New money-saving MCard ticket for West Yorkshire bus users
West Yorkshire Combined Authority is helping bus passengers' money go further from Monday 18 April with the introduction of its new Day Saver carnet bus ticket.
11 January 2018
West Yorkshire Combined Authority is helping bus passengers money go further from Monday 18 April with the introduction of its new DaySaver bus ticket.
DaySavers
DaySavers are a new, money-saving MCard smartcard product that provides passengers with all day bus travel throughout West Yorkshire. One DaySaver costs £6 for a day's travel, but if they buy three or five, the price comes down to £5.50 per day. When people buy 10 DaySavers, the cost drops further to £5 per day.
DaySavers can be loaded onto pink MCards at nine Bus Station Travel Centres from Monday 18 April. They can be pre-purchased and used any time within the next 12 months This makes them useful to part-time workers, students, and other people who use buses, but not necessarily every day. They will be available at all 700 Payzone stores from Thursday 21 April.
Pink MCards are not photocards, which means they can be used separately by friends, family members or house-mates. Find out more about MCard (opens in new window).
A West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson said: "Introducing DaySavers is another step in West Yorkshire Combined Authority's work to make bus and train travel more convenient and more affordable.
"DaySavers represent great value for passengers. With a DaySaver, the more you travel, the lower the cost per journey and the more you buy, the cheaper the overall day's travel.
"And they mean people can use different bus operators' services without having to pay for separate products, and can catch any bus on their route rather than having to wait for the 'right' one that matches their ticket."
DaySavers are being introduced on the same day that the price of the MetroDay ticket, which is bought on-bus, rises from £5.50 to £6.
"People who travel several times a week, or who use a weekly or monthly pass, as well as visitors and tourists will find DaySavers useful, particularly as they can be used up to a year from purchase."
Integrated transport
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority spokesperson added: "West Yorkshire Combined Authority is committed to developing an improved and integrated transport network that supports economic growth and the creation of jobs across the Leeds City Region and smart travel is a key element of this work.
"There are currently around 100,000 MCard holders making it the largest travel smartcard system outside London. Over 1.1 million smartcard transactions take place on West Yorkshire's buses and trains, over 30% of all bus transactions are now 'smart'.
"Earlier this month, the Combined Authority introduced smartcard top-ups at 38 West Yorkshire rail stations. And over the summer we plan to start rolling out Pay-As-You-Go and online top-ups for MCards as well as investigating the potential use of contactless bank cards and phone payments."
Feedback
The Combined Authority is asking people to use its online feedback form (opens in new window) if they encounter any difficulties buying a DaySaver ticket or loading it onto their MCard, so that the MCard team can follow up and rectify the situation.
Passengers with an NFC enabled smartphone can use the MCard App (opens in new window) to check the number of DaySavers they have on their card at any time.
MCards are fully compliant with ITSO, the Government-backed organisation, which defines and develops the UK-wide technical specification for smart ticketing.