Bus riders - do you buy a bus pass or pay as you go?

Discussion in Auto & Moto started by True2marie • Mar 18, 2014.

  1. True2marie

    True2marieActive Member

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    I recently began commuting to a new job. Surprisingly, the cost to use a bus pass was SIGNIFICANTLY less than paying with cash. This, of course, prompted me to pay the money upfront. Yet, I know people who refuse to go this route.

    Do you buy a bus pass or pay as you go?
     
  2. mikelouis

    mikelouisActive Member

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    I prefer to buy a pass rather than pay as you go. Although sometimes it is not always that I will be using the bus but either way having a bus pass is much cheaper. I have been using it for quite a while now and I have no issues with it at all. Bus pass is the best way to commute
     
  3. FatesWing

    FatesWingActive Member

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    I agree that buying a bus pass is well worth the money. The thing is though, at first glance the price seems so high especially if you're not aware of how much it costs to pay as you go. In the end the bus pass pays for itself rather quickly especially if you are doing a daily or routine commute. Pay as you go is only worth it if you are riding the bus on occasion without any sort of normalcy.
     
  4. daimashin

    daimashinActive Member

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    If you're a person that needs to commute on buses a lot then getting a pass is definitely the sound decision. Passes are meant to be cheaper for regulars because it want to encourage people to get one. I've tried pay per ride and after a month, I calculated that the cost is quite high. Only use pay as you go when you're only riding occasionally.
     
  5. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Quite right. For someone who goes into town maybe once in two or so months, a pass would cost damn too much and I wouldn't be using my money at all. That's why I prefer paying in cash for that occasional 'pop' into town. Regular commuters however . . .
     
  6. canoe

    canoeMember

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    I used to just pay as you go but I soon learned that there's a couple benefits to buying bus passes. For instance, if you bus pass covers couple different transit systems, you can transfer between the different systems. However, if you're paying as you go, your transfer ticket for the first transit system won't be accepted at the second transit system so you have to pay double fare. Something like this can save your expenses by half so it's better to go with bus passes.
     
  7. Lostvalleyguy

    LostvalleyguyActive Member

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    Currently, I pay cash for the bus. I ride it enough that a book of tickets is an option but too infrequently to get a monthly pass. Our transit system is evolving to a swipe card system where one will be billed as they go with a discount built into the card. I will likely take this option as it will be cheaper and more convenient than paying cash and I wont have to make a point to pick up bus tickets in advance. I believe that one can preload our cards and hopefully we will be able to do it over the internet so that I can load up the card without having to make a trip to somewhere to do it.
     
  8. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    Exactly.

    For the occasional bus rider, it might be worthwhile to only use cash and not foot the bill up front. For regulars, though, it's a must! There's no reason to waste the extra money to using cash only.
     
  9. jewel777

    jewel777Active Member

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    It's definitely better to get the bus pass, even though it seem expensive. I've wasted plenty of money using cash, when I had to go somewhere unexpectedly and didn't have the money to pay the fare. I've had to take the bus to the bank to get the cash to ride the bus, which turns out to be quite wasteful. I've even had to get cashback from my debit card to get bus money on occasion.
     
  10. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    I pay as I go. I ride the bus occasionally. A daily bus pass is almost the same price as a gallon of gas. If I took the bus more often, I would definitely spring for a bus pass. My friednd stopped driving his SUV to work when gas nearly hit $5 a gallon. The cost of taking the bus to work and back is only $2. Plus the law firm he works for gives him an 85% reimbursement for public transportation.
     
  11. maxparker0

    maxparker0Member

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    Although I know that taking a bus pass will be significantly cheaper than paying as I go, but getting a bus pass with all the forms, etc here is too much of a hassle for me so I prefer to pay as I go.
     
  12. Hedonologist

    HedonologistActive Member

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    I don't think I've ever bought a long term bus ticket before. I never need to use them with any frequency. I have bought unlimited 24 hour day tickets before, but they are cheaper than even a return ticket, so why not? I drive anyway so my bus trips are very infrequent.
     
  13. nwitt

    nwittActive Member

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    I don't currently use public transportation, but when I did I used to to get to and from work and school during college, so it made sense to buy a monthly bus pass. I would say if you use the bus regularly, it is worth the cost. If you only take the bus on occasion, it may be cheaper to pay as you go.
     
  14. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I get a senior discount if I use the card and no discount without the card and no free transfers from bus to bus. I do see people that are clearly seniors not using the senior cards and I often wonder why. Maybe they think getting the card is too much trouble and saving a few dollars in not worth it.
     
  15. pfaemaster

    pfaemasterMember

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    You are right, a bus pass is significantly cheaper. I bought my pass because I know I have to use the service consistently. So it is beneficial for me. But if you are an occasional traveler, then the pass isn't worth it. I calculated it out. To break even on a bus pass as compared to paying cash up front, you have to make 21 trips in a month. So, any more trips after that, you are basically riding for free. Or you could also look at it as reducing the rate the per trip. I make around 50 trips in a month, so I am saving quite a lot of money by travelling on the bus. Alternatively, my friend bought a pass, but rarely went by bus. So he was basically wasting his money. In my route, the bus is never full, so the the pass is cheap, to promote regular travelers. And, the state is not losing any money by me travelling on it or not, since the bus has to make the trip anyways.

    So, for a regular commuter, definitely get the bus pass.
     
  16. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I only travel by bus around 10 times per month to shop for groceries so a pass would be a solid waste of money. Still, I made a pay card that cuts the cost of the tickets to around 2/3 of the original price. So basically I save even more money by paying as I go.
     
  17. missbishi

    missbishiWell-Known Member

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    When I travelled to work by bus, a travel card worked out a great deal cheaper. The longer the period of time the card covered, the less it cost per journey. Passes are a great option for those using public transport regularly.
     
  18. GemmaRowlands

    GemmaRowlandsActive Member

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    If it were me, I would work out how many journeys I would be likely to go on in the time I would have the pass, and work out how much I would have to pay if I paid each time. Also see which is cheaper out of weekly, monthly and season tickets (depending on how your own bus company delivers its services). I had a pass when I was a student and it made it very cheap indeed, which was just fantastic for me really. And of course it was much easier, as it meant that I didn't have to worry about having the right money when I got on the bus every day either!
     
  19. Feneth

    FenethActive Member

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    I don't buy the monthly bus pass because I only use the bus twice a week but my city has a daily pass for unlimited riding on a specific day and I do buy those instead of paying the cash fare. I think it's more convenient to have the pass. On the days I use the bus, if I was paying cash fares for every bus I got on, I would pay more than double what I pay for the unlimited pass.
     
  20. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    Usually pay as you go, as I rarely use the bus. When I used to take the bus to commute to work everyday my company did give me a monthly pass, but now working somewhere else and having my own car I don't need the pass.