Help and support
Please look at our frequently asked questions below; the useful information here will help to answer most queries.
If you can't find what you need here, you can contact us by phone:
Please note: Call waiting times are longest during peak times: 08:00 - 10:30 and 16:30 - 19:00. For a shorter waiting time please call between 11:00 - 16:00.
Alternatively you can use our get in touch section below for more contact options; we are happy to help. We'd also love to hear from if you have any suggestions, or if you have any praise for our staff.
Journey Planning
Select a region below and then the ticket type you need. If you’d like any more help with a specific journey, please feel free to get in touch.
Our Journey Planner helps you plan your journey door-to-door using First buses and a selection of other transport options, including any connecting services. To make travelling even easier, you can also plan your journey and buy tickets using our First Bus App.
If you haven’t got the latest version download it here:
We want it to be easy for you to plan a bus journey, and if you would like some guidance on how to catch a bus we have put together a guide for you here:
https://www.firstgroup.com/help-and-support/how-catch-bus
Within the guide we explain how to:
Up to two children under five years of age may travel free-of-charge provided that they do not occupy a seat required by an adult passenger and are accompanied by a responsible fare-paying customer. Additional children, or children under five occupying a seat required by an adult, may be charged as if they were aged five or over. Children 16 and above will need to pay a fare; in some cases this will be the adult fare, but in some areas we are able to offer reduced fares for young people. Please select the ticket section of your area for more details.
Where a child may appear older than 15 (the maximum age for a child fare), the driver may ask them to verify their age. We would always seek to avoid any embarrassment, so in such cases it may be helpful for the young person to carry additional photo identification.
mTickets: One of the best ways to buy tickets is to use mTickets on the First Bus App, it’s quick, easy and cash free. Download the app and follow the instructions, it’s that simple.
We encourage customers to switch from cash to mobile payments, following our research which showed that boarding time and average journey times would improve if even just half of customers used mobile ticketing.
Online: You can also buy your tickets here on this website. Select your local area from the drop down menu below to get started.
On-board: You can still buy tickets on the bus, and you can use contactless payments on our buses to make this easier.
To find out more about a specific journey, please select your region below:
Aberdeen customers: From 28th July, we're launching Tap & Cap in Aberdeen - capped contactless payments, however many journeys you make. With Tap & Cap you'll never pay more than our Day or Week fare. Find out more →
Yes, our First Bus App has a ticket gifting function, allowing you to purchase a bus ticket and transfer it directly to your child’s phone.
The First Bus App, is quick, easy to use and cash free. Download the app and follow the instructions, it’s that simple.
For more information please visit our ticket gifting page.
On our website Next Bus section and our First Bus App, you can see how far away your bus is in real-time*. The Next Bus information will show you exactly how many minutes away your bus is too.
* Available on many of our routes.
In some areas the local council has installed displays at Bus stops, some will show scheduled timetable information and real time information.
We also provide service disruption updates via Twitter and on our Service Updates pages on the regional sections of this website (please use the drop down menu below to go to one of our regional sections) and on the First Bus App. So if you use Twitter, follow your local First Twitter page to stay informed.
Yes, our day tickets, week tickets, month tickets and longer term tickets provide savings compared to multiple single cash fares.
One of the best ways to buy these tickets is to use mTickets on the First Bus App, it’s quick, easy and cash free. Download the app and follow the instructions, it’s that simple.
For a full range of our ticket options, please select your region below:
You can purchase tickets in advance via mTickets on the First Bus App and on this website, but at the present-time we do not provide the option to reserve a seat. We review demand regularly and our timetables take this into account. Where you are travelling to the airport with us, we recommend that you allow plenty of time for your journey.
Our Airport services have additional space for luggage, please ask the driver for help to load and unload your bags if you require assistance.
We have put procedures in place to make our buses accessible.
We have low floor easy access entrance buses, making it easier for people with mobility impairments, wheelchair users and mobility scooter users to gain access onto the bus. For more information, visit our Bus Accessibility Page.
If you use a mobility scooter, we will need to approve your scooter (because mobility scooters vary in size) and be happy to issue you with a permit for travel before you will be allowed to bring it on board our buses, so please follow the approval steps provided on our Bus Accessibility Page
Our buses are suitable for bringing a buggy on board, but the areas suitable for buggies are shared with wheelchairs, so on occasion you may be asked to fold your buggy. Please check the buggies section on our bus accessibility page for more information.
If you require more assistance when using our buses, you may find our Safe Journey Cards useful as they show the driver what extra help you may require - you can download your own copy to print.
Download either card using the links below
There are several different messages on each card; choose the one that best suits your particular needs and then cut out or fold the card so that the message you want is visible.
Please see the Help Section for our Apps, where you can read instructions, FAQs and ways to obtain support if needed.
There are ticket options on some routes that are valid with certain other bus operators. We are also part of PLUSBUS which means you can combine bus and train travel. Select your region below to find out more about combining travel, or feel free to ask your driver when getting on the bus.
Lost Property
We make it our priority to ensure that you get your lost property back as quickly as possible.
Hundreds of items are left on our buses every week. Our drivers collect all lost property found on our buses and return it to their depot, but it can take up to 2 working days to register lost property items on our system.
If you have left an item on one of our buses, the best way to recover it is to complete the contact form at the bottom of this page and select "Lost Property". Please include as much detail as possible.
Any lost property found on our vehicles, providing the item is not perishable, will be kept for one month, with the exception of debit and credit cards. In the case of debit and credit cards, the issuing bank will be contacted (where a contact number is provided on the card) when the card is handed in to the local lost property office and our staff will follow any instructions given by the bank. If not claimed within 24 hours of receipt at the local lost property office the card will be securely destroyed.
Glasgow, Essex and Bristol customers:
For Lost Property in Glasgow please see here >
For Lost Property in Essex please see here >
For Lost Property in Bristol please see here >
Photographic identification will be required on collection of the item.
In accordance with the The Public Service Vehicles (Lost property) Regulations 1978, First charges a fee depending on its value - to a maximum of £2 + VAT. This helps towards our costs involved in handling and storing the many lost property items left on our buses.
If you find lost property on one of our buses:
Please hand anything accidentally left on a bus to your driver.
Problem with your journey?
Our network is designed to provide high quality services wherever there is demand for them. Your route or timetable may change because of a change in demand. We are constantly monitoring/reviewing our network to reflect changing travel patterns and demands from our customers and we never change a route or timetable unnecessarily. Similarly, if we do not currently serve a particular location, it is because there is not sufficient demand to sustain a bus service, or it is simply not possible to run a bus there.
We always publish our changes in advance if a bus route is changing.
Most changes are made because of customer feedback or following market research, so your comments on our routes are always appreciated; please use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
We work hard to ensure that our services run as smoothly and efficiently as they can. Some things however are out of our control, and we can’t prepare for unexpected problems such as weather conditions or road accidents. If there are any major issues or planned disruptions, we’ll let you know about them on our website and Twitter.
On our website Next Bus section and our First Bus App, you can see how far away your bus is in real-time*. The Next Bus information will show you exactly how many minutes away your bus is too.
* Available on many of our routes.
We also encourage customers to switch from cash to mobile payments using mTickets on the First Bus App, following our research which showed that boarding time and average journey times would improve if even just half of customers used mobile ticketing.
We're sorry if we missed you or appeared to leave without you. It is possible that the bus you intended to catch was full or that our driver might not have seen you.
Problems with traffic or adverse weather conditions can lead to services being cancelled, meaning the next bus can be overcrowded. We monitor all of our services, and if we notice that one journey is often busy, we will try to provide extra buses.
Your feedback is important to us, so if this is an ongoing problem, please feel free to let us know by contacting us.
We provide extra buses at busy times so you may see buses heading to their starting point (or returning to the depot at the end of shift). If we are experiencing delays, we may send buses empty to the other end of a route to ensure that everyone along the route is still provided with a service. Our buses undergo regular maintenance so you may also spot one of our engineers running a test.
Our drivers always try to carry enough change but unfortunately this can be easily exhausted if several passengers pay for low value fares with bank notes.
We encourage customers to switch from cash to mobile payments using mTickets on the First Bus App, as it makes boarding the bus quicker and easier. It’s perfect for buying your tickets in advance. Our research showed that boarding time and average journey times would improve if even just half of customers used mobile ticketing.
We accept contactless payments across all First bus operating companies. There's no need for cash, one tap of your contactless card, Apple Pay or Google Pay and you’re aboard and ready to go, no need to worry about having the right change.
You can make contactless payments for any ticket payment up to £30, using any contactless card displaying the Visa or Mastercard logo.
Aberdeen customers: From 28th July, we're launching Tap & Cap in Aberdeen - capped contactless payments, however many journeys you make. With Tap & Cap you'll never pay more than our Day or Week fare. Find out more →
Get in touch
Your feedback is important to us, so every issue reported is dealt with as quickly as possible. If you'd like to raise an issue or complain about something you can contact us by phone:
Or if you prefer you can fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page. We will acknowledge your query as quickly as possible and aim to respond within 2 weeks, however due to the high number of enquiries we receive and depending on the complexity of your query and whether we need to contact you for further information this may occasionally take longer.
If after contacting us you are not satisfied with our final response to your query, and in accordance with your rights to Alternative Dispute Resolution under the Consumer Rights Act, you can write to the relevant bus appeals body. The appropriate body will depend on the location of the service your query was in regard to:
(a) England & Wales: Bus Users UK (www.bususers.org)
(b) Scotland: Bus Users Scotland (BUS) (www.bususers.org)
You can contact us by phone:
Or if you prefer you can fill out the contact form below
We really appreciate it when customers take time to say thank you. If you would like to pass on a compliment about one of our team, you can contact us by phone:
0345 646 0707
0700-1900 Mon-Fri
0900-1700 Weekends and bank holidays
If you prefer you can fill in the contact form below and we will pass on the message to both the person concerned and their manager. If it’s about a driver it will help us make sure the message gets to the right person if you are able to tell us the time and route of your journey or have the driver number from your ticket.
Please see the Help Section for our Apps, where you can read instructions, FAQs and ways to obtain support if needed.
Get in Touch
Privacy of personal information:
We will always store your personal details securely. We’ll use them where they are necessary to provide the products and services that you have requested. We will communicate with you in the way(s) that you have agreed to. Your data may also be used for analysis purposes and personalisation, to help us provide the best service possible to you. We may also, on occasion, still need to send you important service messages. You’ll be able to manage your preferences, for example how often you are contacted. Our Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which any personal data you provide to us will be processed.
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