Cash Fares on the Bus

Paying for your journey on the bus is the most expensive way to travel and by paying for your travel in advance with an Easyrider Smartcard, through the NCTX Buses App or a Robin Hood Pay As You Go Card, 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/C, 46, 47, 100 and N100 
  • 1 for any journey that starts/finishes between Clifton Pastures and Loughborough
  • 26/C for any journey that starts/finishes between Carlton-le-Willows School and Southwell
  • 46, 47 for any journey that starts finishes between Mapperley Plains/Coppice Road and Gedling Country Park (via Lambley/Woodborough)
  • 100, N100 for any journey that starts/finishes between Carlton-le-Willows School and Southwell
• Outer Area Zone - this covers journeys on the 1, 26/C, 46, 47, 100, N100 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 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 or Apple 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 or Apple Pay as well as on the bus with cash from the driver.

In the Nottingham Zone, Grouprider is:

• £5.00 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 £15.00 on weekdays before 09:30 and £7.50 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 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 or Apple 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 £1.10 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 £1.50 anywhere on Pink 28, 31 and Orange 34, 36 and between City and Jubilee Campus on Pink 30 or City and Priory roundabout on Orange 35. 

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

• The single fare is £3 on NightBus services for all customers
• A return journey is £4 – ask for an all day ticket on your bus into the City
• A return journey for two is £5 – ask for a Grouprider after 09:30 on your bus into the City
• On the N100, all journeys beyond Linden Grove, Carlton-le-Willows School through to Southwell are £5 single and £6.50 return
• Easyrider, Mobile Tickets and Robin Hood Cards (not day tickets) are valid on NightBus
• Concessionary passes 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.