Hello hello hello! It’s Denise again, and this post is one I have been DYING to do for a long time, but haven’t actually had the time to do it because I’ve been so busy with work from the moment I touched down in Singapore. Even so, buses in York are a thing, but most of the time you’ll probably just walk anyways because it’s free and the air is so good you probably don’t want to kill the planet by taking the bus.
Buses you should know
UoY66
UoY66, or just 66, is operated by First Bus Services (that’s the name of the bus company) and is the new (since summer 2015) official University bus provider. That means that money you spend on the bus will go toward student-related activities, including making the bus service better!
The UoY66 runs the same bus route as the Unibus44, meaning that it will take you from the York Railway station, to the City Centre, to Fairfax House, to Hes West (Wentworth/James, then to the Library/Vanbrugh and then Heslington Hall/Derwent), then Hes East (Goodricke/TFTV/Management/Law, then to Ron Cooke Hub/Langwith, and then Constantine), and finally terminating at York Sport Village (see campus map)
The UoY66 is also 24-hours, and will run hourly services between midnight and 7am, so if you’re out partying till stupid o’clock, you don’t have to cab back alone and rip a hole in your wallet.
The UoY56
Again, the 56 is operated by First Bus Services. This bus travels the following route: Heslington Hall/Derwent, Boulevard (a bloody expensive private (not uni-owned) student housing), Student Castle (another bloody expensive private student housing, but further away from campus), Kings Manor (the part of the Uni that you probably won’t end up going to unless you do Archaeology or something; it’s in the City) and then finally to the big Sainsbury’s (think of the GIANT we have in SG)
hb1
hb1 is a bus you should pray and hope you’re never going to take. EVER. hb1 goes to the hospital in York and it leaves the Library bus stop (the one outside Market Square) at stupid o’clock in the morning. Just make sure you don’t end up in the hospital and you’ll never have to bother yourself with this.
I believe hb1 is operated by First as well.
The Unibus44
The Unibus used to be the provider of University transport. However, its contract expired in the Summer of 2015. Even so, the Unibus does still offer transport from the York Rail Station to the City Centre, then to Hes West and finally Hes East before terminating at York Sport Village (see campus map), just like UoY66.
However, 44 is operated by Transdev, and so the bus card that you will probably end up getting in Freshers week cannot be used on this bus. Your seniors will still have this card and they might give you one if they have extras.
So how do I pay for the bus?
Bus card
During Freshers week, you will get MANY goody bags. MY ADVICE IS: DIG THROUGH EVERY SINGLE ONE. There will be discount vouchers and coupons and the very useful bus card. This card may or may not have free trips in there, but it doesn’t matter. Your bus card is like your EZ-link card. In Yourshop, which is the shop run by YUSU you can buy 20 trips for £17 (I think). This is much cheaper than buying trips from the bus driver as you get on the bus. During Freshers Week, I think the bus company will run a special discounted price, something like 20 trips for £13 or even £10. Buy those in bulk, because if you go to town, and you take the bus there and back, that’s 2 trips. A trip is a single time you board the bus.
So when you board the bus, and if you have a bus card, you just put your card on the scanner next to the bus driver, wait for a few seconds because this technology is old as hell, and then you’re all set. Go and grab a seat or something.
Pay up front
There are 2 types of tickets you can buy, either the single or the return.
The Single is probably the most expensive way to travel, and I avoid these like the plague, however, sometimes you just walk into town, buy loads of stuff and now you’re too lazy to walk back. Just get on the bus (UoY66, 56, 44, whatever), say hi to the bus driver, ask for a single ticket and remember to say please and thank you 🙂 This ticket costs £1.50 if you’re taking from town to Uni or vice versa. Pay him in cash. If you don’t have exact, don’t worry, just give him whatever you have and he’ll give you change. Take the receipt, which is actually your bus ticket, and sit down.
A return means you’re paying for the trip there and back. Usually from Uni to town and back costs £2. Go on the bus, ask the driver for a return to _____ (wherever you’re going), pay him, get back change if needed and then KEEP THE FREAKING RECEIPT. That receipt is your bus ticket and if you don’t produce that ticket on your return journey then you’ll have to pay for a new ticket! Also, the return is only valid for the bus that you bought the ticket from. If you bought a return from the UoY66, you can’t get on the Unibus44 expecting to get a ride back. You can only use the return on the UoY66 because you bought the return from the UoY66.
Alternatively, you can buy tripper tickets, which are 10 trips that you just buy directly from the bus driver. These will get stamped each time you board the bus, and once you get all 10 stamps then you need to buy a new one. Many of your seniors will do this because they live off campus and campus buses may not necessarily go to where they stay.
Do’s and Don’ts when riding buses.
Be polite. Say please and thank you when talking to the driver.
Thank the driver when you get off the bus. A simple ‘Cheers’ is good enough.
Don’t hog seats. Take one seat for one butt. Your bag is not a butt.
Be honest. Trips from Hes East to Hes West, and possibly to Fairfax House (and vice versa) are free. Don’t get on at Hes East, pretending to go the Hes West when you’re in fact going to town. The bus driver notices and will call you out.
Get up when the bus stops moving. The roads in York are quite old and bumpy and it’s for your own safety that you wait till the bus has stopped before getting up. The bus driver will stop, wait, and tell those wanting to get on to wait for you to get off first, so don’t worry, this isn’t Singapore.
That’s it, really! As of now, I’m not sure if Transdev will continue to provide the SB1 bus service to Morrisons, but if they do I’ll be sure to put that on here. If I haven’t answered any of your questions, feel free to email us! Till next time 😀 ~:Denise
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