Cricklewood - Hatfield any permitted: does it include St Albans / Hatfield Bus?

[miklcct]

I'm planning to go to Hatfield for a race on the coming Saturday and back on the same day. The race venue is on the St Albans - Hatfield bus route. The Cricklewood - Hatfield fares (with 26-30 Railcard) are follow:

route any permitted, Super Off-Peak Day Return: £7.75
route Hatfield / Albans Bus, Off-Peak Day Return: £8.90

The bus route doesn't have a Super Off-Peak Day Return. Can I use the any permitted route ticket on the bus?

 

[Watershed]

I'm planning to go to Hatfield for a race on the coming Saturday and back on the same day. The race venue is on the St Albans - Hatfield bus route. The Cricklewood - Hatfield fares (with 26-30 Railcard) are follow:

route any permitted, Super Off-Peak Day Return: £7.75
route Hatfield / Albans Bus, Off-Peak Day Return: £8.90

The bus route doesn't have a Super Off-Peak Day Return. Can I use the any permitted route ticket on the bus?

No - going via St Albans isn't ordinarily a permitted route; you therefore need the specifically routed bus-link fare in order to do so. There is also the fact that, by default, NR tickets only imbue validity on the Train Companies, and so there is no contract with the bus operator without the specific routing on your ticket.

 

[miklcct]

No - going via St Albans isn't ordinarily a permitted route; you therefore need the specifically routed bus-link fare in order to do so. There is also the fact that, by default, NR tickets only imbue validity on the Train Companies, and so there is no contract with the bus operator without the specific routing on your ticket.

Thanks for your reply? Do you know what's the stand-alone fare for the 301 / 601 / 602 / 724 bus between St Albans station and University of Hertfordshire de Havilland Campus? It seems that bustimes.org doesn't have this information.

 

[Haywain]

Thanks for your reply? Do you know what's the stand-alone fare for the 301 / 601 / 602 / 724 bus between St Albans station and University of Hertfordshire de Havilland Campus? It seems that bustimes.org doesn't have this information.

There will be various options. The 301 and, I think, 724 are operated by Arriva who have a day ticket at £5.10. Intalink is a Herts County Council initiative and they have a zonal (St Albans BusNet all zones) day ticket at £6.50 which covers all operators. The 601/2 are operated by Uno but their fares are less transparent.

 

[mangyiscute]

Thanks for your reply? Do you know what's the stand-alone fare for the 301 / 601 / 602 / 724 bus between St Albans station and University of Hertfordshire de Havilland Campus? It seems that bustimes.org doesn't have this information.

Unfortunately it is usually very tough to find out bus fares for single/return journeys. The Cricklewood to St Albans ticket is £4.75 on weekends, so that means that if the bus fare is cheaper than £4.15, you should buy it separate, and if its more, you should buy the combined ticket. I would expect the bus ticket to cost around £4, so either way I don't think you'll be paying substantially more - also, just in case you get a bus driver who doesn't want to accept the train ticket whether thats because they don't know about it, or perhaps they wont let you board from the university with the ticket on the way back, I would probably buy separately. However, buying together may allow you to take either Uno or Arriva buses while a return on either operator will probably not allow you to take the other on the return, so the combined ticket could be better for that

 

[miklcct]

If I instead want to make a circular journey using a return ticket, starting from Cricklewood clockwise via St Albans, Hatfield, Finsbury Park, London and back, must I visit the ticket office and excess one of the portions without any alternatives?

 

[Watershed]

If I instead want to make a circular journey using a return ticket, starting from Cricklewood clockwise via St Albans, Hatfield, Finsbury Park, London and back, must I visit the ticket office and excess one of the portions without any alternatives?

It's not mandatory to obtain the excess before boarding - but seeing as Thameslink services don't have a conductor, and the Hatfield/Albans bus route is more expensive (and the +Any Permitted won't be accepted on the bus), the most practical option is to buy the excess at the ticket office.

 

[miklcct]

I made the journey today using St Albans out and back without touching London. After taking consideration into the fare, the frequency of the bus and the time needed, I decided to take my bike out and ride it from St Albans through Alban Way, which is a demolished railway line.

It was a fast ride and I could stay at above 25 km/h for a significant length, and it took me 19 minutes from the station to the university, while on the return after the race in dusk, it took me 22 minutes back, compared to 16 minutes scheduled on the bus 602.