A new technology trial has begun, aiming to offer Cambridgeshire bus and rail travellers improved convenience and speed in travelling to and from Cambridge and Cambridge North railway stations. For over 20 years, customers have only been able to purchase PlusBus ticket in paper form from station ticket offices and ticket vending machines, but now, under the new e-ticket trial, customers can buy a QR code e-ticket showing the zone it is valid in and the date it may be used which can be scanned when boarding a bus.
David Boden, Business Development Director at local operator Stagecoach East and inaugural Chairman of trade association the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Bus Alliance, said: “Bus-rail integration is tremendously important to our customers, so we are very excited to be taking part in this trial, which we hope will bring improved ease and convenience.
“Alongside this trial, bus operators and local railway station staff are working very hard together to ensure that the correct signage is in place to guide customers on with their journeys. As bus operators, we would also make the plea to the senior figures at the railway companies to have conversations with us so that we can plan our activities to coincide, with the aim that buses can be timed to meet trains when they arrive. It is all about working together to let passengers reach their end destination.”
