Bristol bus pass discount

How the discount works

We contribute up to £150 towards the cost of qualifying bus pass tickets. The exact amount depends on the type of ticket you buy.

Ticket and award details
Ticket	Price	Award	Valid from	Valid to
University of Bristol - Uni Year - Bristol Zone	£520	£150	11 September 2026	30 May 2027
University of Bristol - Uni Year - West of England Zone	£580	£150	11 September 2026	30 May 2027
University of Bristol - Teaching block 1 - Bristol Zone	£230	£60	11 September 2026	20 December 2026
University of Bristol - Teaching block 2 - Bristol Zone	£320	£90	09 January 2027	30 May 2027

Visit the First Bus University of Bristol webpage to find out which bus services and routes can get you to campus.

Who can apply

To apply, you must:

• be a fully registered student
• receive one of the following awards or bursaries:
  • Financial Assistance Fund (FAF)
  • University of Bristol Bursary
  • Access to Bristol Bursary
  • Bristol Scholars Bursary
  • Sanctuary Scholarship

If your bursary is not yet confirmed, you can still apply. We will check your eligibility later in the year.

When to apply

Applications open from the start of welcome week and close at the end of February.

 You can apply:

• before or after buying your bus pass
• before or after receiving bursary confirmation
• after receiving a Financial Assistance Fund award in the current or previous academic year.

 The scheme has a fixed budget. Applications may close earlier if funding runs out.

How to apply

1. Complete the application form during the application window.

• a link to the form will appear on this page once applications open.
• you must be logged in with your University of Bristol account to access it.

2. Provide proof of purchase.

• if you already have your ticket, upload proof of purchase with your application.
• if you apply before buying your ticket, upload proof of purchase once it’s available.

Apply for the Bristol bus pass discount

How payments are made

Applications will be assessed within 5 working days. If your application is successful, payment will be made within the following working week.

Payments are made to the UK bank account registered on your University financial statement.

Missing proof of purchase and repayment

To receive the contribution, we need proof that you bought a qualifying bus pass.

If we do not receive this within one month of issuing your award we will need to reclaim the payment. This means:

• we will issue you with an invoice, which will be treated as an amount that you owe the university
• we may deduct this outstanding amount from your future bursary or Financial Assistance Fund payments.

Any remaining balance after that will be handled by the University’s Credit Control team.

Providing false information or documents may lead to your application being cancelled, repayment of any contribution, and possible disciplinary action.

Any outstanding debt at the end of the academic year will prevent you from progressing to your next year of study or graduating. 

Buying a buss pass

You will need to download the First Bus app to buy the tickets. Open the app and select ‘Tickets’, and then ‘Buy Tickets’. 

We recommend that you filter the ticket list by choosing ‘Student’ from the ’Passenger Type’ section, and ‘Term’ and ‘Year’ from the ‘Ticket Validity’ section. This will narrow the list down, but will include tickets from other institutions. By default, the ticket list will be sorted by price. The eligible tickets are:

• “Block 1 Uni of Bristol Student – Bristol Zone”: £230 
• “Block 2 Uni of Bristol Student – Bristol Zone”: £320 (available 19 December 2026) 
• “AcdYear Uni of Bristol Student – Bristol Zone”: £520 
• “AcdYear Uni of Bristol Student – West of England”: £580.

For each ticket type, the University offers a different level of contribution. This is up to a maximum of £150 per academic year.  Read the table in the ‘How the scheme discount works’ section for more information. Before purchasing your bus pass, check that it is valid for the bus service you plan to use.

Contact us

If you have questions about the discount, your application, or you need to submit proof of purchase, contact student-funding@bristol.ac.uk.