Tickets (Bus, coach and tram)

Sunday 8 August 1999 my wife and I travelled on a day excursion to the city of Bath with Biss Brothers, a company based at Stansted Airport. For a while Biss included Newmarket as its most northerly point on the pickup list.

The bus in the previous three photographs had worked the 1110 PTT (Swiss Post Bus) service from Luzern to Rotkreutz via Udligenswil on which I travelled. My bus ticket was issued from a 'T.I.M.' ticket machine manufactured by Ticket Issuing Machines of Cirencester, England. This particular ticket (number 0867) is valued 7.40 Swiss Francs and was issued on 14 November 1987 for a journey from Luzern (stage number 21) to Rotkreutz on line number 665. The ticket machine number is 917 and the ticket class is shown as 'E' (Einwegfahrkarte - one way journey).My ticket, priced at 7.40 Swiss Francs, is a classic TIM style ticket from a British made machine. On the left is the front of a little fold up timetable card for the service.

My travel ticket for a journey from Cambridge to Bradford and back on Scottish Citylink service 236. At the time the Scottish Citylink service offered the quickest coach service between Cambridge and Leeds (4 hours 45 minutes) and Bradford (5 hours 5 minutes). Each journey ticket came in two halves, the upper half was collected by the driver and the lower half (Passenger’s Receipt Portion overprinted ‘Receipt’) remained with the passenger. The return tickets likewise.

Wednesday 24 June 2015 (1431) – Coach ticket issued for the Alpine Coaches Marine Drive tour around the Great Orme in Llandudno. The tour is operated by two Leyland Tiger Cub coaches. Today it was BCJ 710B, with Harrington Grenadier body built in 1964. The alternative vehicle is WND 477 which has a Duple Britannia body built in 1958.

Old style tramway uses new style 'tickets'.

MacKenzie Bus Line tickets. The large white ticket was issued by a driver to a passenger that boarded the coach at Rhodes Corner for a journey into Bridgewater (although the punches on the right reflect the opposite). The fare was $3.50. The yellow ticket was issued in the Halifax terminal for a journey from Halifax to Liverpool and was part of a multi page carbonised set.

Acadian Lines coach tickets. These tickets were issued in the Halifax terminal and were part of a multi page carbonised set. The upper ticket was for a return journey between Halifax and Sydney, a journey I made outward on Monday 7 September 1992 with a return the next day. The lower ticket was for a one-way journey from Yarmouth to Halifax which I made on Friday 11 September 1992. I was grateful to the generosity of the Acadian Lines management who provided free travel for me.

A Norwich Park and Ride bus ticket issued on Konectbus 636, one of the new Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 buses added to the Konectbus fleet for the commencement of the Park and Ride contract which began on Monday 7 September 2015. The actual ticket is 6cm wide and 9.5cm deep.

Morley's Grey Coaches ticket issued for a day return on their London service. The issuing agent was NSS Newsagents in the Market Place, Mildenhall.

Friday 6 May 2016 – Delaine Buses Limited tickets received during my trip. The back of the ticket contains the blue text and company name. The front of the ticket has faint blue silhouettes of double decker buses. Tickets are thermal printed from an Almex ticket machine (type A90?).

Thursday 16 June 2016 – A Spirit Buses bus ticket issued for a ride in service 16, the Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays service through villages of the Coquet Valley. This circular rural stage carriage service doubles as a vital link for local residents and also a valuable link for tourists, a dual source of revenue for two different market groups and it even features a pre-recorded commentary. The ticket contains quite detailed admin information with the full registration of Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro200 MX14 FUG with fleet number 204 and owner/driver Steve Hurst’s driver number ‘001’.

De Lijn (Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn) was created in 1991 from the northern part of NMVB (Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen). In this view there are (left) two ‘Z-Kaart’ multi ride card tickets and (right) two one ride paper tickets issued from Almex ticket machines with very feint printing. The tickets contain the inter-woven initials of NMVB. The Z-Kaart would be purchased from the driver who would mark off the number of zones travelled by rubber stamping the number of zones used. On the very left example the driver issuing the ticket has stamped line 6 as the passenger journey comprises six zones. The next driver has stamped line 12 as that journey was also through six zones. That driver has also stamped across lines 7 to 11 diagonally. I presume that ‘Z’ outline is what gives the card its name.

Wednesday 17 September 1997 – TEC (Transport En Commune) is the trading title of the Walloon Regional Transport Company (Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport). The company was created in 1991 when it took over the responsibility for the bus and tram operations in southern Belgium that had previously been operated by Belgium’s national bus and tramway company (SNCV/NMVB). This bus ticket was issued on a Tournai city service operated by bus number 3634 on service W to Warchin Place. In the myriad of alpha-numeric characters there doesn’t seem to be any which might actually tell one this.

Tuesday 6 August 2019 – A ticket issued for a Tantivy Blue half day ‘Round the Island’ tour (Jersey, Channel Islands). The booking clerk said to look for coach 9 (circled at the top of the ticket) however it was coach 16 that turned up. Both said coaches are Wadham Stringer bodied Leyland Swifts. A very informative tour with a driver who had a very detailed knowledge of the island. The ticket details contain ‘H Day’ for Half day; 2 passengers; Pick up outside ‘Hotel Pomme d’Or’ - the room number was irrelevant as we were simply picked up outside that hotel which is alongside Liberation Square. The advertised price was £20 each but I only had to pay £18 each.

August 2019 – Tickets issued by Libertybus (CT Plus Jersey Limited), the bus operator on Jersey. A simple fare structure charging £2.30 per single cash ride which is reduced to £2.00 if the fare is paid by contactless bank card. On the left is a cash payment ticket (for one passenger) and on the right a contactless payment ticket (this being for two passengers). With the simple fare structure it is not necessary to use the bank card to ‘tap out’ when alighting. The ticket on the left was issued on Optare Solo 1715 and that on the right was issued on SCC (Caetano) bodied Dennis Dart 1158. In addition to these cash and contactless one ride options there are also day and multi-day tickets available which offer further fare reductions.

Saturday 4 May 2019 (1333) – A ‘ticket’ for travel by Megabus service MP3 from Hull to Doncaster. Booked online and printed at home. The way of the world I suppose that tickets aren't what they once were. An A4 piece of paper doesn't quite have the same charm and souvenir value as a colourful printed ticket of old. Some passengers don't even have a paper ticket on Megabus, they just show their reference number on their mobile phone screen to the driver and that's it.

Where it was once the case that a passenger had to visit a booking office or agent to buy and pay for a coach ticket, the introduction of on-line Internet booking methods removed what today would be considered a great inconvenience. The way of the world I suppose that tickets aren't what they once were or maybe don’t even exist. Most passengers don't even know what a paper ticket would look like, they just show their reference number on their mobile phone screen to the driver and that's it. Not being into mobile phone apps myself I chose to print my ticket at home for a journey between Cambridge and Birmingham and present this to the driver but to me an A4 piece of paper doesn't quite have the same charm and souvenir value as a colourful printed ticket of old.

A ‘ticket’ for travel by Megabus service M87 from Cambridge to Norwich. Booked online and printed at home. The way of the modern world that tickets aren't what they once were. An A4 piece of paper doesn't quite have the same charm and souvenir value as a colourful printed ticket of old. Some passengers don't even have a paper ticket on Megabus, they just show their reference number on their mobile phone screen to the driver and that's it. The Cambridge boarding point on the 'ticket' is shown as Victoria Avenue, Jesus College but this is incorrect. This is the boarding point for journeys from Norwich towards Birmingham. The correct boarding point for journeys from Birmingham towards Norwich is Maids Causeway, Fair Street. (I emailed Megabus about the error and received an immediate thank you by return. They said they look into the matter).