Carnet tickets – The future is flexible

Passenger, creators of the highest-rated transport software in the UK have reported the majority of its bus operator clients offering carnet tickets see their highest revenue from this ticket type, as more Brits adopt a more flexible working lifestyle in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bus operators including Reliance, Whippet and Prentice of Haddington cite carnet tickets as their best-selling, as they account for up to 73% of their myTrip ticket sales in an average month.

Rather than restricting use to a specific time frame, carnet tickets allow travellers to purchase a set number of journeys to use whenever they please. For example, a carnet ticket from Reliance offering 10 journeys can save travellers 42% (£11.40) compared to buying 10 adult single journey tickets between Easingwold and York.

Tom Quay, CEO at Passenger commented: “The traditional commute to work is long gone. According to a survey from the British Chamber of Commerce, more than two-thirds of businesses continue to offer some remote working and three-quarters of firms expect at least one team member to continue working remotely over the coming year. A return to full-time office working in the future is also looking even more unlikely as the government is considering making working from home a ‘default’ option.

“It’s no surprise therefore that carnet bus tickets are so popular, as people don’t want to be tied down to specific days and timeframes when planning their journeys. Part-time workers can also benefit from these tickets – with 7.7 million in the UK to date – as they can avoid higher costs associated with purchasing seasonal or single-day tickets. Bus operators are moving with the times, and we’re pleased to be supporting them with our variety of digital ticketing solutions to help make public transport as efficient and cost-effective as possible for more people.”

Gary Newby, Managing Director at Reliance Buses and one of 50 smaller operators now using Passenger’s myTrip platform added: “We are seeing a definite uptick in Carnet travel on our network. Customers are looking for more flexibility to travel when it suits them, and with post-COVID working patterns radically changing for many regular commuters, they don’t want to be limited by a fixed period ticket.

By partnering with Passenger and using the myTrip product, we are confident that we can offer our passengers the best deal for their travel needs along with market-leading bus tracking and a whole host of other features.”