Trivia: Scratchcard bus tickets

[busestrains]

Brighton & Hove still sell the scratchcard one day Network Saver bus tickets. These can be bought from the Brighton & Hove travel shop in Brighton and over 100 convenience shops all over Brighton and surrounding towns. There are even a couple of convenience shops in Tunbridge Wells and Crowborough and Uckfield and Lewes that sell them.

They are very convenient as you can just buy a bunch of them and use them whenever you want. You just scratch off the day when you use them. I really like this idea.

They also save money as it costs £5.80 compared to £7.00 on the bus saving you £1.20 on your ticket. It also saves you money on some longer distance Return fares such as Brighton to Tunbridge Wells which is £6.90 for a Return ticket so this saves you £1.10 on that. These shops also sell a weekly version £29.00 scratchcard ticket too. They used to also do a monthly but that got discontinued almost ten years ago.

So i am interested if scratchcard tickets are still sold anywhere else? I remember there used to be lots of these around the UK but most seem to have been withdrawn. I am trying to make a full list of all of the remaining ones. Does anyone know of any other bus companies anywhere in the UK where you can still buy scratchcard tickets?

 

[GusB]

In my younger days I used to visit Edinburgh quite frequently and I used to buy Lothian scratchcard tickets quite often. They were handy because you could buy them in various local shops; I usually bought mine in RS McColl's. They were also ridiculously cheap - something like £1.50 at the time. I presume these have been long-since discontinued.

 

[busestrains]

In my younger days I used to visit Edinburgh quite frequently and I used to buy Lothian scratchcard tickets quite often. They were handy because you could buy them in various local shops; I usually bought mine in RS McColl's. They were also ridiculously cheap - something like £1.50 at the time. I presume these have been long-since discontinued.

I have just searched online and it appears that Lothian Buses still sell the scratchcards and you can even buy them online:

Shop - Lothian Buses

Lothian Buses - Local bus services in and around Edinburgh

www.lothianbuses.com

A pack of ten costs £45.00 (so £4.50 each) while a pack of twenty costs £85.00 (so £4.25 each). Onboard the bus costs £4.50 with cash or £4.40 as contactless so you do not actually save any money with scratchcards unless you buy the twenty pack.

I wonder if these scratchcards can still be purchased in the travel shop in Edinburgh too (if it is even still open as it has been a while since i went there).

 

[LiviCrazy]

First do them for Staff, Family and Friends. Used to get week tickets through a family member until First were no longer in the area.

 

[GusB]

I have just searched online and it appears that Lothian Buses still sell the scratchcards and you can even buy them online:

Shop - Lothian Buses

Lothian Buses - Local bus services in and around Edinburgh

www.lothianbuses.com

A pack of ten costs £45.00 (so £4.50 each) while a pack of twenty costs £85.00 (so £4.25 each). Onboard the bus costs £4.50 with cash or £4.40 as contactless so you do not actually save any money with scratchcards unless you buy the twenty pack.

I wonder if these scratchcards can still be purchased in the travel shop in Edinburgh too (if it is even still open as it has been a while since i went there).

It is somewhat surprising that those tickets still exist. I would have thought that with contactless, capping etc., they would have been phased out. Clearly there's still a market for them.

 

[EdinRH]

In my younger days I used to visit Edinburgh quite frequently and I used to buy Lothian scratchcard tickets quite often. They were handy because you could buy them in various local shops; I usually bought mine in RS McColl's. They were also ridiculously cheap - something like £1.50 at the time. I presume these have been long-since discontinued.

My parents used to buy these in the early 1990s from a local newsagent (Tony Ward of Craighall Road, Edinburgh). I attempted to buy one from this shop in about 2000, as I didn't have exact change to buy a day ticket on the bus and was looking to use a banknote. I was then informed that newsagents had stopped selling them when on-bus purchase of day tickets became possible (in 1996 IIRC). I also remember that scratchcard day tickets were still available from the Lothian bus shops around the millennium, but that they only sold an all-day and not an off-peak version of the scratchcard (this was when there were two tiers of day tickets available on the bus). Bizarrely, they did sell a kid's all-day scratchcard that was identical in price to the adult off-peak ticket, so I couldn't understand why they didn't just allow adults to use those outside peak hours while applying no timing restriction to under-16s.

 

[Deerfold]

They still exist in West Yorkshire for Adult Bus and Train, Family Bus and Train and Group Bus and Train (all off peak) DaySavers. They're available as rail tickets and on smartcards and as phone tickets, but can still be bought at 7 bus stations in West Yorkshire. In the 80s they were sold at over 1000 post offices and newsagents. The Group tickets is relatively new.

There are no straightforward child equivalents any more and bus only tickets can now be bought at the same price as smart tickets on board the bus.

 

[James H]

It is somewhat surprising that those tickets still exist. I would have thought that with contactless, capping etc., they would have been phased out. Clearly there's still a market for them.

I guess one of the factors is that they are easy to buy for other people and dish out as required - perhaps for a group of visiting students or the like.

 

[Lewisham2221]

It is somewhat surprising that those tickets still exist. I would have thought that with contactless, capping etc., they would have been phased out. Clearly there's still a market for them.

Often dished out by customer services as means of apology/compensation. Also used to supply tickets to the job centre, probation service, various training/employment schemes.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

They still exist in West Yorkshire for Adult Bus and Train, Family Bus and Train and Group Bus and Train (all off peak) DaySavers. They're available as rail tickets and on smartcards and as phone tickets, but can still be bought at 7 bus stations in West Yorkshire. In the 80s they were sold at over 1000 post offices and newsagents. The Group tickets is relatively new.

There are no straightforward child equivalents any more and bus only tickets can now be bought at the same price as smart tickets on board the bus.

Hasn't the group ticket replaced the family one or is it complementing it? As I really cannot tell the difference.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

At one point South Yorkshire had scratchcard versions of their Travelmaster range of tickets before they were reduced to paper, card or digital products.

 

[Snow1964]

I remember one issued by West Midlands PTE in mid 1980s, it covered all the blue buses and trains including the intercity ones from Coventry to Wolverhampton. Used it few times to explore the area when I was a student. The Student Travel shop on university campus sold them. From memory they were £3.50 and at the time max bus fare off peak in West Midlands was 32p.

 

[Deerfold]

Hasn't the group ticket replaced the family one or is it complementing it? As I really cannot tell the difference.

The family ticket is for up to 5 people, 2 of whom can be adults. It's £14.20

The group ticket is for up to 5 people, but they can all be adults. It's £25.10

 

[Geordie driver]

Going back to the days of when buses had inspectors, scratch cards were loved by fare evaders, dodge on without paying or buy the cheapest single, then if an inspector boards just scratch your ticket, hey presto, you have a valid ticket.

 

[Llandudno]

It’s still possible to buy Derbyshire Wayfarer scratch card tickets from a limited number of outlets like Tourist Information Centres etc

I understand that Derbyshire County Council are planning to revamp the ticket in the summer, which may well see the demise of scratch card Wayfarers.

Can anyone shed any light on this…?

 

[DunsBus]

My parents used to buy these in the early 1990s from a local newsagent (Tony Ward of Craighall Road, Edinburgh). I attempted to buy one from this shop in about 2000, as I didn't have exact change to buy a day ticket on the bus and was looking to use a banknote. I was then informed that newsagents had stopped selling them when on-bus purchase of day tickets became possible (in 1996 IIRC). I also remember that scratchcard day tickets were still available from the Lothian bus shops around the millennium, but that they only sold an all-day and not an off-peak version of the scratchcard (this was when there were two tiers of day tickets available on the bus). Bizarrely, they did sell a kid's all-day scratchcard that was identical in price to the adult off-peak ticket, so I couldn't understand why they didn't just allow adults to use those outside peak hours while applying no timing restriction to under-16s.

Correct, the Day Saver was introduced in May 1996. The difference between that and the previous Freedom Ticket was the Day Saver being valid across the network whilst the Freedom Ticket wasn't - you could only use it within the Edinburgh city boundary.

 

[EdinRH]

Correct, the Day Saver was introduced in May 1996. The difference between that and the previous Freedom Ticket was the Day Saver being valid across the network whilst the Freedom Ticket wasn't - you could only use it within the Edinburgh city boundary.

The Freedom Ticket briefly came in Gold and Silver versions. The Gold version was network-wide, whereas the Silver version was only valid within the city boundary. The Gold version had been withdrawn by the summer of 1990, as my family were looking to buy it in order to travel to South Queensferry. Instead, we could only buy the Silver version and pay the cash fare from Barnton.

 

[CN04NRJ]

It is somewhat surprising that those tickets still exist. I would have thought that with contactless, capping etc., they would have been phased out. Clearly there's still a market for them.

They're quite frequently used, see several a day. I'd say they're most popular with the large groups of students that come over from Europe in the summer.

 

[DunsBus]

The Freedom Ticket briefly came in Gold and Silver versions. The Gold version was network-wide, whereas the Silver version was only valid within the city boundary. The Gold version had been withdrawn by the summer of 1990, as my family were looking to buy it in order to travel to South Queensferry. Instead, we could only buy the Silver version and pay the cash fare from Barnton.

From memory, 1989 was the last year for the Gold Freedom Ticket. The Silver one was valid within "the former city boundary" according to the Bus Fares leaflet, which I assume was the historic one which existed prior to 1975 and thus ruling out using it to travel to Currie and Balerno.

LRT boobed by getting rid of the Gold version.

 

[EdinRH]

From memory, 1989 was the last year for the Gold Freedom Ticket. The Silver one was valid within "the former city boundary" according to the Bus Fares leaflet, which I assume was the historic one which existed prior to 1975 and thus ruling out using it to travel to Currie and Balerno.

LRT boobed by getting rid of the Gold version.

My mum and I took a city tour in about 1989 and were issued with Gold Freedom Tickets, which we were informed could be used to jump on and off the tour and also on the normal service buses.

I remember my mum asking if a Freedom Ticket was valid on the South Queensferry service and being told that it could only be used from the city to Barnton. I then asked if a Gold Freedom Ticket would be valid for the full route and being told that it no longer existed, but had been valid to South Queensferry when it existed.

When the on-bus Day Saver was introduced in 1996 it was the same price as the (Silver) Freedom Ticket, so I expected to have to pay a fare from Burdiehouse to Loanhead when visiting my grandparents. I was told by the driver that it was valid network-wide. By 1996, Lothian's Armadale and Bathgate services had been withdrawn, so there was probably less need to restrict it to Edinburgh-only.

 

[freddiem]

In terms of Edinburgh, I believe the biggest user of the scratchcard tickets these days are various council organisations (eg schools, community facilities etc)

 

[Simon75]

Often dished out by customer services as means of apology/compensation. Also used to supply tickets to the job centre, probation service, various training/employment schemes.

Stoke-on-Trent job centre now issue First bus tickets with a ticketer machine

 

[jrh2254]

It’s still possible to buy Derbyshire Wayfarer scratchcard tickets from a limited number of outlets like Tourist Information Centres etc

I understand that Derbyshire County Council are planning to revamp the ticket in the summer, which may well see the demise of scratch card Wayfarers.

Can anyone shed any light on this…?

No, they were phased out at the end of last year. This year there were some issued to those that had unused scratch cards from previous years. Next year you can get tickets from station booking offices and buses etc on the day of travel.

I also found out today that if the station booking offices are closed you can get them issued on the train. However the first train manager I spoke to said they had never seen the scratch card before and would not be able to issue one in 2023. She took a picture of the scratch card and looking puzzled said she would find out.
The next train manager was more clued up and let me take a picture of his ticket issuing machine so I could show uninformed train managers how to use their machines ! This was CrossCountry. Don’t know about other train operators.

 

[route101]

Last scratchcard ticket I have bought was the SPT Daytripper which has been withdrawn. Few years ago I asked for a network day ticket at one of the Lothian travel shops and got a scratchcard ticket.

 

[Siemens Trains]

They're quite frequently used, see several a day. I'd say they're most popular with the large groups of students that come over from Europe in the summer.

I've seen them most often used in that way too. Not sure if it's because the students don't have valid bank cards or if the scratch-cards are issued by the trip organiser as a convenience. For them I expect it's less stressful than using bank cards or paying by phone anyway, as these sometimes need dialogue in English or hold up the boarding process.
Lothian wanted to withdraw scratch-cards about 5 or 10 years ago however there was something of a backlash and possibly a petition. Their top brass were appeared at an Edinburgh Council committee for questioning on the company's environmental & social responsibilities and so on. Scratch-cards were felt a useful offering to food bank customers for onward travel, or those who might spend a £1.50 cash fare donation on another bottle of cider.

 

[F262YTJ]

Merseytravel still issue their bus/train/ferry Saveaway ticket as a scratchcard but is very rare now. Most are uploaded to their prepaid Metro (formerly the odd sounding Walrus) card or issued on a train ticket at Merseyrail stations.

 

[AY1975]

No, they were phased out at the end of last year. This year there were some issued to those that had unused scratch cards from previous years. Next year you can get tickets from station booking offices and buses etc on the day of travel.

I also found out today that if the station booking offices are closed you can get them issued on the train. However the first train manager I spoke to said they had never seen the scratch card before and would not be able to issue one in 2023. She took a picture of the scratch card and looking puzzled said she would find out.
The next train manager was more clued up and let me take a picture of his ticket issuing machine so I could show uninformed train managers how to use their machines ! This was CrossCountry. Don’t know about other train operators.

At the moment the Derbyshire County Council website still says you can buy them in advance from some libraries and tourist information centres in the county, either on the day of travel or in advance.

This would suggest that they are still available as scratchcards for the time being, although I thought the scratchcard version was to be withdrawn at the end of 2022 (having originally been planned to go at the end of 2021) and that an e-ticket version was going to be introduced.

Still, it's only the second day of 2023 and tomorrow is the first working day of the year, so I don't suppose they've had a chance to update their website yet. I guess it's a case of watch this space.

See also this thread from late 2021 on the withdrawal of the scratchcard Derbyshire Wayfarer: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/scratchcard-derbyshire-wayfarers-to-be-withdrawn.224249/ and this one from around the same time on tickets that are still issued as scratchcards: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/trivia-tickets-that-are-still-issued-as-scratchcards.223501/

 

[L401CJF]

Merseytravel still issue their bus/train/ferry Saveaway ticket as a scratchcard but is very rare now. Most are uploaded to their prepaid Metro (formerly the odd sounding Walrus) card or issued on a train ticket at Merseyrail stations.

They aren't generally available now. They tried to completely phase them out but they only still exist because they became the replacement for National Transport Tokens when that scheme ended a few years back.

 

[P Binnersley]

I remember one issued by West Midlands PTE in mid 1980s, it covered all the blue buses and trains including the intercity ones from Coventry to Wolverhampton. Used it few times to explore the area when I was a student. The Student Travel shop on university campus sold them. From memory they were £3.50 and at the time max bus fare off peak in West Midlands was 32p.

These "Daytripper" tickets can now be issued by the driver on the buses (cash or contactless) and by ticket machines at railway stations within the area so pre-purchase isn't necessary.

I did get sent a West Midlands (n-Network) day ticket scratch card in a "try public transport" promotion in 2019 so they still exist; but they are not available for purchase.

 

[MadMarsupial]

Went into Buxton Tourist Information Office ( TIO ) today to ask about scratchcards for the Derbyshire Wayfarer. They only have stock which expired on 31/12/22 but are expecting new stock but don't know when. They may be mistaken but Buxton TIO are usually well informed. Also tried using the Northern "Chat" facility to ask if they are now available to buy on trains but did not get a sensible reply.