Information valid from Friday 31 July 2020
Paying for your NCT journey on the bus is the most expensive way to travel and by paying for your travel in advance with an Easyrider Smartcard, or bulk buying through the NCTX Buses App could save you money.
To speed up boarding times and journeys, we operate an exact fare policy on our buses in Nottingham and drivers cannot give change.
Nottingham City Transport are recognised Childfare Heroes, with discounted fares available for all Under 19s, which helps young people travel around the network at very affordable fares.
There are two zones for our cash tickets - NCT City Area Zone and Outer Area Zone.
- Nottingham Zone - this is the Greater Nottingham area and covers nearly all of our services, except for the following parts of the 1, 26/A, 46 and 47.
- 1 for any journey that starts/finishes between Clifton Pastures and Loughborough
- 26/A for any journey that starts/finishes between Carlton-le-Willows School and Southwell
- 46, 47 for any journey that starts finishes between Travellers Rest PH and Gedling Country Park (via Lambley/Woodborough)
- Outer Area Zone - this covers journeys on the 1, 26/A, 46 and 47. outside of the Nottingham Area Zone
All Day Tickets
You can pay for a day of travel using your smart phone, a Robin Hood Pay as You Go Card, a contactless device (adults) or with cash on the bus (exact fare needed).
To pay on your smart phone, download the NCTX Buses app and pay using a debit/credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Robin Hood cards are available from roadside machines and City Council Travel Centres.
Tickets purchased on the NCTX Buses app last for 24 hours after activation. A Robin Hood card day cap covers all journeys on a calendar day (midnight to midnight). An NCT cash all day ticket expires at 04:29 the morning after issue. Robin Hood cash day tickets expire at midnight and can be used on NCT ‘midnight’ departures.
All Day Tickets - Group
Grouprider can be used by up to 5 people, where there has to be at least 1 adult (19 and over) and no more than two adults. A Grouprider can be used by 2 adults travelling together without any children too. All customers who board together on a Grouprider ticket, should alight together at the same stop.
Grouprider can be purchased through the NCTX Buses app with a debit/credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, as well as on the bus with cash from the driver.
In the Nottingham Zone, Grouprider is £6 at all times of the day until and including 31st August 2021.
From 1st September 2021, Grouprider returns to normal pricing:
- £6.00 after 09:30 every weekday (including school holidays) and all day weekends and on Bank Holidays
- £10.00 before 09:30 every weekday (including school holidays)
This covers unlimited use on all NCT buses in the Nottingham Zone from the time of purchase until 04:29 the following morning. They can be used on NightBus.
Network Grouprider covers every NCT service (Loughborough, Gotham, East Leake, Burton Joyce, Lowdham, Lambley, Woodborough, Southwell) and is £9 at all times of the day until and including 31st August 2021.
From 1st September 2021, Network Grouprider returns to normal pricing of £15.00 on weekdays before 09:30 and £9.00 after 09:30 every weekday (including school holidays) and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays.
Single Journeys
In the Nottingham Zone:
You can pay for a single journey using your smart phone, a Robin Hood Pay as You Go Card, a contactless device (adults) or with cash on the bus (exact fare needed).
To pay on your smart phone, download the NCTX Buses app and pay using a debit/credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Robin Hood cards are available from roadside machines and City Council Travel Centres.
- Under 5s travel free
- A £1.40 Short Hop is available for journeys within a fare stage (up to 0.5 miles) – use our Fares Calculator at the top of the page to see if a Short Hop fare is available for your journey. Short Hop can be bought on the NCTX Buses App.
- In Clifton, a £1.20 Local Fare is available for all journeys wholly within Clifton Estate
- A £1.40 Local Fare is available for journeys within Arnold, Beeston, Bulwell, Carlton Square / Netherfield, Mapperley, Ruddington, Sherwood, Strelley, Top Valley / Rise Park and West Bridgford. View boundary points here.
- Students (with valid ID) travel for £1.70 on the following routes:
- South Notts 1 between City and NTU Clifton Campus
- Navy 4 - full route
- Pink 28 - full route
- Pink 30 between City and Jubilee Campus
- Pink 31 - full route
- Orange 34 - full route
- Orange 35, 35B between City and Priory roundabout
- Orange 36, 36U - full route
In the Outer Area:
- Fares vary based on the distance of the journey – use our Fares Calculator above to check your fare.
- 2 Trip tickets are available on the NCTX Buses app which allow for any two journeys between the destinations shown. Scroll down the Mobile Ticket Menu to see South Notts, Sky Blue and Pathfinder tickets.
NightBus Fares
- Easyrider, Robin Hood smart card and NCTX Buses app tickets are valid on NightBus services.
- All day tickets, Day Return tickets and Grouprider tickets already purchased during the day are valid too.
- A flat fare of £4 per person or £6 for two people applies if you pay cash on a NightBus service for any journey within Nottingham.
- On the N26, all journeys that start or finish at any stop between Linden Grove and Southwell, are £6 single
- Concessionary passes and Robin Hood day tickets are not valid on NightBus
Inner City Return
A £2.50 Inner City Return ticket is ideal for people who are making a short return journey to and from the City Centre on the same day. It can be used on any journey which starts and finishes at the stops shown below. This ticket can be bought on the bus or in the NCTX Buses App.
Dogs
Hearing and assistance dogs are carried free of charge. A £1 Dog Rover ticket is available for all other dogs and can be used for unlimited travel across the NCT network for the day.