Skipper Expands

From Monday 4 July bus passengers will be able to buy a ticket that lets them travel anywhere in Plymouth, with any operator – not just for the day but for a week or for four weeks. We’ve teamed up with bus companies to extend the ‘Skipper’ range following the success of the Skipper day ticket, launched in 2013

The Skipper allows unlimited travel throughout the city and in surrounding areas including Torpoint, Saltash, Roborough, Langage, Ivybridge, Wembury and Heybrook Bay, on all Plymouth Citybus, Go Cornwall, Stagecoach South West, Target Travel, Jackett’s Coaches and Tally Ho buses.

One-week tickets cost £18.30 for an adult and £14 for a child (up to and including the age of 18) and four-week tickets cost £65.60 for an adult and £47.60 for a child.

You will be able to buy the ‘smart card’ tickets on the Plymouth Citybus and Stagecoach websites, the Plymouth Citybus Travelshop on Royal Parade or the driver on any Stagecoach South West bus service. Day tickets can still be bought on any bus and cost just £4.20 for an adult and £3.10 for a child.

Councillor Steve Ricketts, Cabinet Member for Transport and Housing Delivery, said: “Improving Plymouth’s bus ticketing systems to make them more seamless and flexible was one of this administration’s priorities. The new weekly and four-weekly Skipper smart cards offer excellent value for regular travellers and make it easier for them to get around the city. We’ll continue to work with our local bus companies to provide ticket options that meet the needs of passengers and encourage even more people to travel by bus.”

Richard Stevens, Managing Director of Plymouth Citybus said: “After introducing ITSO technology in Plymouth, allowing this scheme to happen, we are delighted that we can expand the Skipper offering onto smart cards. Working in partnership with Plymouth City Council and other bus operators in the area means we can offer a new product, knocking down barriers to bus travel when passengers may need to travel on more than one operator in their end to end journey.”

Bob Dennison, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, said: “Skipper is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when transport partners work together. I hope the introduction of the 1 and 4 week ticket options will encourage many more people onto local bus services.”

The launch of the new Skippers on Monday will mark the start of Catch the Bus Week, a nationwide campaign aimed at driving awareness of the benefits of taking the bus. Staff from the Council and participating bus companies will be on the Armada Way piazza from 10am, handing out leaflets and answering questions about the new range of tickets.

The Skipper area

Covers the whole of Plymouth and includes Torpoint, Saltash, Roborough, Langage, the built-up areas of Ivybridge, Wembury and Heybrook Bay.

The A38 forms the southern boundary (between Ivybridge and the Deep Lane junction) and it includes Lee Mill, Smithaleigh and the area of Sherford down to the A379.

The northern boundary includes all communities served by the current 59 bus route, including the whole of Roborough.

All journeys must start and end within the Skipper area.

The exact boundary points are shown on the map below:

On a personal note although its good to see more options on the multi operator ticket, I myself will be out of pocket by some margin as it replaces the old green travel pass which was issued by a few employers including Plymouth Hospitals. My ticket has been paid out of my wages since the scheme was introduced many years ago and I will miss it. It is more expensive, which I can understand as the old ticket has not gone up in price for a couple of years, but more importantly, the old ticket was monthly where as this is 4 weekly, which means I get to pay an extra “month” a year. I am still working out my options for January when my travel pass comes to an end.

Still, for most people this is a good ticket option and deserves to succeed!