Coronavirus - COVID19: Service information

The majority of our services are running and we have made changes to our services to better support key workers, and to help manage reduced capacity due to the social distancing measures we have in place following Government guidance. You can view the latest timetables further up the page.

Support for disabled passengers remains the same as before coronavirus, see here for more details ⇒

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.

On our buses we are operating at a reduced capacity with around 1 in 4 seats being available. It is therefore likely 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.

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:

	Only travel by bus if your journey is necessary
	Planning your travel in advance, avoiding peak periods
	Wearing a face covering when on board (unless you meet the exemption criteria set by the government)
	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

We’d also value your help in staying up-to-date with the latest coronavirus information from 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 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.

Our drivers will advise customers wherever possible but they cannot enforce social distancing measures.

Please note the seating measures we have introduced are advisory for customers and we will not be asking our drivers to enforce them or leave their cab area, unless operating the manual bus ramp. Our driver will help advise customers when boarding where seats are available.

In England and Scotland it is now mandatory to wear a face covering on Public Transport unless you have an exemption. Failure to do so may result in a fixed penalty notice of £100. To see the government guidance on face covering exemptions please follow this link ⇒

• 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 ⇒
  To see the government guidance on face covering exemptions please follow this link ⇒
• Please take your face covering with you at the end of your journey.

Please see our face coverings page for more information ⇒

It is your legal responsibility to wear a face covering when travelling on public transport unless you have an exemption. The driver cannot enforce this but you may be liable to a fixed penalty notice of £100 if you refuse.

Exemptions for the use of face coverings will apply to those with certain health conditions, disabled people and children under the age of 11.

To see the government guidance on face covering exemptions please follow this link ⇒

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 use a long-lasting sanitising treatment (Zoono Z71) on all buses and depots, which kills germs on surfaces. It is environmentally-friendly, uses no alcohol or dangerous chemicals, and is proven to be a highly effective antimicrobial surface sanitiser.

No, customers should use their own sanitiser and face covering.

There is usually sufficient capacity on our buses but it's best to plan your travel in advance. Our busiest periods are in the middle of the day, so it is best to travel in the morning and late afternoon. This will help ensure we provide our services to as many customers and key workers as possible while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

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.

On our buses we are operating at a reduced capacity with around 1 in 4 seats being available. It is therefore likely 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.

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.

We encourage all of our customers to buy tickets using the First Bus App or to pay by contactless card on board. If you are paying with cash, please try to use the exact fare.

The Hard Travel Shop in Portsmouth has reopened to the public from Monday 29 June 2020. The shop has undergone some refurbishment to install covid-19 measures with glass windows now in place above the counters, and there are also floor markings to help manage queues. We look forward to welcoming you back. 

All other travel shops are currently closed.  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.