We've put together some of the most commonly asked questions about our bus services during the Coronavirus outbreak with answers below.
Help us to get everyone moving safely by following the travel tips we've put together for everyone's comfort and safety. You'll find more about those here.
Many of our services are operating to normal timetables - copies of these can be found on our dedicated Coronavirus webpage. In a small number of cases some services might have fewer buses or an altered route, and some of the most minor services may be suspended.
As demand for services changes, we will need to make changes from time to time. You will be able to find out about these in advance on our dedicated Coronavirus webpage. We will also use Twitter to announce any changes, with dedicated channels for each area in which we operate: Network Norwich services - @FirstNorwich; Norfolk & North Suffolk Coast, including services to & from Norwich - @FirstYar_Low; Excel services between Norwich – Kings Lynn – Peterborough - @First_excel; Ipswich Reds - @FirstIpswich
The current government advice is to Stay at Home and only travel when essential. There are no restrictions on who may use our buses for essential journeys and everyone is welcome as long as they wear a face covering (unless they have an exemption), follow all current government restrictions, and they are not feeling unwell. Anyone who is suffering from coronavirus symptoms including a persistent cough or high temperature, should not travel, and should follow public health guidelines. With operators and customers working together we will provide a bus network, for those who need it, that is safe and allows everyone to complete their essential journeys.
We’ve set up an online feedback form for you to provide us with feedback on our changed timetables because you’re concerned they don’t meet your needs, or you have comments about our buses as a result of revised services and we promise that we will read and consider all feedback. You can find the form here.
At the moment, with fewer people travelling, our buses are making better progress along their routes than they sometimes can. Whilst this means they will sometimes sit at our main timing points until it is time to depart (these points can be seen on our timetables), at all other stops not listed in the timetables (or those that are shown with a dot next to their name) the times are only estimated and are offered as a guide. Therefore we would recommend that you arrive at least 5 minutes before the expected departure time of your bus.
Our bus timetables include both estimated and fixed timing points along the route. Whilst estimated times are included as a guide to when the bus is expected to pass the stop, buses must depart from all fixed timing points at the time shown and this means that they will sometimes have to wait a couple of minutes before they can move on from these points. Our drivers always follow the GPS-linked clock on our ticket machines to know when to depart, but the time on this may be different to the time on your watch.
As far as possible, we have tried to plan our timetables so that there are options for those starting and ending shifts at common times throughout the day e.g. for shifts that start on the hour we would aim to have an arrival between 5 and 20 minutes prior to that time. Whilst we realise that this will not suit everyone who needs to use the bus for work, as you can imagine, planning bus timetables that are both operationally achievable and as widely useful as possible is extremely complex and we are sorry if our timings don’t suit your individual circumstances. If you’d like to give us feedback on our temporary timetables you can find our online form here.
At the moment, we would encourage all passengers to use either contactless payment or mTickets on the First Bus App to buy their ticket in order to reduce any cash handling by our drivers. If cash is your only payment option then we would ask you to use the exact fare whenever possible. Contactless payment (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) can be used for any ticket up to the value of £30, with no minimum spend. All tickets from a day upwards are available at a reduced price as an mTicket on the First Bus App. You can find out more information about mTickets here.
On our buses we are operating at a reduced capacity with around half of the seats being available, although members of the same household are able to travel together. It is therefore possible that that you might see ‘Bus Full’ signs as some services reach their revised capacity more quickly.
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. With the latest version of the First Bus App you can now track your bus live on a map and it also displays how many seats are available on each bus, and whether or not the wheelchair bay is free.
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
Seat signs will show where you shouldn't sit:
Capacity signs by the entrance of our buses. This will show the maximum passenger capacity for each bus:
What should passengers do to socially distance, at stops and on board the bus?
Plan your travel in advance, avoiding peak periods
Please observe social distancing on-bus and at bus stops
Wear a face covering when on board
Sit in a marked seat, leaving an empty seat next to you - household groups are allowed to sit together.
On our double deckers, consider sitting upstairs (if you are able)
Pay with contactless or purchasing your ticket in advance on our Mobile App
Use the correct change if you must pay by cash
No eating or drinking while on board
Leave windows open to aid ventilation
No, customers should use their own sanitiser and face covering.
Our buses are busiest between 0630 and 0830, and then again from around 1500 to 1800 on weekdays. At weekends, passenger's journeys tend to be more spread out across the day. With the latest version of the First Bus App you can now track your bus live on a map and it also displays how many seats are available on each bus.
We also advise that you try to travel before the last service of the day, to avoid the risk of the last service bus being full. We will not be able to run extra buses after the last service bus.
We advise that you try to travel before the last service of the day, to avoid the risk of the last service bus being full. We will not be able to run extra buses after the last service bus, and you may have to arrange alternative transport.
Our buses are comprehensively cleaned every night by our expert team of cleaners, including regular disinfection of all grab rails and poles, entrance door handles, window ledges and other touchpoints. We are now also using a sanitising treatment (Zoono Z71) on all buses and depots. It is environmentally-friendly, uses no alcohol or dangerous chemicals, and is proven to be a highly effective antimicrobial surface sanitiser. You can find out more about what we're doing to make travel safer for everyone here.
At present it is a legal requirement for passengers to wear face coverings while travelling on public transport in England.
Please remember to bring a face covering or mask for your journey, it needs to fit well and cover your mouth and nose.
Put your face covering on before boarding the bus.
If you have an exemption and you are unable to wear a face covering please be prepared to inform the driver or show an Extra help to travel card (Journey assistance card). Please see here for more details ⇒
Please take your face covering with you at the end of your journey.
Who is exempt from wearing a face covering?
Exemptions for the use of face coverings will apply to those with certain health conditions, disabled people and children under the age of 11.
The normal rules regarding concessionary bus passes apply. These are available for use from 0930 on weekdays and all day at weekends with reduced single fares being available to pass holders from 0830 on weekdays.
To avoid buses becoming full and being unable to accommodate key workers and those making essential journeys at fixed times, we would ask concessionary pass holders to avoid using the first buses immediately after 0930, and to spread their travel accross the day as far as possible. This will help to allow us to accomodate all those who wish to use our services at this time when buses are operating at reduced capacities.
We do not currently have any arrangements in place for ticket sharing on other services.
We are working hard to update all of our information sources as quickly as possible when we make a change to our temporary timetables . This means that information in digital form should be up to date almost immediately after any change, with maybe a minor delay to some information being correct where we have had to make a change to a timetable at very short notice. The PDF timetables on our dedicated Coronavirus webpage will always be kept up to date so these are normally the best way to ensure you have the most accurate information on the times of our buses.
Yes. The Government, bus operators and user groups 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. You can find out more about what we're doing to make travel safer for everyone here.
We are sorry but due to the social distancing policy to limit the spread of Covid 19, we cannot accommodate more than one buggy on any bus, and cannot accept a buggy if we have a passenger in a wheelchair on board.
As usual, each bus is able to accept one passenger in a wheelchair for travel. Our drivers will operate the ramp so that they can board safely, and they have been provided with a mask to wear for times when they have to leave the cab.
We offer our full support to wheelchair users who want to travel with us. While many of our seats are blocked with signs or tape, our wheelchair spaces remain available. All our buses have a dedicated area for wheelchair users; other passengers are required to give up the space for wheelchair users. Please ask the driver for assistance if you require any help. If the driver needs to leave their cab to provide passenger assistance they will wear a face covering.
Wheelchair users have priority over everyone else for the use of the designated wheelchair space, since this is the only place in which they can travel safely.
If the ramp is required please keep a 2 metre distance whilst the driver puts the ramp in place.
The driver will keep the time they are within 2 metres of you to an absolute minimum.
Our Norwich & Ipswich Travel Centres are currently closed due to the national lockdown.
For customer service enquiries you can call us on 0345 646 0707. Our lines are open from 9am to 5pm Mon-Fri. Our quieter times are usually between 11am and 3pm so you may prefer to call then as there will be less of a wait to speak to one of our Customer Support Agents.
If you prefer, you can fill out the contact form here instead ⇒ We will get back to you as soon as we can but please be aware that for lost property enquiries our response time is usually within 3 working days for all other enquiries this could take up to 14 days.
We’re following Govt guidance to increase ventilation in enclosed spaces; unfortunately this applies come rain or shine. Fresh air flow helps keep bus travel safe during the pandemic and we’re grateful to everyone for supporting measures we’re taking to look after each other.
