Coronavirus - COVID19: Service information

At First Bus, your safety is our top priority. In the wake of the evolving impacts of coronavirus, we are working with the Government and wider industry to ensure we are following the latest advice to keep you safe on our buses.

We recognise the importance buses play in our customers' lives, not least in making sure that those who need to make essential journeys, like health service and emergency workers, can continue to do so.

Are you a key worker? Please tell us if you are concerned that our service changes don't meet your needs.

Timetable information

Joint Ticket Acceptance

First Glasgow have partnered with McGill's to provide improved travel options for key workers. We will operate joint ticket acceptance on selected First Glasgow and McGill's. This is available on the following services:

Both operators will accept each other's tickets on these services only. Please note this includes paper, mTicket and Paypoint tickets, but unfortunately First Glasgow is unable to accept McGill's Smartcards.

Keeping our customers safe

First Bus has responded to Government advice to maintaining social distancing on public transport and with immediate effect you’ll start to notice additional steps being taken to protect you all. On our buses we will be operating at a reduced capacity with around 1 in 4 seats being available. It is therefore likely that that you will begin to see ‘Bus Full’ signs as some services reach their revised capacity more quickly.

Click here to visit our FAQ Section regarding these measures.

If you are waiting at a bus stop and the bus drives past, it is likely it has reached its reduced seating capacity. If the bus does stop, but is near capacity, the driver will only allow one person to board for every person that gets off, so you may need to allow extra time for your journey and be prepared to wait.

In addition, you will also see further measures in place to help you to adhere to social distancing guidelines. These include:

New capacity signs by the entrance of each bus
Seat signs and tape to clearly show where you should/shouldn’t sit to maintain a safe distance
Reminders to be considerate of other passengers
No longer allowing standing

What else could you do to stay safe? Ways you can help include:

Only travelling by bus if your journey is essential
Planning your travel in advance, avoiding peak periods
Wearing a face covering when on board
Sitting in a window seat, leaving an empty row of seats in front and behind
On our double deckers, consider sitting upstairs (if you are able)
Paying with contactless or purchasing your ticket in advance on our Mobile App
Using the correct change if you must pay by cash
No longer eating or drinking whilst on board
Leaving windows open to aid ventilation

To help keep you safe we're also taking the following action:

Thorough cleaning including regular disinfection of all grab rails and poles, entrance door handles, window ledges and other touchpoints
Encouraging good hand hygiene amongst all our staff
Embedded social distancing, and provided personal protective equipment such as gloves and hand sanitiser to all our drivers

Customer Services

You can contact our customer services team between 7am and 7pm, 7 days a week.

Please be advised that our operators may be busy due to increased volume of enquiries but will do their best to assist you.

For our general information please see our main Coronavirus information page »

Methods of Payment

Remember all fares can be paid for via contactless (no minimum spend) or purchase tickets via our mobile app where possible, download the app here.

Please note that during this time we do still accept cash payment.

Ticket Refund Queries

At present, our services are still operating and tickets purchased are in line with our Conditions of Travel. However, the latest guidance on ticket status can be viewed on our help and information page here. (FAQ section)

First Bus app users - email mticket-support@firstgroup.com (7am – 10pm, seven days a week)

Lost Property

If you have lost something on board one of our buses, please contact our team on 0345 646 0707.

Our drivers collect all lost property found on our buses and return it to their depot, but it can take up to 3 working days to register lost property items on our system.

Due to government advice regarding non essential travel, collection of items is strictly by appointment only and walk ins will not be accepted or permitted. We ask that you reserve this time for collection of essential items only, such as lost medication or wallet. This is due to our team operating only on a skeleton staff basis.

Motherwell Travel Shop

Please be advised that the above lost property process applies to our Motherwell Travel Shop which, following government advise, will no longer be open to customers.

Customers who wish to purchase a ticket can do so via the First Bus mobile app, which can be downloaded in your app or google play store.