Changes to Stagecoach fares and timetables

From 29 March, Stagecoach is introducing fare rises which will affect not only busway services but also other Stagecoach routes in Cambridgeshire.

This table shows the main new fares:

Cambridge Dayrider - £4.10
Cambridge Dayrider Plus - £6.40
Cambridge Megarider - £13.50 (Smart) £14.00 (Paper)
Cambridge Megarider Plus - £24.00 (Smart) £24.50 (Paper)
Family Dayrider Plus -  £7.20
Cambridge Megarider Xtra - £47.50
Cambridge Megarider Plus Xtra - £87.00

The price of multi operator tickets on the busway will also change.

Full details here.

Details of timetable changes which start from 6 April can also be found at this link.

5 SmartDays ticket

On the Stagecoach A bus today I noticed a poster advertising a new fare option - the '5 SmartDays' ticket - which would suit people who travel odd days rather than every day. There was a leaflet giving some details about this fare option,  including how to register 'your card'. I guess that must be the existing electronic multi journey ticket 'Stagecoach Smart' . The leaflet names a website - stagecoachsmart.com - but I could find nothing on that site about the 5 SmartDays ticket. I was hoping it might say how much the 5 SmartDays ticket costs.

If anyone finds out more about this ticket option, could you please send a comment to this blog?

Whippet fares to rise

I saw a notice on a Whippet route C bus this morning advising that fares are going up as from Monday 7 April. As yet no detailed information appears on Whippet's website.

Stagecoach bus fares rising as from Sunday 30 March 2014

Bus fares for Stagecoach services in Cambridgeshire are going up as from Sunday 30 March. This affects bus routes A and B on the busway. Details here.

The following is taken from the busway.info website:

From the 30th March 2014 some of our fares will be changing. Details of some of our most popular tickets are shown below.

Day tickets

Cambridge & Peterborough will increase to £4

Cambridgeshire dayrider plus will increase to £6.20

Weekly/4 weekly/monthly (xtra) tickets

Cambridge & Peterborough 1 week Megarider will remain at £13 on smart, increase to £13.50 on paper

Cambridgeshire 1 week Megarider Plus will remain at £23.50 on smart, increase to £24 on paper

East 1 week Megarider Gold will remain at £33 on smart, increase to £33.50 on paper

Cambridge & Peterborough 4 week Megarider will remain at £50 on smart, increase to £52 on paper

Cambridgeshire Megarider Plus 4 week will remain at £90 on smart, increase to £94 on paper

East Megarider Gold will increase to £115 on both smart and paper

Cambridge & Peterborough MegariderXtra increase to £45.50 per month

Cambridgeshire Megarider Plus Xtra increase to £85 per month

East Megarider GoldXtra will increase to £106 per month

1 week Megarider/Megarider Plus tickets are now available online. Please visitwww.stagecoachsmart.com to purchase your ticket today.

Stagecoach fares to rise

Stragecoach has announced that its bus fare will rise as from 31 March. Full details  here.

Here is a table of the new fares.

Cambridge & Peterborough prices
Dayrider	£3.90
Megarider (7 day)	£13
Megarider 4 week	£50
Megarider 13 week	£160
Megarider 52 week	£540
Dayrider Plus	£6
Megarider Plus (7 day)	£23.50
Megarider Plus 4 week	£90
Megarider Plus 13 week	£275
Megarider Plus 52 week	£1000
P&R return (from machine)	£2.60
P&R return (on bus)	£2.90
P&R Megarider (7 day)	£12
P&R Megarider 4 week	£45
P&R Megarider 13 week	£140
Family Dayrider Plus	6.80
Family Dayrider Gold	£11.50

Weekend fares

Whippet were offering a special fare of £1 single on either their busway services or on the old route via Bar Hill, on both Saturday and Sunday. This was great, as long as you knew not to buy a ticket from the ticket machines, which hadn't been re-programmed to offer the reduced fare. Unfortunately, some people had bought their tickets from the machines, so you can imagine they were not best pleased to discover about the cheap deal!

I had to go in to Cambridge early on Sunday so the 09.00 Stagecoach departure got me in earlier than Whippet's 09.25 via Bar Hill or 09.35 via the Busway. I discovered that the St Ives to Cambridge single has gone up from £3.20 to £3.50 - I don't remember any advertising about that. On the way back I benefitted from the £1 ticket.
Talking to a passenger who had tried to catch the Whippet Service C from Cambridge Railway Station. He hadn't realised that the busway stop is round the corner from the station in what looks like a building site. Maybe there is a sign posting issue here. He'd tried to flag the Whippet down as it emerged into Station Road - but it didn't stop for him. He then caught one of the citi buses into town and sprinted that last bit to the bus station.