Season ticket

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

Are season tickets used for buses, trains, regular sporting events, or theatre performances only?

 

[GoesStation]

Only sports and performing arts normally have season tickets.

 

[Rover_KE]

Hello.

Are season tickets used for buses, trains, regular sporting events, or theatre performances only?

In British English we have season tickets for all the above.

 

[Yankee]

Only sports and performing arts normally have season tickets.

And in the U.S. bus and train services typically offer "passes" for certain periods, e.g. weekly, monthly.

 

[jutfrank]

And in the U.S. bus and train services typically offer "passes" for certain periods, e.g. weekly, monthly.

This is true in the UK only for buses.

For bus travel, you can have a bus pass but not a season ticket.
For train travel, you can have a season ticket but not a train pass.

 

[bubbha]

The term is also used for expositions and similar events.

I had a season ticket for the 2010 Flora Expo in Taipei.

 

[emsr2d2]

I believe my local bus company refer to their 12-month ticket as an "annual season ticket".

 

[Rachel Adams]

This is true in the UK only for buses.

For bus travel, you can have a bus pass but not a season ticket.
For train travel, you can have a season ticket but not a train pass.

So for bus travel, you can have a bus pass. For train travel, you can have a season ticket. What about sports and performing arts? Do you use season tickets in British English for train travel only?

 

[emsr2d2]

I believe that jutfrank was referring only to the use of "season ticket" for transport. He was pointing out the difference between the terminology for train tickets and for bus tickets. I, however, live in an area where an annual bus pass is referred to as a season ticket. From that, all you can extrapolate is that there is no consensus on this across the UK. jutfrank made no mention of sport or the performing arts.

 

[Rachel Adams]

jutfrank made no mention of sport or the performing arts.

That's why I was wondering if you use it or not.

 

[emsr2d2]

Read post #3 again.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Read post #3 again.

Oh, I missed it :shock:. Thanks!

 

[Rover_KE]

Whatever terminology is used by individual issuers of such documents, season ticket is a handy catch-all term commonly used by people who buy and use them.

[click]

 

[GoesStation]

Whatever terminology is used by individual issuers of such documents, season ticket is a handy catch-all term commonly used by people who buy and use them.

As we don't use the term with respect to transit, it could cause confusion in an American context.

 

[SoothingDave]

I find the idea of a season ticket to the bus quite amusing. How long is the bus season?

 

[GoesStation]

I find the idea of a season ticket to the bus quite amusing. How long is the bus season?

This is why season ticket really doesn't work for transit passes in American English. To us, the term refers strictly to activities that have regular seasons — fairs, sports, performances, etc.

 

[Rover_KE]

I only mentioned it in post #14 because the American dictionary linked to there, as well as Merriam-Webster and Macmillan also allow for its use in transportation contexts.

 

[Yankee]

I believe my local bus company refer to their 12-month ticket as an "annual season ticket".

Please understand that I don't suggest the British transportation system revise their terminology, but "annual" and "season" used together to describe the 12-month ticket seems contradictory. :shock:

 

[emsr2d2]

I think it's used because we can simply use "season ticket" to mean any pre-paid ticket that grants you unlimited access to the service for whatever time period is specified. In the case of buses in my region, that simply means you can use all the buses for a year without having to pay per journey. The "season" here is "one year from the date of issue/purchase/activation".

 

[abaka]

If you're in North America (Canada follows the USA on this) please don't try to purchase season tickets for trains or buses. Monthly passes, seasonal passes, perhaps annual passes; day passes, definitely; but season tickets belong at events where you sit down and watch something.