Fare rise and ticket changes July 2023

[2206]

Doesn't it pretty much go the same route as the X18.

Not really. The X18 goes fast and direct along the A46.

[Westy]

Just been behind someone on the 529, who's scanned a 'Adult Black Country Travelcard'.

Surely they shouldve got that updated by now?

(Suspect they have it on DD, as my sister is also on DD & we had to ring Nx to get it updated, as previously mentioned!)

[Rachvince53]

Just been behind someone on the 529, who's scanned a 'Adult Black Country Travelcard'.

Surely they shouldve got that updated by now?

(Suspect they have it on DD, as my sister is also on DD & we had to ring Nx to get it updated, as previously mentioned!)

Although it may say that on their Travelcard, it will probably be scanned as the NBus as that's the only type available on NX buses.  It may be that's its an annual ticket which as far as I'm aware is valid until renewal. 

[Westy]

Anyone had a problem trying to use the Swift machines lately?

Just tried to renew my pass, to start on New Years Day, at the Walsall machine, & it wont go past 31/12!

Do hope its a software problem.

[Westy]

Anyone had a problem trying to use the Swift machines lately?

Just tried to renew my pass, to start on New Years Day, at the Walsall machine, & it wont go past 31/12!

Do hope its a software problem.

Resolved. My cock up!

[karl724223]

Resolved. My cock up!

You a cock up   never 

[JPC]

The NX website has I believe recently added a few fairly detailed 'Daysaver Extra Maps' which suggest the Daysaver Extra is required for "travelling outside of the nBus area including Staffordshire, Worcestershire or Warwickshire".
The regular day ticket page continues to say £4.50 for all ops in the nBus zone and all NX.

Am I correct in saying the Daysaver Extra is the day ticket you receive when boarding a NX bus outside the nBus zone? if so this still needs to be clarified correctly on the website because there is still an obvious conflict in the infomation there.

[Rachvince53]

The NX website has I believe recently added a few fairly detailed 'Daysaver Extra Maps' which suggest the Daysaver Extra is required for "travelling outside of the nBus area including Staffordshire, Worcestershire or Warwickshire".
The regular day ticket page continues to say £4.50 for all ops in the nBus zone and all NX.

Am I correct in saying the Daysaver Extra is the day ticket you receive when boarding a NX bus outside the nBus zone? if so this still needs to be clarified correctly on the website because there is still an obvious conflict in the infomation there.

From what I can tell from the additional information provided, this is the same price as a regular daysaver (nBus) but ONLY valid on and can only be purchased from NX Buses both within and outside the nBus area. 

[JPC]

From what I can tell from the additional information provided, this is the same price as a regular daysaver (nBus) but ONLY valid on and can only be purchased from NX Buses both within and outside the nBus area. 

There is still a conflict in the infomation....
The single/day ticket page is saying the nBus is valid for all NX services.
The Operating Area page is saying the Daysaver Extra is required for NX services outside the nBus area.

I did have a theory the Daysaver Extra was just for travellers originating outside the nBus zone but 7 months in there still isn't a straight clear answer on this.

[ellspurs]

I did have a theory the Daysaver Extra was just for travellers originating outside the nBus zone but 7 months in there still isn't a straight clear answer on this.

My thoughts are this also. Day tickets bought outside the nBus area would be the "daysaver extra" ones, which wouldn't be valid on any other nBus. It's the only thing that makes sense, as anyone buying a ticket in the nBus area would just have a normal one that allows the use of the other companies' buses.

[Westy]

I did copy & paste a couple of the latest posts onto a Twitter post to both Nx & TfWM, for them to look over.

Only Nx has replied so far, with a link back to the ticket prices page, so either they don't know, don't care or simply haven't read the post properly!

Leave that to yourselves to decide.

[Rachvince53]

My thoughts are this also. Day tickets bought outside the nBus area would be the "daysaver extra" ones, which wouldn't be valid on any other nBus. It's the only thing that makes sense, as anyone buying a ticket in the nBus area would just have a normal one that allows the use of the other companies' buses.

However as explained the Daysaver Extra is for travel outside the nBus area to say Lichfield where the normal nBus Daysaver isn't valid. To me it's pretty clear that even if you start within the nBus area, to travel beyond it on NX buses you will need a Daysaver Extra.  

[Westy]

However as explained the Daysaver Extra is for travel outside the nBus area to say Lichfield where the normal nBus Daysaver isn't valid. To me it's pretty clear that even if you start within the nBus area, to travel beyond it on NX buses you will need a Daysaver Extra. 

Right, so does your average punter realise that then.

Let's take @Bob as a possible example.(I don't know what pass / ticket he uses really, to get about, so I'm being hypophetical!)

He travels in from Staffordshire to Birmingham, so let's say he has a Daysaver Extra, so he's restricted to NX buses, even in the WM county itself, so let's say, he wants to carry onto Kings Heath, where you can catch both NX & Diamond 50's, but the Daysaver Extra only lets you use NX buses, so he can only use their 50's & not Diamond's as well?

Am I right so far?

Let's take myself as another example(I have a Nbus pass anyway, so this scenario shouldn't happen anyway, but I've got 2 weeks off from work soon, & my pass runs out, so probably won't renew it until I need to go back to work!).

I want a day out, a bash let's say.

I want to go to Cannock let's say, poke around the charity shops, then come back into the WM area & let's say, go to Bilston & do the same.

Under normal circumstances, I'd use my normal Nbus pass to Cannock on the X51, as it's valid on NX buses only outside the county, then come back into Bloxwich & change to a Diamond 326.

If I did it by what's being suggested, day ticketwise, I'd have to ask for a Daysaver Extra for Cannock, then coming back, I'd have to carry onto Walsall instead & catch a NX 34 or 39 instead.

Coming back, I'd have to go back via Walsall again & besides the X51, I would only be restricted to NX 31 / 32's only back to Bloxwich.

(Alternatively, I catch the X51 to Cannock & see what the driver issues me with?)

Now what do the 'experts' say ?

[Westy]

Just had a thought while I was in the shower.

We have a few drivers on here, but I suspect their duties don't involve out of county services, else we might have had an answer by now.

(Example being @karl724223, as I don't think Pensnett have any out of WM county duties?)

I think it's rare @Tony drives a bus in service & I don't recall him mentioning doing any driving in service since the fare / pass changes.

There is one other driver, known to some of us, that might have a partial answer, admittedly not a member on here.

He drives a route that operates both in & out of the WM county, that being the X3 to Lichfield(which he has mentioned on his own blog, so I'm not breaking any privacy rules AFAIK!), answer being Mark Fitchew.

Do Nx's INIT machines somehow adjust the ticket availability with GPS, as I've wondered, when you had the old local area tickets, how did the driver issue the correct ticket, especially when you had a few crossover areas, for example both the Walsall & Sandwell tickets were valid between J9 & Wednesbury Bus Station, how did you make sure if you were getting on in that section towards Walsall, you got a Walsall ticket & not a Sandwell ticket?

I was thinking something similar operates on the X3, X51, 8 & 20(both WM & Coventry versions!).

We follow each other on X, so I could ask him, if he knows/what he issues, if that's ok with the mods?

[BlackCountryBusSpotter]

Just had a thought while I was in the shower.

We have a few drivers on here, but I suspect their duties don't involve out of county services, else we might have had an answer by now.

(Example being @karl724223, as I don't think Pensnett have any out of WM county duties?)

I think it's rare @Tony drives a bus in service & I don't recall him mentioning doing any driving in service since the fare / pass changes.

There is one other driver, known to some of us, that might have a partial answer, admittedly not a member on here.

He drives a route that operates both in & out of the WM county, that being the X3 to Lichfield(which he has mentioned on his own blog, so I'm not breaking any privacy rules AFAIK!), answer being Mark Fitchew.

Do Nx's INIT machines somehow adjust the ticket availability with GPS, as I've wondered, when you had the old local area tickets, how did the driver issue the correct ticket, especially when you had a few crossover areas, for example both the Walsall & Sandwell tickets were valid between J9 & Wednesbury Bus Station, how did you make sure if you were getting on in that section towards Walsall, you got a Walsall ticket & not a Sandwell ticket?

I was thinking something similar operates on the X3, X51, 8 & 20(both WM & Coventry versions!).

We follow each other on X, so I could ask him, if he knows/what he issues, if that's ok with the mods?

I once caught a 79 and asked for my usual Adult Daysaver at the time £4.00 we were in Darlaston at the time as I went to put the Ticket in my Wallet I realised it was a Sandwell and Dudley ticket I didn't even know WN Buses could issue them, went downstairs at Wolverhampton and told the Driver he printed a new one and said it was the Ticket Machine which had made an issue. I'm sure at one point Darlaston was able to have both the Walsall Ticket and Sandwell and Dudley might be wrong. At this point that may have ended so if it was GPS the ticket Machine on that bus classes Darlaston as Sandwell and Dudley Fare Zone. I was more surprised a WN Veichle had it to be honest