Coronavirus 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 that buses play a significant role in many of our customers’ lives; in connecting you with communities and places of work. We remain focused on continuing to serve you, wherever and whenever it is safe and operationally possible for us to do so.

Service Updates

As we have been seeing a big reduction in demand for our services, in most of our operating areas we moved to a reduced timetable from Monday 23rd March, whilst still doing all we can to support those who need to travel in peak periods.

Following the latest Government instruction to stay at home unless absolutely necessary, we are seeing a further fall in demand for services so we'll be making further service changes from Sunday 29th March. We are doing our best to balance the needs of our customers who are key workers and so still need to travel, with that of supporting our teams to follow the Government instruction and to keep them safe.

We are working hard to reflect the latest service information across all our digital channels but given the fast changing environment, the service information in the First Bus app for example, may not reflect updated timetables immediately so please click the link below for the most up to date service information.

Keeping our customers safe

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

Stepping up our cleaning regimes 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
Displaying NHS advice on our buses wherever it is practical to do so.

We’d also value your help in staying up-to-date with the latest coronavirus information by using the NHS or Department of Health and Social Care websites.

Wash your hands with soap and water frequently for at least 20 seconds.
Use hand sanitiser whenever soap and water are unavailable.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and then place the tissue into the bin straight away.
We encourage all customers to switch to contactless payments and purchasing tickets via our Mobile app where possible. We appreciate your assistance in helping to limit the spread of coronavirus.
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FAQs

Please find information and FAQs below on what we are doing to provide a safe operating environment for customers and employees:

Q. Is it safe to travel on a bus? Yes. Although the Government has advised against any non-essential travel, they have made it clear that neither members of the public nor transport staff are at greater risk of infection from coronavirus when using rail or bus services than in other public spaces.
Q. What are you doing to protect your customers and staff? As a responsible employer, First Bus is committed to preventing the spread of the virus. We have robust protocols and resources in place to reduce the spread of illness across our business and services. In line with UK Government advice, we are continuing with the systematic cleaning of our vehicles and facilities, and encouraging staff and customers to wash their hands regularly.
Q. Are your services affected by Coronavirus? Following Government advice to reduce non-essential travel, we are seeing a big reduction in demand for our services and are moving to a reduced timetable in most areas from Monday 23rd March, whilst still doing all we can to support those who need to travel in peak periods.
The coronavirus situation is fast moving but you will always find the most up to date information on these pages of our website.

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Q. Are you still accepting cash on your buses? Yes we are, as we want to be as flexible as we can for customers who need to travel and there is no government advice currently to stop accepting cash. However, we would encourage all of our customers to buy tickets using the First Bus App or to pay by contactless card on board.
Q. What happens if my travel plans change or I am unable to travel due to this infection? Our general Terms and Conditions still apply but we will look at each customer’s situation. The best way to contact us to talk about your ticket or change to travel plans is set out below – rest assured we’ll look into your enquiry and come back to you as soon as we can.
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For mobile tickets (mTickets) bought in our app, please email our mTicket support team mticket-support@firstgroup.com. Please include the mobile number and email address associated with your mTicket account . Alternatively, please call us on 0330 094 7577.

For subscription tickets, please email first.etickets@firstgroup.com and include the email address and telephone number associated with your subscription.

For tickets you’ve bought on our website to print at home (eTickets, e.g. airport services), please call:
0345 646 0707 and select option 2 then option 2.

For all paper tickets, please call 0345 646 0707 and select option 2 then option 3 or email us at: SSC-TicketEnquiries@firstgroup.com
Q. Are you making hand gel available to your drivers? Where drivers handle cash we are in the process of making hand sanitizer products available to them. We encourage our customers to follow Government advice on hand hygiene and are promoting this across our buses.
Q. Can I use a bus if I am feeling unwell? The Government advises that people shouldn’t travel if they are suffering from coronavirus symptoms including a persistent cough or high temperature but instead should stay at home for 7 days if they live alone or 14 days if they live with others.