If you don’t travel by bus very often, all the different tickets that are available can leave you wondering if you have bought the right one.
There’s lots of money to be saved if you make sure you’re buying the most suitable ticket. Pick the option that matches your journey and it’ll tell you which tickets are suitable. You can search by journey frequency or bus company:
Search by Journey Frequency or Bus Company
Single Trip Ticket
This is exactly what it says it is, a ticket that’s valid for one journey, one way.
Only buy a single trip ticket if it really is a one-off and you won’t be travelling back on the bus, because it will work out more expensive than buying any other ticket.
Return/Two-Trip Ticket
This ticket will allow you to go somewhere, and then come back again.
If your return trip isn’t on the same day, most operators will allow your return ticket to be used on another day. Check with the driver first though.
Returns should only really be bought for a one off trip or if you don’t use the bus very often.
Arriva 10 Trip Saver
This ticket will give you 10 single trips that you can make whenever you like and they are valid for 1 calendar month from the date of purchase.
They are ideal for trips that you make frequently, but not often enough to make a season ticket worthwhile. They generally work out cheaper than buying a return each day.
An Arriva 10 trip ticket in the Derby area for Arriva will cost you £18 and can be used on most Arriva Derby services. Click here to see which services this ticket is valid on.
Trent Barton Zigzag – Multiple journeys in one day
A Zigzag will give you unlimited travel on most Trent Barton buses for a whole day. It is ideal if you are making more than 2 trips on their buses in one day, or if you need to use more than one of their routes.
A Zigzag currently costs £9 (Zigzag Plus) if you use the bus before 9am, and £6 if you travel after 9am.
Simply ask for a Zigzag from the bus driver.
For more information on Zigzag, visit the Trent Barton Website.
Arriva Day Saver – Multiple journeys in one day
An Arriva Day Saver will give you unlimited travel on Arriva buses in the Derby Area, or on their whole network, depending on the ticket you buy. They are ideal if you are making more than 2 trips on their buses in one day, or if you need to use more than one of their routes.
A Day Saver for the Derby Area currently costs £4.20.
Simply ask for a Day Saver from the bus driver.
Trent Barton Mango – Cashless Bus Travel
MANGO is a pre-payment smart card that you can use on Trent Barton buses. You simply scan on and scan off the buses that you use.
MANGO saves time, money and hassle. One simple card, rechargeable on-line, means you can say goodbye to using cash when you travel.
It doesn’t matter if you use the bus often, or just every now and then, MANGO gives you a saving of 15% off the single cash fare for every journey you make. And, you’ll never pay more than £5 a day no matter how much you travel after 9am.
It will also mean much quicker boarding times at bus stops, which means better timekeeping for everyone.
You can buy and top up MANGO cards at bus stations in Derby and Nottingham city centres. You can also buy MANGO at many local outlets. You can also save the hassle of repeatedly topping up the card by paying the easy way and signing up to direct debit.
For more information on Mango, visit the Trent Barton Website.
Arriva M-Ticket – Cashless Mobile Ticketing
Arriva have introduced a Smartphone App that allows you to purchase tickets via your mobile phone. You simply have to show the driver the ticket on your phone screen as you board the bus.
M-Tickets are ideal for people who travel frequently on Arriva services. Obviously though, you need to have a compatible Apple or Android Smartphone!
For more information on M-Tickets, visit the Arriva website or watch the video below.
Spectrum Ticket – All Derby, One Ticket
Derby has several bus companies that run the services that are vital to travel all across the city. If your journey involves travelling with different companies, you used to have to pay separately on each bus. Not any more with spectrum!
spectrum is a new all day multi-operator bus travel ticket for Derby that allows you to use more or less any bus in the city with just one ticket. The ticket is available on Arriva, Trent Barton, Notts & Derby, Kinch and Your Bus services, with some exceptions.
Adult tickets are priced at £5.80 and child tickets are £3.80. The ticket allows a day’s unlimited travel within the Derby city area. If you use the smart card, you can top up to ten journeys at any one time
You can buy a spectrum smart card from the bus station information office which is open from 8.30am-5.30pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays, or you can buy a one day paper ticket on any participating bus service – just ask the driver. It is valid until midnight on the date of purchase so you can explore the city like never before.
Spectrum Ticket Bus Service Exemptions
Unfortunately the Spectrum can’t be used on the following services:
Coach or National Express Services – All
X38 – Trent Barton & Arriva
Red Arrow – Trent Barton
Services before 5am and after midnight – Trent Barton
Football Special buses – Various Operators
X50 – Wardle
Derbyshire Wayfarer
A Derbyshire Wayfarer is an all-day pass that will get you onto most buses and trains around the county, allowing you to really explore. You can also get group tickets so your whole family can travel with you.
Most buses in the county will let you use a Wayfarer ticket and train travel between Derbyshire and Sheffield, Burton-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Leek and Uttoxeter is also included. It really is an easy and affordable way to get about.
Wayfarer tickets can be purchased on most buses and at rail and bus stations. You can also order them in advance by contacting public.transport@derbyshire.gov.uk.
Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket prices from 20th May 2018
• £13 for an adult (plus one child under 16)
• £6.50 for a senior citizen (aged 60 or over), a child under 16, or a holder of a Gold Card or other English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) pass
• £23.50 for a group of up to two adults and up to three children
For more information on the Derbyshire Wayfarer, visit the Derbyshire County Council website.
Trent Barton Get on Together – Season Ticket
Get On Together is a season ticket that gives ticket holders unlimited travel on Trent Barton buses for a year, either in a particular zone, or across their entire network. They sell these tickets to employees of businesses that are participating in the scheme. Some employers have even chosen to fund a contribution towards the cost of the tickets, with Trent Barton matching this contribution too – reducing the cost to the employee by up to 10% off the standard ticket price. Tickets are priced to save regular travellers considerable amounts of money over paying each day on the bus. Prices are dependent on the ticket zone and the way the scheme is set up with the employer.
Employers can buy annual tickets in bulk and deduct the cost from their employee during each monthly pay packet. This effectively means that the individual pays monthly, but is charged at the cheaper annual rate.
To talk about setting up Get On Together at your work place, you can send the Sales Manager, Stuart Booth an email at stuart@trentbarton.co.uk
Alternatively, for information on Get On Together, visit the Trent Barton website.
Arriva Saver Season Tickets
An Arriva Saver ticket will get you unlimited travel on Arriva buses for a set period of time. You can buy tickets that last for 1 week, 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. The longer the period you buy for, the cheaper each trip will work out at overall.
An Arriva Saver ticket is ideal for commuters travelling to and from work each day, or anyone else who travels on Arriva buses nearly every day.
A season ticket like a Saver will save you a lot of money over paying each day on the bus. To make a saving from a season ticket however, you have to travel on the bus quite frequently and it’s always worth calculating whether or not it works out cheaper for you than other tickets before you buy one.
For more information, visit the Arriva website.
