Bus fare information
*Please note: First Bus have introduced Revenue Protection Officers on board all their buses. They will be checking that everyone is travelling with a valid/ correctly issued ticket and checking ID associated with your travel ticket - eg. your student ID. If you're unable to show a valid ticket to travel or the required ID for your ticket they will issue a standard fare charge of £50. More information on their website.
Bristol Unibus
Bristol Unibus U1 and U2 services (Student and Staff discounts)
- A range of special passes and fares are available for the Bristol Unibus U1 and U2 services linking the North Residential Village and Langford to the Clifton Campus.
- Further fare information is available on the Bristol Unibus website
Student discounts
First Bus - Student discount up to 10%
- Young people (16-21) and students (of any age if in full time education) can get up to 10% discount on all tickets across the West of England (Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare & Wells) region. To find the discounted tickets, go to the m-Tickets section of the First Bus app, and look in the Student Travel menu, or select any of the tickets with the word Student in the ticket description title.
First Bus - Student 2024/25 academic year
These are special tickets that are valid for the duration of the University of Bristol academic year up until the summer vacation. Ideal if you are not staying in Bristol during the summer holidays, but wish to travel frequently during your studies.
- Bristol zone: £460
- West of England zone: £515
- Validity for both: 8/9/24 to 25/5/25
- On sale from the First Bus app: 18/8/24
Staff discounts
There are 3 main ways to get a staff discount on First bus tickets:
- Pay for an annual ticket in one go to receive a 20% discount
- Pay First monthly by direct debit under the terms of the Commuter Travel Club scheme to receive a 10% discount. Available for selected ticket durations.
- Take out an interest-free loan with the University to pay for an annual (12 month) pass and pay over a 10-month period with deductions coming straight from your salary, and receive a 10% discount
1. Pay for an annual First Bus ticket in one go to receive a 20% discount
- University staff can buy an annual First mTicket for the following products:
- Bristol Zone at the exclusive price of £739.20 (normally £924).
- West of England Zone at the exclusive price of £840 (normally £1,050).
- To take advantage of these fantastic discounts, please email transport-plan@bristol.ac.uk stating the product type and the University's Transport Team will provide you with a unique promotional code. This code is then used in the First Bus App to apply the discount.
2. Pay First monthly by direct debit through the Commuter Travel Club scheme to receive a 10% discount
- The University is a member of the First Bus Commuter Travel Club which offers staff discounts of up to 10% on the following products:
- Monthly (direct debit) passes
- 12 Day tickets in a 40 day period
- 20 Day tickets in a 40 day period
Below are some step-by-step instuctions to purchasing your discounted ticket via the Commuter Travel Club
- Visit www.firstbus.co.uk/westofenglandctc
- Login / register to the First Bus website
- Select University of Bristol from the dropdown menu – visible at the bottom of the page
- Use your company email address to validate access to the scheme
- We'll then send you a link via email - just click this to complete the online registration and purchase your discounted ticket.
3. University Staff interest-free loan to receive a 10% discount
- Staff can spread the cost of an annual pass for the First Bristol Zone and First West of England Zone, and still receive a 10% discount on the full ticket price, by applying to the University for an interest-free loan. Please visit our interest-free loan webpage for further details.
Further information
- There are various way to pay for bus tickets. First bus tickets are available as m-Tickets on the First Bus app, but you can also pay via contactless, and most services still accept cash. Please note that Bristol Unibus services are cashless services.
- For further information please visit the First Bus website.