FAQs

No, all tickets can be purchased on the day of travel. Although most ticket prices are cheaper when booked in advance via our website or on the First Bus app. 

When you have completed your booking, you will be e-mailed your booking confirmation within a few minutes. This e-mail will have your journey details as well as your unique booking reference number. This will be your e-ticket. Print this e-mail and hand it to a member of staff when boarding. Please keep your e-ticket for the duration of your journey.

If you haven't received your email ticket in your inbox, please check your spam folder.

As an extra measure you have the option to resend your email ticket: Log-in to the website using your username and password, and within the My Orders section (Hover over your username to access this menu) select to view your order and there is a resend ticket button at the bottom of the page.

When booking an e-ticket online or via our First Bus app, you will be able to select a return travel date within 28 days of the outward journey. If you try and choose a date beyond 28 days, the system will stop you from proceeding and ask you to re-select. If you are using our First Bus app, please activate just before boarding the coach and note that only one ticket per device can be activated. 

No, just turn up and go. Our customers prefer this, as flights can be delayed etc.

If you wish to make any amendments to the travel dates on your e-tickets, please contact us through the Contact Us form on our website at least 3 days before travel or alternatively contact us on 0345 646 0707. Please note, we cannot make any changes to e-tickets if you contact us after the date of travel has passed.

Sunday service operates on Bank Holidays. For Christmas timetable information, please check our social media and news section nearer the time. 

Concessions are only available to holders of valid 16-25, 26-30, Senior, Disabled and HM Forces Railcards. To purchase a railcard please click here.

Yes, on all of our coaches.

Q. Can I just turn up without booking?
A. All of our coaches are equipped to carry 1 wheelchair user at a time with no booking in advance. To make sure there is space available on your selected time please inform us of the date and time of travel. Please contact us on 0118 957 9425 at least 3 days in advance of travel, as each coach can only carry one wheelchair user.

Q. Can I remain seated in my wheelchair?
A. Yes, your wheelchair will be safely secured in the vehicle, allowing you to remain in their wheelchair for the duration of the journey.

Q. Do you accept the Disabled Persons Railcard?
A. Yes, the Disabled Persons Railcard is accepted and you will save a third on all RailAir tickets. Please bring your Railcard with you when you travel with us.

Q. When I arrive at Reading or Guildford are there facilities for wheelchair users?
A. Yes, the RailAir lounge at Reading is fully accessible and there are toilet facilities for wheelchair users also. Reading and Guildford Train Station is also fully accessible.

Q. Can I sit in a regular seat even if I board using the wheelchair ramp?
A. Yes, providing you can safely get into a seat or have a helper with you who can provide assistance if needed. Your Wheelchair must fold away neatly and be able to be stored safely in the luggage hold below. Please be aware that owners of larger wheelchairs, particularly motorised wheelchairs should check before booking that we can accommodate your wheelchair type by calling RailAir on 0118 957 9425.

Q. What types of wheelchairs are accepted on RaliAir?
A. We accept standard and motorised wheelchairs however they must not exceed 75cm from the front to back (including battery) and no more than 65cm in width. This is to ensure that it is safe to operate the wheelchair access lift and that the wheelchair can be safely positioned on the coach. Unfortunately we do not accept mobility scooters.

The total maximum weight to be carried onto the wheelchair lift is 300kgs including wheelchair and occupant.

RailAir is an express/coach service with a very different fares model to that of local bus and does not therefore fit within the requirements for concessionary fares.  However, we do accept Senior or Disabled Railcards for discounted travel (see www.railcard.co.uk).

We accept 2x bag/suitcase (30kg each plus hand luggage) per person. Additional bags/cases to be charged individually at £5 per bag.  Any item that cannot be lifted easily in and out of the coach's under-floor compartment by our member of staff may be refused on grounds of safety. Sharp objects should be covered and bicycles will be accepted so long as they are suitably packaged (wrapped or boxed) to prevent damage to other passenger property.

Sorry, BritRail Passes are not accepted on our service.

We do not provide tax receipts for our online e-ticket as VAT is not applicable on RailAir. Your e-ticket and payment confirmation, both e-mailed to you after making your booking, should be sufficient in lieu of a receipt.

Early Bird tickets at a special discount can be purchased a minimum of 2 calendar months in advance of travel. These tickets are non-refundable. However, amendments to travel dates are permissible so long as at least 3 days prior notice to the booked travel date is provided and the change does not contravene the 2 months in advance requirement. Contact details are printed on your e-ticket. Please note that Railcard discounts are not available with Early Bird tickets. Early Bird tickets are only available on our RailAir 1 Reading service. 

Buying tickets is easy! Tap the mTickets button in the app, click buy, choose your area, select your ticket from the product catalogue, and then simply choose a payment method.

Your selected First Bus region/area is shown on the First mTickets screen; if you need to change it, tap on the area name to choose a different area.

There is no minimum purchase. You can simply buy the ticket you want in advance of your journey or buy several at once.

All of your purchased tickets are automatically put in your wallet and stored there until ‘activated’ so you’ll always be ready for your bus journey.

Yes!  You can active multiple tickets at the same time, on the same device.

This feature is available in the First Bus App version 4.5.0 or above, so please make sure you have the latest version.

You can pay for mTickets using all the below methods:
 

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

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

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.

If your ticket has not been activated, please contact us and we can 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.

Webform: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/help-and-support/help-our-apps/contact-app-support

Promotion codes are set for specific areas and tickets. If you wish to confirm that the promotion is valid for the ticket you wish to buy, please contact our support team and provide us with the code you are attempting to use and the name of the ticket you wish to purchase.

Webform: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/help-and-support/help-our-apps/contact-app-support

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, use PayPal or buy your ticket on the bus using your card.

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.

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.  

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.

Once a ticket is purchased and downloaded, it will appear in the 'wallet' of the mTicket section of the app. 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 Now'.

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 used 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.

The validity of single tickets varies across each First Bus region. For the most part, single tickets will remain valid for 30 minutes once activated. The app will remind you of this before activating the ticket, to avoid any misactivation.
 

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.

Customers can send tickets to a child or young person by using the sharing feature on child and young person tickets. As it stands, this function is only available for child tickets – adult tickets cannot be shared. Please visit our ticket gifting page for more information.

The First Bus App is only designed to work with one device per account. However, should you purchase a new handset, or lose or damage your current device, you can transfer your tickets with the Transfer now button in your ticket wallet. Please note, mTickets should not be shared between users.

No; while you don't need an internet connection at the point you ‘activate’ an already purchased ticket, a regular internet connection is required by the app to keep content up to date and secure.

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
• FirstMonth – the remainder of the day the ticket is activated plus a further number of days in the month less one
• 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.

Please note that any expiry date shown in words on the ticket screen is the last full day of the ticket, and does not reflect the period beyond midnight. This is so customers do not wrongly believe they have an additional full day's travel.

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

Missing tickets are generally caused by your mTicket 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 from the Options button (iPhone) or Menu button (Android). All tickets in your account should reappear after a few seconds.

If your QR code is not being recognised by the scanner and you have purchased the correct ticket for your journey, don’t worry, your ticket is still valid, just show the ticket to the driver.

Take a look at these hints and tips which should help the QR to be scanned:

• 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.
• 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.

Webform: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/help-and-support/help-our-apps/contact-app-support

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 there is a problem with the system, please let us know and we'll do our best to help.

If you are still experiencing difficulties please contact our support team:

Webform: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/help-and-support/help-our-apps/contact-app-support

Please contact us below with the email address you would like on your account and we can change this for you.

Contact form