So I got on the 21 at Gateshead today heading towards Newcastle and showed my £12,70 Explorer ticket to the driver for him to say "Its not valid on here. Its only valid on Arriva buses" I said no it's valid on here as well and he said no it isn't so I gave up trying to tell him

This annoys me to the fact why can't Arriva & GNE accept the T&W Day Rover & Explorer tickets as they both sell them. Its stated on the website "Valid on all Go North East, Arriva & Stagecoach buses". So why do they keep not letting you on. Now this is just probably a one off bus it does get annoying. However I wanted to ask why can't the T&W Day Rover & Explorer be scanned on each other buses if they accept them. Arriva & GNE accept each other tickets on the 306/7/8/9 as I bought a week tickets on the gne bus and it was scanned perfectly fine on them but Explorer & T&W Day Rover can't. I really hope something is done about this. Would save a lot of time and drivers stop being dic£s about it

Ignore the fact the fourm says T&A Day Rover

(11 Jul 2023, 10:47 am)Busu284 wrote So I got on the 21 at Gateshead today heading towards Newcastle and showed my £12,70 Explorer ticket to the driver for him to say "Its not valid on here. Its only valid on Arriva buses" I said no it's valid on here as well and he said no it isn't so I gave up trying to tell him

This annoys me to the fact why can't Arriva & GNE accept the T&W Day Rover & Explorer tickets as they both sell them. Its stated on the website "Valid on all Go North East, Arriva & Stagecoach buses". So why do they keep not letting you on. Now this is just probably a one off bus it does get annoying. However I wanted to ask why can't the T&W Day Rover & Explorer be scanned on each other buses if they accept them. Arriva & GNE accept each other tickets on the 306/7/8/9 as I bought a week tickets on the gne bus and it was scanned perfectly fine on them but Explorer & T&W Day Rover can't. I really hope something is done about this. Would save a lot of time and drivers stop being dic£s about it

Ignore the fact the fourm says T&A Day Rover

I hope you just got on anyway and said to call for a ticket inspector if he had a problem

(11 Jul 2023, 10:47 am)Busu284 wrote So I got on the 21 at Gateshead today heading towards Newcastle and showed my £12,70 Explorer ticket to the driver for him to say "Its not valid on here. Its only valid on Arriva buses" I said no it's valid on here as well and he said no it isn't so I gave up trying to tell him

This annoys me to the fact why can't Arriva & GNE accept the T&W Day Rover & Explorer tickets as they both sell them. Its stated on the website "Valid on all Go North East, Arriva & Stagecoach buses". So why do they keep not letting you on. Now this is just probably a one off bus it does get annoying. However I wanted to ask why can't the T&W Day Rover & Explorer be scanned on each other buses if they accept them. Arriva & GNE accept each other tickets on the 306/7/8/9 as I bought a week tickets on the gne bus and it was scanned perfectly fine on them but Explorer & T&W Day Rover can't. I really hope something is done about this. Would save a lot of time and drivers stop being dic£s about it

Ignore the fact the fourm says T&A Day Rover

And I dont think the problem is just in the North East either.

I bought a All York ticket on a First vehicle and was nearly refused when I tried to use it on an East Yorkshire vehicle.

(11 Jul 2023, 11:10 am)citaro5284 wrote And I dont think the problem is just in the North East either.

I bought a All York ticket on a First vehicle and was nearly refused when I tried to use it on an East Yorkshire vehicle.

I wonder if it's anything to do with all of the new hires due to the driver shortage having inadequate training. 

Quality of drivers seems to have gone down across the board over the last few years. They just seem to have employed a bunch of arrogant misery guts.

(11 Jul 2023, 11:02 am)streetdeckfan wrote I hope you just got on anyway and said to call for a ticket inspector if he had a problem

He let is on and said. Next time use the Arriva bus as we don't accept them

(11 Jul 2023, 12:59 pm)Busu284 wrote He let is on and said. Next time use the Arriva bus as we don't accept them

I would definitely report it to GNE via the live chat, I assume you know the fleet number and the time.

(11 Jul 2023, 10:47 am)Busu284 wrote So I got on the 21 at Gateshead today heading towards Newcastle and showed my £12,70 Explorer ticket to the driver for him to say "Its not valid on here. Its only valid on Arriva buses" I said no it's valid on here as well and he said no it isn't so I gave up trying to tell him

This annoys me to the fact why can't Arriva & GNE accept the T&W Day Rover & Explorer tickets as they both sell them. Its stated on the website "Valid on all Go North East, Arriva & Stagecoach buses". So why do they keep not letting you on. Now this is just probably a one off bus it does get annoying. However I wanted to ask why can't the T&W Day Rover & Explorer be scanned on each other buses if they accept them. Arriva & GNE accept each other tickets on the 306/7/8/9 as I bought a week tickets on the gne bus and it was scanned perfectly fine on them but Explorer & T&W Day Rover can't. I really hope something is done about this. Would save a lot of time and drivers stop being dic£s about it

Ignore the fact the fourm says T&A Day Rover

I'd report the instance to their customer services, as it's clearly a training issue. 

I use Day Rovers all the time in Tyne and Wear, and it's rare I get any grief from a driver/inspector of another company, even though I'm showing them a ticket purchased on the GNE app. Teesside on an Explorer can be a bit different and normally Arriva drivers insist you try and scan it (even though it'll never work!), but wave you on after that.

Unless it's the last bus of the day or an ultra low frequency, I wouldn't recommend doing as Streetdeckfan suggests and sitting down anyway, unless you like confrontation from other customers. Instead, politely ask that they check or offer to show them the ticket description on an app or the company website. If they're having none of it, get off, wait for the next one and report it to the operator.

(11 Jul 2023, 11:10 am)citaro5284 wrote And I dont think the problem is just in the North East either.

I bought a All York ticket on a First vehicle and was nearly refused when I tried to use it on an East Yorkshire vehicle.

I've had a similar experience in Manchester this week. Purchased the Bus & Tram Day Tickets, and I've had almost every driver ask me if it's valid on buses too. I'm sure I shouldn't really be the person explaining what's valid and what isn't!

(11 Jul 2023, 2:25 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I would definitely report it to GNE via the live chat, I assume you know the fleet number and the time.

I can probs remember. Might take a while like

(11 Jul 2023, 2:26 pm)Adrian wrote I'd report the instance to their customer services, as it's clearly a training issue. 

I use Day Rovers all the time in Tyne and Wear, and it's rare I get any grief from a driver/inspector of another company, even though I'm showing them a ticket purchased on the GNE app. Teesside on an Explorer can be a bit different and normally Arriva drivers insist you try and scan it (even though it'll never work!), but wave you on after that.

Unless it's the last bus of the day or an ultra low frequency, I wouldn't recommend doing as Streetdeckfan suggests and sitting down anyway, unless you like confrontation from other customers. Instead, politely ask that they check or offer to show them the ticket description on an app or the company website. If they're having none of it, get off, wait for the next one and report it to the operator.

I appreciate it's different for operators without radios, but with GNE surely the driver can quickly radio the infamous SDC and confirm the validity of the ticket?

(11 Jul 2023, 4:13 pm)mb134 wrote I appreciate it's different for operators without radios, but with GNE surely the driver can quickly radio the infamous SDC and confirm the validity of the ticket?

Suppose it depends how stubborn the driver is going to be. If they don't accept reasoning by you showing them the information, then it'd say it's highly unlikely they'll even attempt to radio in.

(11 Jul 2023, 2:26 pm)Adrian wrote Unless it's the last bus of the day or an ultra low frequency, I wouldn't recommend doing as Streetdeckfan suggests and sitting down anyway, unless you like confrontation from other customers. Instead, politely ask that they check or offer to show them the ticket description on an app or the company website. If they're having none of it, get off, wait for the next one and report it to the operator.

Where's the fun in that!

Since I had that driver on the X21 that was adamant it terminated at Sainsburys instead of Tesco, when his own timetable that he showed me to prove me wrong said it terminated at Tesco, I just don't have the patience for them anymore. 

If it was a new or obscure ticket, then fair enough, but I'd say the Explorer is a fairly well known and established ticket at this point.

(11 Jul 2023, 4:32 pm)Adrian wrote Suppose it depends how stubborn the driver is going to be. If they don't accept reasoning by you showing them the information, then it'd say it's highly unlikely they'll even attempt to radio in.

That's very true.

I do know that some people try and exploit the Network One tickets, I've seen countless people (often the same ones trying their luck with different drivers) in the morning try and get onto an Arriva service into Northumberland with one that is only valid to Seaton Burn, however in those cases the drivers are clearly aware - and I believe that, at least, the relevant depots have clear training on it.

The knowledge of drivers in those areas needs to be good and so, while they may be stubborn with the people blatantly attempting to use a ticket fraudulently, chances are they're then more than happy to wave on an explorer. I wonder if in areas where routes don't cross Network One boundaries as clearly, or where Explorer use may be minimal, there is simply a lack of engrained ticket knowledge - especially on another operators app, which is absolutely something that should be looked into.

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(11 Jul 2023, 4:56 pm)streetdeckfan wrote If it was a new or obscure ticket, then fair enough, but I'd say the Explorer is a fairly well known and established ticket at this point.

I honestly think the Explorer is very area specific as to where it'll be used, and therefore driver exposure after training may be very minimal in some instances.

With Riverside drivers going onto the likes of the 21/X21 in your example, I imagine there's the potential for situations where drivers who've been chilling around Gateshead for months suddenly being asked to do an X21. I obviously don't know exact figures, but I imagine most people travelling around Gateshead won't be using Explorers. At the very least, I'd expect the driver to take an extra bit of time to check an Arriva printed Explorer shoved in his face in the middle of Bishop Auckland.

Instead of blaming the driver's we should be looking at the reason why the tickets can't be scanned on each other's machines imo. Hopefully it's something that's sorted with the new tickets but I have my doubts.

It doesn't help the Metro barriers don't have QR Code readers either which would help matters or the ability to print QR codes.

(11 Jul 2023, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote Instead of blaming the driver's we should be looking at the reason why the tickets can't be scanned on each other's machines imo. Hopefully it's something that's sorted with the new tickets but I have my doubts.

It doesn't help the Metro barriers don't have QR Code readers either which would help matters or the ability to print QR codes.

It's simple enough as the 306 to 309 accept each other tickets when scanned so can't see why the Day Rover & Explorer can't do the same

When you buy an explorer on the Arriva app, it doesn’t even scan on their own buses. A driver on the X12 refused to accept one, was quite annoyed.

(11 Jul 2023, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote Instead of blaming the driver's we should be looking at the reason why the tickets can't be scanned on each other's machines imo. Hopefully it's something that's sorted with the new tickets but I have my doubts.

It doesn't help the Metro barriers don't have QR Code readers either which would help matters or the ability to print QR codes.

That’s a fair point, but some drivers are rude and confrontational - it’s almost like they’re seeking an argument. 

A genuine mistake or misunderstanding isn’t an issue I’d say, especially when the ticketing in the North East is so complicated. But the way some drivers behave isn’t acceptable.

(11 Jul 2023, 7:07 pm)Thomas12 wrote That’s a fair point, but some drivers are rude and confrontational - it’s almost like they’re seeking an argument. 

A genuine mistake or misunderstanding isn’t an issue I’d say, especially when the ticketing in the North East is so complicated. But the way some drivers behave isn’t acceptable.

Like I say, since the driver shortage started the quality of drivers has gone right down hill.
Gone are the days of the #cannyGNEdriver, they seem to have just hired a load arrogant know-it-alls to fill the gaps all the gaps of the decent drivers that left.

(11 Jul 2023, 7:31 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Like I say, since the driver shortage started the quality of drivers has gone right down hill.
Gone are the days of the #cannyGNEdriver, they seem to have just hired a load arrogant know-it-alls to fill the gaps all the gaps of the decent drivers that left.

Yeah, I’m glad I live on routes operated by Percy Main - most of the drivers are decent. Never had a problem with any of them. 

The Arriva Northumbria drivers are generally decent too.

(11 Jul 2023, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote Instead of blaming the driver's we should be looking at the reason why the tickets can't be scanned on each other's machines imo. Hopefully it's something that's sorted with the new tickets but I have my doubts.

It doesn't help the Metro barriers don't have QR Code readers either which would help matters or the ability to print QR codes.

This, I wonder how Manchester are doing it, I assume they're all switching to a common ticket machine?

It's always annoyed me how they don't at least have a shared QR code for the multi operator tickets, apparently even Stagecoach are getting QR readers for the tickets on their apps so I don't see why it can't be done.

(11 Jul 2023, 7:45 pm)deanmachine wrote This, I wonder how Manchester are doing it, I assume they're all switching to a common ticket machine?

It's always annoyed me how they don't at least have a shared QR code for the multi operator tickets, apparently even Stagecoach are getting QR readers for the tickets on their apps so I don't see why it can't be done.

It does exist. There was millions spent on NESTI to deliver this, and it's currently available on the much under-used POP Pay As You Go card. See: https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/pop-pay-as-you-go

It can be delivered cross-operator via Ticketer QR codes, as this article on the manufacturer website suggests: https://www.ticketer.com/en/article/tick...ancements/, but much like tap-on/tap-off, I guess a lot of it comes down to the priorities of operators.

(11 Jul 2023, 10:47 am)Busu284 wrote So I got on the 21 at Gateshead today heading towards Newcastle and showed my £12,70 Explorer ticket to the driver for him to say "Its not valid on here. Its only valid on Arriva buses" I said no it's valid on here as well and he said no it isn't so I gave up trying to tell him

This annoys me to the fact why can't Arriva & GNE accept the T&W Day Rover & Explorer tickets as they both sell them. Its stated on the website "Valid on all Go North East, Arriva & Stagecoach buses". So why do they keep not letting you on. Now this is just probably a one off bus it does get annoying. However I wanted to ask why can't the T&W Day Rover & Explorer be scanned on each other buses if they accept them. Arriva & GNE accept each other tickets on the 306/7/8/9 as I bought a week tickets on the gne bus and it was scanned perfectly fine on them but Explorer & T&W Day Rover can't. I really hope something is done about this. Would save a lot of time and drivers stop being dic£s about it

Ignore the fact the fourm says T&A Day Rover

If it's genuinely valid and correct, refuse to leave the bus (politely should I add......do not be aggressive / abusive) until let on with the ticket.

This isn't a new thing. 
It's gone on for years. 

I remember our very own Daniel regularly complaining about ANE drivers on his way to school or something.

Yet here we are, however many years down the line and it still happens. 
Whether the technology is there or not - there's absolutely no excuse for a driver not knowing about a multi-operator ticket, that he/she could issue from their own machine and has existed for 30 odd years.

Ultimately, this is a corporate onboarding training issue, a failure by operators to keep their drivers product knowledge up to date and another example of drivers not taking ownership for their own learning.

(11 Jul 2023, 9:21 pm)Andreos1 wrote This isn't a new thing. 
It's gone on for years. 

I remember our very own Daniel regularly complaining about ANE drivers on his way to school or something.

Yet here we are, however many years down the line and it still happens. 
Whether the technology is there or not - there's absolutely no excuse for a driver not knowing about a multi-operator ticket, that he/she could issue from their own machine and has existed for 30 odd years.

Ultimately, this is a corporate onboarding training issue, a failure by operators to keep their drivers product knowledge up to date and another example of drivers not taking ownership for their own learning.

Elephants never forget, Andreos!


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I was on the bus to town on Sunday and a and driver refused to let on axwoman at gosforth park as she didn't have the correct pass accompanying her ticket. Makes a change from gone drivers letting customers on for nowt

(11 Jul 2023, 9:28 pm)Dan wrote Elephants never forget, Andreos!


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And nothing changes elsewhere Daniel. 

Tsk tsk

(11 Jul 2023, 7:51 pm)Adrian wrote It does exist. There was millions spent on NESTI to deliver this, and it's currently available on the much under-used POP Pay As You Go card. See: https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/pop-pay-as-you-go

It can be delivered cross-operator via Ticketer QR codes, as this article on the manufacturer website suggests: https://www.ticketer.com/en/article/tick...ancements/, but much like tap-on/tap-off, I guess a lot of it comes down to the priorities of operators.

Yeah, I see the Pop network one card occasionally, getting more and more regular but still rare. Must be a fantastic thing to have as a punter, although, stuff like that would be even better if it was available on apps and paper tickets, shame there's not more progress on it.

Used to have the same issue all the time. I'd alternate every week between Arriva, Go-Ahead and Stagecoach and every week Arriva refused tickets that weren't theirs, Go-Ahead refused tickets that weren't theirs (Deptford were notably the worst), only Stagecoach I never had an argument with. Always stood my ground until the driver gave in. Eventually got sick of the arguments, stopped using the bus and went in the car instead. Since I became a driver with Stagecoach, I regularly accepted Teesside Trippers in Hartlepool (not valid) because I couldn't be arsed with the arguments but point blank refused Arriva's East Durham tickets. Never refused an explorer either, all I need ed to see was the price and I knew immediately what it was.

I remember once I was on the X24 and these two people got on, one with bus pass, another with carers bus pass, and it was before 9.30, so they would have had to pay full price, but they had the docotors appointment but the carer couldn't get through his head that only the one with the actual pass could get on for free (or 50p not sure), but the carer was just arguing with the driver and at the end the driver relented and just let them on.

(11 Jul 2023, 9:21 pm)Andreos1 wrote Ultimately, this is a corporate onboarding training issue, a failure by operators to keep their drivers product knowledge up to date and another example of drivers not taking ownership for their own learning.

I have some sympathy with this, as the ticketing knowledge required can be quite extensive in some areas. I once looked at the X12, and I think there were about 15 different combinations of multi-trip products that were on offer, depending on where you were on the route. This is of course on top of the route knowledge you need and the local knowledge you pick up over time.

I recall at one time they used to print handy ticketing guides for drivers? I wonder if this is still a thing?


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