as the 2 trip ticket is 50p cheaper than the tap on tap off option which is the drivers preference in my area.

Plan your journey if you live in an area, like me, where buses aren't very reliable and there are no actual timetables on bus stops anymore just QR codes!

RAS

On topic, 

The Dalesbus summer routes have started running, with more to add at the beginning of June. These connect towns and cities in Yorks, Lancs and Cumbria directly with the deepest Dales.

They normally offer Dayrovers, but many of the buses are £2 each way until the end of June. Which is a huge bargain.

Try a point to point hike like Causeway down to Bainbridge, or Keld down to Gunnerside, picking up the bus back home. Alternatively try the Bainbridge to Askrigg and Worton circular, Chapel le Dale to Ribblehead and back, or one or more circuits of Kisdon; there are 4 routes between Keld and Muker including the Pennine Way and Corpse Road.

Or use the weekday service buses to get up into the Dales on Friday, and the Sunday bus home, for a long weekend. Good hotels, B&Bs, hostels and campsites will welcome you.

Do take good clothing, a map for hiking as signals aren't always good, and stout boots. Or stick to the village or town and enjoy the view with a good meal and a pint.

www.dalesbus.org

oldernonethewiser

Bus apps with timings and occupancy levels can not be relied upon.

Travel in hope rather than expectation