Covid-19 has changed the way we all use public transport and we’re continuing to work hard behind the scenes to ensure that you can travel as safely as possible.

We’ve put together some helpful information for pupils or parents with children heading back to school by bus.  If there is anything that you would like to give us feedback on we’d love to hear from you.

Travelling by bus is a great way to help the environment and save money while saving the planet. To learn more and get involved visit #lovemybus. 

If you’re travelling on a normal service bus to school, the driver might ask you to sit at the back of the bus along with other school pupils.  Before you board please make sure you have your face covering on and you've followed the Scottish Governments FACTS  public health information.

If you're travelling on a dedicated school bus, please leave the seat next to you empty and sit in 'zig-zag' style with one person in the aisle seat and the person behind/in front at the window seat if you can. If you're travelling with family from the same house, you can sit next to each other.

It’s really important that you follow the instructions given to you by the driver and that you wear a face covering while you are on the bus, don't take it off until you leave the bus. 

Please remember to ring the bell; the driver will stop for you so that you don’t have to queue to leave the bus.  This helps to keep you and others on board maintain social distancing and keep safe.

School children and young people over the age of 5 have to wear a face covering while travelling on public transport as well as at school around corridors and confined communal areas. 

We understand that not everyone can wear a face covering – and that’s ok, if you would like to let the driver know simply download the Thistle App to your mobile. 

How clean will my bus be?

Our team of cleaning and engineering staff are working around the clock to ensure that you can travel on our services with confidence.  We pay extra special attention to all of the main touch points that you will come in contact with like handrails, bells, poles and seats to make sure they are all regularly cleaned. 

How do I pay for the bus?

Our travel shops in Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine remain closed, however we’ve changed our ticketing so that you can now purchase Child's DayRiders, Child's Flexi 5 bundle (5 DayRiders for the price of 4), 7 day and 4 week MegaRiders in every area in West Scotland. Find out more about our new tickets here.

We have a great range of child, young person and student tickets on offer. Use our best value ticket finder to get all of the prices for your journey. 

Remember every Stagecoach bus service accepts contactless by card or mobile on board, there is no minimum spend but transactions are capped at £30.

If you are paying by cash please try to have the exact fare whenever possible. 

 

 

Travel Smart!

You can load your bus tickets on to a SmartCard, once you have a SmartCard it's yours to register and reuse meaning no more paper tickets! It's a quicker way to buy your tickets, and you can even top your card up online before you travel.

If you lose your card or its stolen or damaged, our SmartCard team can block your current card and issue you with a new one.

Find out more about SmartCards here

Do you offer school or college passes? 

A guide to our tickets and fares can be found here including information on child's Dayriders, Flexi 5 Dayriders and Megariders.

Young Scot cards are a great form of ID to show the driver if you happen to look a little older than you are.

 

Guide to tickets and fares

I’m not sure what bus to get.

You can download the Stagecoach Bus App to your phone to plan your journey, see what bus is coming along next, buy your tickets and so much more! 

There's also a busy bus feature to let you see how busy or quiet your service is before you board! 

 

 

#BeKind

Please listen to any instructions from your driver, they just want to get you to school and home again safely! It goes without saying that the vast majority of our passengers are respectful and don't mind following the new covid safety rules, but any rude or abusive behaviour towards other passengers or our staff will be reported to your school and the police. 

Your route to big savings by bus 

You can now use your bus ticket to get exclusive discounts on local attractions, gym memberships, food and drink, cinema and much more. 

Sign up today for a free 12 month membership at Stagecoach rewards and start saving today!