Bus pass time

andygb

I reached the grand old age of 66 last year, so I am eligible for a local bus pass. However is there some sort of national bus pass I could get, to explore this lovely country?

Exodi

The local bus pass for my area (Kent) suggests it can be used across the whole of England as it is part of the 'English National Concessionary Travel Scheme'.

I'd guess all might be the same?

MSE_James

Bus passes issued by local authorities in England are part of a national scheme covering the whole of England (look for the red English rose emblem that indicates they are part of ENCTS, as mentioned by Exodi)

Scotland and Wales have separate schemes without reciprocal arrangements with England. NI residents have different arrangements covering the island of Ireland.

RAS

As per Exodi and James. It's a national scheme.

Check the week day start time, at one stage it was 9.30am but one route used the next county's 9am kick-off which covered most of the route.

Also check whether your card covers reduced rail within the authority boundary? Mine's half price after 9.30am on weekdays rather than one third on the OAP card. That extra £2 discount covers the cost of the bus ticket into town to get the first concessionary train on my most used route.

But also check scenic/tourist routes in advance, some of these aren't included in the scheme at all.

andygb

Thanks for all the answers, does anyone know if they cover the National Express routes?

SiliconChip

andygb said:

Thanks for all the answers, does anyone know if they cover the National Express routes?

No, it's specifically local buses (and local trains in some places as mentioned), this document explains the scheme and contains a link to the definition of the applicable services.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-travel-concession-authorities-on-the-england-national-concessionary-travel-scheme/guidance-for-travel-concession-authorities-on-the-england-national-concessionary-travel-scheme

RAS

Pick somewhere "central" like King's Lynn,  buses to Dereham, Hunstanton, Spalding and Wisbech.

Or look for expresses, say Leeds/York to Scarborough/Whitby then Scarborough to Middleborough, (also via Whitby), Middleborough to Newcastle via Durham, Newcastle to Berwick on Tweed. That could take you the best part of a week, with stop offs. Depends what you enjoy, beaches, walks, history, wild life. That'

andygb

RAS said:

Pick somewhere "central" like King's Lynn,  buses to Dereham, Hunstanton, Spalding and Wisbech.

Or look for expresses, say Leeds/York to Scarborough/Whitby then Scarborough to Middleborough, (also via Whitby), Middleborough to Newcastle via Durham, Newcastle to Berwick on Tweed. That could take you the best part of a week, with stop offs. Depends what you enjoy, beaches, walks, history, wild life. That'

Cheers, that is the kind of thing I had in mind, but based in the South East.

RAS

Pick a largish town you can get to by public transport. Googlemaps. Find the bus station or departure point and hit the bus icon. You'll get a list of bus routes, and details of the buses scheduled to leave there. Download their timetables.

That gives you an idea of the options. Then research those locations for onward routes, attractions, accommodation etc. Do double check before booking anything.

Obviously the first thing is to find out where you can get to on the local network. 

KxMx

www.bustimes.org  is a fantastic resource for bus information, once you've got the leads from Google Maps.