Lothian have announced that fares will be revised across its group of companies – Lothian, Lothiancountry and EastCoastbuses – from Sunday 2 April 2023.
The fares review will see increases to some of the company’s fares for the first time in three years, with adult single fares increasing by 20p, while adult DAYtickets will increase by 50p. Lothian’s season ticket, Ridacard, which was last increased in 2020 will also see an increase, along with airport fares and child tickets. With the popularity of capped contactless payments increasing, customers on Lothian services using the same contactless card or device all day will continue to benefit from the cheapest daily adult fare, saving 20p on the revised DAYticket price. Revised fares can be found here:
| Adult SINGLEticket | Valid for one journey on a day service in the city zone, excluding Airlink. | £1.80 | £2.00 |
| Adult DAYticket | Unlimited journeys on day services in the city zone, excluding Airlink. Also valid on Edinburgh Trams in the city zone. | £4.50 | £5.00 |
| TapTapCap – DAYticket cap* | Unlimited journeys on day services in the city zone, excluding Airlink. | £4.40 | £4.80 |
| TapTapCap – Lothian Week cap* | Maximum weekly cap for unlimited journeys on day and night services in the city and airport zones. Weekly caps run Monday – Sunday. | £20.00 | £22.00 |
| Adult Network Day Ticket | Unlimited journeys on day and NightBus services across our entire network, including Edinburgh Trams in all zones. | £10.00 | £12.00 |
| NIGHTsingle | Valid for one journey on a NightBus service in the city zone. | £3.00 | £3.00 |
| LATEticket | Unlimited journeys on day and NightBus services after 6pm in the city zone. | £4.00 | £4.50 |
| TapTapCap – LATEticket cap* | Unlimited journeys on day and NightBus services after 6pm in the city zone. | £4.00 | £4.30 |
| TapTapCap – Network Week cap* | Maximum weekly cap for unlimited journeys on day and NightBus services across our entire network. | £40.00 | £45.00 |
Sarah Boyd, Managing Director at Lothian, said:
As one of Edinburgh’s main local employers, we are committed to developing and contributing to the economic and social wellbeing of our operating area and communities, and delivering an inclusive and accessible bus service which represents value for money.
With operating costs continuing to rise, we will be making changes to our fares from 2 April in order to prioritise investment in our fleet, our people and our customer offering. While no fare increase is welcome and we are aware of the cost pressures being faced by our customers, we strongly believe our fares continue to represent excellent value for money.
In the three years since we last undertook a fares review, our business has encountered a number of challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, industry-wide recruitment shortages and continually rising costs.
With patronage still not at pre-pandemic levels and all fares revenue going directly back into the running of our business, it is therefore vital that as a commercial bus operator we make decisions now that will futureproof the viability of our network for our customers and our colleagues.
As we look to the future, our priorities and focus will remain on rebuilding Lothian and taking positive steps towards achieving our vision for decarbonisation and achieving the net zero aspirations set by the Scottish Government and Local Authority shareholders.
