How Can We Help?

You can purchase tickets in advance via mTickets on the First Bus App and on the website, but at the present-time we do not provide the option to reserve a seat.

mTickets

If your ticket has not been activated, please contact us and we can cancel and refund the ticket for you.

Although activated tickets are non-refundable, we understand there may be times where you have purchased the incorrect ticket, or you can no longer use it. Please contact us below with the details of your request to see where we can help you.

Contact form

Paper ticket

If you have purchased the incorrect ticket, or have been issued the wrong ticket by the driver, please let them know as soon as possible and they may be able to cancel the transaction. Alternatively, please contact us with the details of your request to see where we can help you.

Contact form

When purchasing tickets on the First Bus app, receipts are sent to the email linked with the account at the time of purchase. If you're going to need your receipt, we would recommend double checking your account details are correct before making a ticket purchase and ensure to check your spam folder once the purchase is made.

Please be aware that as bus travel in UK is zero-rated for value added tax, we are not able to provide VAT receipts.

Please note that this purchase receipt is not valid for travel, and you will need to show the driver your active mTicket displayed on the app.

The First Bus App has a ticket gifting function, allowing you to purchase a bus ticket and transfer it directly to your child's phone.

To gift a ticket, follow the steps below:

1. Once you have purchased a giftable ticket, tap 'Gift'in the top right hand corner of the 'Inactive' tab.
2. Select the ticket(s) you want to gift
3. Tap the 'Share gift' button.
3. Choose how you want to gift the ticket(s).
4. Recipient will receive a notification to accept the ticket(s).

The First Bus App must be installed on the phones of both parties and each must have an mTickets account.Tickets that can be gifted show the share icon Ticket gifting icon 3 circles joined by 2 lines. (Please note, Adult tickets are unable to be gifted

Please note, non-giftable tickets cannot be shared or sent to other people.

In most cases, tickets purchased on our buses can only be used on First Bus services. However, there may be multi-operator tickets available in your region - either ask your driver when boarding the bus, or check the ticket description before purchasing to see if the ticket is multi-operator.

You need an internet/data connection to purchase an mTicket. A weak phone signal when you board your bus should not be a problem. However, the First Bus App does need to communicate with our system on a regular basis to keep itself up to date when you're out and about, so long periods without connection may cause an issue.

Please note the app is not designed to work with Wi-Fi only devices such as tablets and iPads.

There are multiple ways to buy tickets with us:

First Bus App
One of the best ways to buy tickets is to use mTickets on the First Bus App, it's quick, easy and cash free.

On the bus
Purchase tickets from the driver using cash or your contactless card/device.

Tap On Tap Off
Tap On Tap Off uses contactless payments to cap our adult bus fares so you'll never pay more than the day ticket price for each day that you travel with us, no matter how many journeys you make.

First Bus website
Some tickets are available on the First Bus website, such as First Unlimited subscription tickets and Commuter Travel Club tickets. You can find more information on our website.

Ticket prices can be found in the 'Tickets' section of the First Bus app, as well as the 'Ticket Prices' section of your local First Bus website.

You can pay for mTickets using all the below methods:

By card (Mastercard or Visa Credit or Visa Debit cards)
Apple Pay (on iPhones)
Pay by Google Pay (on Android phones)

Sorry, we don't accept Maestro or Electron cards.

Concessionary passes are operated by your local authority. In most areas you are not permitted to use your pass before 09:30, but you can check this along with any Terms and Conditions with your Local authority. If you have lost your concessionary pass or would like to apply for one you need to be 60 or over and can contact your pass issuer.

You can gift any Child or Young Person ticket that displays the gifting icon. Please make sure that both yourself and the recipient have separate accounts on different devices, otherwise the ticket may not gift correctly. Additionally, once you have confirmed that you wish to gift the ticket, we do advise to complete the gifting process without closing the app or going back a step to ensure the ticket is gifted successfully.

To gift a ticket, follow the steps below:

1. Once you have purchased a giftable ticket, tap 'Gift'in the top right hand corver of the 'Inactive' tab.
2. Select the ticket(s) you want to gift
3. Tap the 'Share gift' button.
3. Choose how you want to gift the ticket(s).
4. Recipient will receive a notification to accept the ticket(s).

The First Bus App must be installed on the phones of both parties and each must have an mTickets account.Tickets that can be gifted show the share icon Ticket gifting icon 3 circles joined by 2 lines.

Once a ticket is purchased and downloaded, it will appear in the 'Inactive' tab of the 'Tickets' section. Tickets in this section are listed from the oldest at the top to the newest at the bottom.

When you want to use a ticket, select the one you want and then select 'Activate'.

You'll then be informed of how long the ticket will be active for, before confirming that you want to activate this ticket. We would advise reading this carefully to avoid activating unwanted tickets.

Once activated, the app will generate a moving ticket image on your phone's screen and a QR code. This will stay active for the remainder of the ticket's validity and will include the time and a four letter 'word of the day'.

You'll need to scan the QR when you board the bus.

Unless stated otherwise on the ticket description, mTickets can be activated anytime within 12 months of purchase. The countdown on the ticket states how long the ticket can be used for if activated at that moment.

Yes, our day tickets, week tickets, month tickets and longer term tickets on the First Bus App provide savings compared to multiple single cash fares.

Alternatively, Tap On Tap Off uses contactless payments to cap our adult bus fares so you'll never pay more than the day ticket price for each day that you travel with us, no matter how many journeys you make.

Yes! You can activate multiple tickets at the same time, on the same device. Group tickets are also available in some areas that are valid for up to 5 people.

If you're struggling to complete the security challenge that pops-up when you are making a payment, you need to contact your bank or card issuer to request assistance. The security challenge can take a number of forms, and First Bus present these directly from your bank or card issuer. It could be an SMS message is being sent to the wrong mobile number, or your bank is expecting you to use their mobile app to approve the transaction.

Only your card issuer can resolve this. If you can't complete the purchase, you could try a different card, or buy your ticket on the bus using your card.

Some higher value transactions (typically over £100) can trigger a further fraud check from your card issuer. This may take the form of an SMS message asking you to reply 'Y' or 'N' to indicate whether it was you making the payment. Transactions with us will be declined until this is completed. Please complete this extra step and retry the purchase. Your card should be approved for use on the First Bus app and you should not see this happen again.

The security pop-up when checking out is called the 3D Secure challenge. 3D Secure is a banking initiative to make paying by card more secure and reduce on-line fraud by asking you to prove you are the cardholder. It is mandatory for all mobile and web payments from 14th March 2022. Your bank or card issuer decides whether to request that First Bus request the step.

Not every transaction will be challenged - you are likely to see it the first time you use a card with us, if transactions are more than £25, and if you have made other recent purchased with the card.

If you can't complete the challenge, you should contact your bank to check the details they hold for you and request assistance.

The validity of mTickets is similar to paper tickets. This means a day ticket is not valid for 24 hours, but rather the remainder of the day on which it is activated.

For example, typical validities are as follows:

(Example tickets, different tickets are available in different areas)

FirstDay, the remainder of the day the ticket is activated
FirstWeek, the remainder of the day the ticket is activated plus a further 6 days
First4Week, the remainder of the day the ticket is activated plus a further 27 days

We also include a period of grace past midnight, so if our services end at 2am locally, the period 00:00 to 02:00 forms part of the previous day and the hours & minutes countdown shown on the mTickets screen reflects this.

Trip tickets are different as they are valid for the number of trips specified.

We do not issue paper copies of mTickets. You will receive an email receipt when you make your purchase, but this will not be valid for travel.

With mTickets, it is the responsibility of the customer to ensure a working mobile phone is available to show the driver the ticket screen. If you're still having problems, please let us know and we'll do our best to help.

Contact form

If your QR code is not being recognised by the scanner, pleae follow the steps below to troubleshoot:

Make sure you are using the correct ticket for the bus services and zones for your journey.
Make sure your phone's app and operating system are updated to the latest versions.
Turn up the screen brightness if possible.
If possible, remove any screen protectors from your device.
Through the settings on your phone, ensure the time on your phone is set to automatic.

If the problem persists, please contact our support team with your journey details: bus stop, service number and ticket purchased - so this can be further investigated.

Contact form

The validity of single tickets varies across each First Bus region. For the most part, single tickets will remain valid for 15 minutes once activated. The app will remind you of this before activating the ticket, to avoid any mis activation.

We advise customers to only activate a ticket when ready to use it.

If the ticket expires after already being scanned, but while you are still on the bus, this is not a problem. The ticket is valid for the entirety of that single trip, and you do not need to purchase another ticket while on the bus.

We understand that tickets can get lost or damaged. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide replacements if this does happen. However, if you have an Annual or long-term Student ticket, please contact us to see where we can help you.

Contact form

We know how frustrating this can be. If you need to change device, log in with your account on the new device and the new device will be registered against your account. Your tickets will then be available to use on your new device.

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide paper ticket versions of your mTicket.

If you're having issues using your ticket on your new device, contact us below to see where we can help you.

Contact form

To see what tickets are available in your area on the First Bus app, open the app and tap the 'Tickets' tab, select 'Buy Tickets' and choose the ticket that best suits your needs. You can change your region by tapping 'Change' next to your selected region. The ticket description will state where the ticket can be used and how long it is valid for.

You can also visit our website for a full range of tickets and prices in your region.

Missing tickets are generally caused by your First Bus App account becoming logged out, or a prolonged loss of internet connection. To restore your tickets, please make sure you have a good network connection and refresh. All tickets in your account should reappear after a few seconds.