Airport services and how do fares vary around the UK

[Simon75]

How do bus fares vary around the country for airport services?

 

[busestrains]

How do bus fares vary around the country for airport services?

Off the top of my head i believe there are only four airports in the UK that have premium rate bus services:

• Bristol
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Luton

However all of these can be avoided by either using an alternative bus from the airport or by walking to another bus stop.

Most of the airports in the UK just charge normal fares on all of their local bus services.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Off the top of my head i believe there are only four airports in the UK that have premium rate bus services:

• Bristol
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Luton

However all of these can be avoided by either using an alternative bus from the airport or by walking to another bus stop.

Most of the airports in the UK just charge normal fares on all of their local bus services.

The X30 in Essex serves both Southend and Stansted Airports. £25 return from Southend to Stansted.

As you say, there are always ways in which you can avoid paying the premium fare but it will invariably take longer. Glasgow 500 - every 15 mins, takes 25 mins vs 77 - every 30 mins, takes 66 mins

 

[ctrh136]

How do you avoid the high fares at Edinburgh? I thought Lothian only have premium rate services there now.

 

[peterblue]

How do you avoid the high fares at Edinburgh? I thought Lothian only have premium rate services there now.

Walk from Islington p&r.


I believe you can also avoid the Bristol high fares by walking from Airport Tavern.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Slightly tangential - Teesside Airport famously has the most parlous train service (a parliamentary service) but the bus service is hardly much better. No link to Teesside, buses to Darlington = a couple in the morning, and a few more in the late afternoon, and none on Sundays.

Walk from Islington p&r.

That's a very long walk - you mean Ingliston?

 

[busestrains]

The X30 in Essex serves both Southend and Stansted Airports. £25 return from Southend to Stansted.

As you say, there are always ways in which you can avoid paying the premium fare but it will invariably take longer. Glasgow 500 - every 15 mins, takes 25 mins vs 77 - every 30 mins, takes 66 mins

How do you avoid the high fares at Edinburgh? I thought Lothian only have premium rate services there now.

Walk from Islington p&r.


I believe you can also avoid the Bristol high fares by walking from Airport Tavern.

Slightly tangential - Teesside Airport famously has the most parlous train service (a parliamentary service) but the bus service is hardly much better. No link to Teesside, buses to Darlington = a couple in the morning, and a few more in the late afternoon, and none on Sundays.


That's a very long walk - you mean Ingliston?

I forgot about the X10 and X30 services. Those are extortionate. You can get an Essex Saver for £10.00 giving you unlimited travel is Essex (except on those routes) so that fare is a rip off.

For travelling to or from Glasgow Airport the 77 is still a premium service. There is still an expensive surcharge for travelling to or from the Glasgow Airport bus stops. It is not that much cheaper than the rip off 500 bus.

The way i was thinking of was the Mcgills 757 which charges normal fares to and from Glasgow Airport so this is the method i have used.

You can take the 757 to Paisley Gilmour Street and then a train (or another bus if you prefer) in to Glasgow city centre. There used to be a combined ticket for the 757 and train. But that appears to have recently been withdrawn. However i still think the 757 to Paisley Gilmour Street and then the train or another bus is cheaper than the 77 bus.

As both First Glasgow and Mcgills do not publish their fares data i am not sure what the current fares are.

If you are going to or from Edinburgh Airport you can walk to or from the Ingliston Airport Junction bus stop and take the First Bus routes to get to or from Edinburgh city centre cheaply.

Also if you take the First Bus X38 they give change (unlike Lothian Buses or the First Bus X24 and X25 services) so that is another benefit of this method.

I am not sure how much it currently costs. Last time i took it quite recently they charged £1.60 Single and £2.40 Return but the fare may have increased now. For some reason First Bus do not seem to have uploaded their Scotland fares data but have uploaded their England fares. So their Scottish fares are still a secret.

For using Teeside Airport you can walk to or from Dinsdale railway station as an alternative to the Arriva Bus service. Although the Arriva Bus services charges ordinary local fares here. But the service frequency is not very good for an airport.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Nice and easy for Leeds Bradford Airport - services from Leeds, Bradford and Otley are within West Yorkshire so it's the flat £2.00 single, and the service from Harrogate is £5.40 single, £8.90 return

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

For using Teeside Airport you can walk to or from Dinsdale railway station as an alternative to the Arriva Bus service. Although the Arriva Bus services charges ordinary local fares here. But the service frequency is not very good for an airport.

It's a couple of miles from Dinsdale to the Airport - you'd be better off getting the bus to Trees Park Village. There again, they have tried improved services there (even in the best days of the airport) from Teesside and Darlington and they haven't succeeded.

 

[johnnychips]

For using Teeside Airport you can walk to or from Dinsdale railway station as an alternative to the Arriva Bus service. Although the Arriva Bus services charges ordinary local fares here. But the service frequency is not very good for an airport.

The plane frequency isn’t very good for an airport either

 

[leedslad82]

Nice and easy for Leeds Bradford Airport - services from Leeds, Bradford and Otley are within West Yorkshire so it's the flat £2.00 single, and the service from Harrogate is £5.40 single, £8.90 return

Didn't use to be. You used to have people get off at the stop before the airport as it was ao much cheaper as the airport charged high access fees to the bus companies

 

[bluenoxid]

Didn't use to be. You used to have people get off at the stop before the airport as it was ao much cheaper as the airport charged high access fees to the bus companies

Our mayor decided to invest some transport funding in a new fare structure. Manchester and Liverpool have done something similar.

I do remember giving people who were more price sensitive directions to nearby stops.

 

[RT4038]

I forgot about the X10 and X30 services. Those are extortionate. You can get an Essex Saver for £10.00 giving you unlimited travel is Essex (except on those routes) so that fare is a rip off.

Why is this fare a 'rip-off' ?. Some airports charge high access fees to bus companies, especially for services aimed at air passengers rather than workers, in order to offer lower landing/usage fees to entice airlines to serve their airport (and also not to compete too much with their lucrative parking operations, which also subsidise the landing/usage fees). These airlines can then advertise lower fares to entice passengers to use them. It is really not much good having bus services with low fares to access airports that have no flights because the airlines will not serve them due to theim not being economically viable due to their high landing fees and consequent high fares!

Whether air travel should be encouraged in this way is a moot point.

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

Nice and easy for Leeds Bradford Airport - services from Leeds, Bradford and Otley are within West Yorkshire so it's the flat £2.00 single, and the service from Harrogate is £5.40 single, £8.90 return

Though I noticed you can buy a 'Flyer 1' ticket for around 5 or 6 pounds which will get you to and from Harrogate as many times as you want. I assume the standard return is more expensive as lasts longer (maybe a month)?

 

[danm14]

Off the top of my head i believe there are only four airports in the UK that have premium rate bus services:

• Bristol
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Luton

However all of these can be avoided by either using an alternative bus from the airport or by walking to another bus stop.

Most of the airports in the UK just charge normal fares on all of their local bus services.

Premium fares are charged on the Ulsterbus 300 service from Belfast to Belfast International Airport. A one-way ticket costs £8.00, compared to the standard Ulsterbus fare of £4.60 for a journey of this length.

This premium fare is unavoidable. The last stop before the airport (which you can get to for £3.60) is five miles away in Templepatrick village; and although a small saving (sub-£1) can be made by travelling to Antrim to change to the only other bus which stops at Belfast International Airport, the Ulsterbus 109a (Lisburn-Airport-Antrim), this very significantly extends the journey time.

A premium fare, albeit a much less extreme one, also applies on the Metro 600 service from Belfast to Belfast City Airport. A one-way ticket costs £2.60, compared to the standard Metro fare of £2.10 for a journey of this length.

On a temporary basis, this can be avoided entirely by paying with a contactless credit/debit card, as a flat fare of £2.10 applies to contactless payments on Metro until further notice. More generally, the train (£2.00) or Metro 3a bus (£2.10) to Sydenham Station can be used, but I'm not sure it's worth the ten minute walk (I understand that the courtesy bus between station and airport has been discontinued) to save 50-60p.

Premium fares do not apply on services to City of Derry Airport, nor on services to Dublin Airport from Northern Ireland (which is worth mentioning, as although it is not itself in the UK, it is used by a significant and constantly increasing number of Northern Ireland residents). Aircoach did in the past charge passengers more to travel from Belfast to Dublin Airport than to Dublin City (despite the bus passing through the airport en route to the city), but they have since ceased this practice.

 

[Simon75]

Are there many services than don't accept 'concession passes
I know First Essex X10/X30 accept them

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Why is this fare a 'rip-off' ?. Some airports charge high access fees to bus companies, especially for services aimed at air passengers rather than workers, in order to offer lower landing/usage fees to entice airlines to serve their airport (and also not to compete too much with their lucrative parking operations, which also subsidise the landing/usage fees). These airlines can then advertise lower fares to entice passengers to use them. It is really not much good having bus services with low fares to access airports that have no flights because the airlines will not serve them due to theim not being economically viable due to their high landing fees and consequent high fares!

Whether air travel should be encouraged in this way is a moot point.

Exactly the point I've been making. Just made more expertly and succinctly.

Are there many services than don't accept 'concession passes
I know First Essex X10/X30 accept them

As has been mentioned before, the A1 and A3 in Bristol don't accept them either. Also, the website for the A4 from Bath to Bristol Airport also says

From 1st July 2016, as a result of changes made by local authorities, English concessionary passes will no longer be valid for free journeys to and from Bristol Airport. However, Bath Bus Company is introducing a special senior fare that entitles English concessionary pass holders to child’s fare to and from Bristol Airport on service A4. This is available on board the bus at any time or you can purchase a child's ticket online. Please ensure you bring your pass with you on your day of travel to present to the driver aboard the bus.

PASSES ARE STILL VALID ON OTHER LOCAL JOURNEYS

 

[zero]

For travelling to or from Glasgow Airport the 77 is still a premium service. There is still an expensive surcharge for travelling to or from the Glasgow Airport bus stops. It is not that much cheaper than the rip off 500 bus.

The way i was thinking of was the Mcgills 757 which charges normal fares to and from Glasgow Airport so this is the method i have used.

You can take the 757 to Paisley Gilmour Street and then a train (or another bus if you prefer) in to Glasgow city centre. There used to be a combined ticket for the 757 and train. But that appears to have recently been withdrawn. However i still think the 757 to Paisley Gilmour Street and then the train or another bus is cheaper than the 77 bus.

As both First Glasgow and Mcgills do not publish their fares data i am not sure what the current fares are.

No doubt someone who knows the answers will be along soon, but I took the 757 in April this year and was charged £4.70. I wanted a single from Clydebank to the airport but the driver said that the only option was to buy a day ticket at that price. Maybe there's a cheaper single to Paisley.

For the 77 I believe a day ticket at £6.20 on the app only would be valid, if a cheaper single exists it won't be much less as I paid £5.30 in 2018.

 

[Adtrainsam]

Why is this fare a 'rip-off' ?. Some airports charge high access fees to bus companies, especially for services aimed at air passengers rather than workers, in order to offer lower landing/usage fees to entice airlines to serve their airport (and also not to compete too much with their lucrative parking operations, which also subsidise the landing/usage fees). These airlines can then advertise lower fares to entice passengers to use them. It is really not much good having bus services with low fares to access airports that have no flights because the airlines will not serve them due to theim not being economically viable due to their high landing fees and consequent high fares!

Whether air travel should be encouraged in this way is a moot point.

Yes; but the extortionate fares don’t just apply to the ‘Airport’ sections of the route, but the rest of the route as well. It costs upwards of £11 for a Chelmsford to Southend single, which frankly isn’t much cheaper than the train. People living in Great Dunmow can’t even buy a day ticket as no ‘day tickets’ are valid on those routes.

 

[jkkne]

Slightly tangential - Teesside Airport famously has the most parlous train service (a parliamentary service) but the bus service is hardly much better. No link to Teesside, buses to Darlington = a couple in the morning, and a few more in the late afternoon, and none on Sundays.


That's a very long walk - you mean Ingliston?

Teesside currently doesn’t have a rail service at all. The station is closed for safety reasons owing to a dodgy footbridge (since May 2022)

 

[route101]

Glasgow Airport bus is £8 one way or £14 return, ten years ago it was around half the price.

 

[APT618S]

It's a couple of miles from Dinsdale to the Airport - you'd be better off getting the bus to Trees Park Village. There again, they have tried improved services there (even in the best days of the airport) from Teesside and Darlington and they haven't succeeded.

Around 15 years or so ago Arriva ran the Skyexpress with 2 dedicated Darts 1761/2 but lack of passengers killed it off.
Example of 1762:

Arriva North East: 1762 NK05GVZ Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander

Arriva Durham County's Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander 1762 NK05GVZ is pictured at Teesside Airport on April 10th 2008, with 'Skyexpress' branding for the Darlington - Teesside Airport service. This service was withdrawn not long afterwards due to the lack of passengers using this airport.

www.flickr.com

Credit to emdjt42 on Flickr.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Around 15 years or so ago Arriva ran the Skyexpress with 2 dedicated Darts 1761/2 but lack of passengers killed it off.
Example of 1762:

Arriva North East: 1762 NK05GVZ Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander

Arriva Durham County's Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander 1762 NK05GVZ is pictured at Teesside Airport on April 10th 2008, with 'Skyexpress' branding for the Darlington - Teesside Airport service. This service was withdrawn not long afterwards due to the lack of passengers using this airport.

www.flickr.com

Credit to emdjt42 on Flickr.

I remember Skyexpress well - it ran from 2005 to 2007 with those two Darts until they halved it and one was reallocated.

I recall being home one Christmas and seeing a very bored driver trundling round as the only bus service on Boxing Day. I doubt he saw a passenger all day!

They have also had various attempts at having a bus service to/from Teesside.

 

[SCH117X]

Though I noticed you can buy a 'Flyer 1' ticket for around 5 or 6 pounds which will get you to and from Harrogate as many times as you want.

Flyer 1 is £5.50 so justifying the single fare from Harrogate at 10p cheaper if thats the sole journey being made.

 

[Butts]

Glasgow Airport bus is £8 one way or £14 return, ten years ago it was around half the price.

I used to fume about the price of Scottish Airport Services until I hit 60......

My most frequent sojourns involve parking at Ferrytoll (free) and then using the free (for me) 747 to and from the Airport.(Edinburgh)

I think it is about £8 as well which has probably like the Glasgow one skyrocketed.

 

[Deerfold]

Though I noticed you can buy a 'Flyer 1' ticket for around 5 or 6 pounds which will get you to and from Harrogate as many times as you want. I assume the standard return is more expensive as lasts longer (maybe a month)?

The Flyer 1 is also valid on local buses around Harrogate for the day (as far as Knaresborough and Wetherby) - even if only catching a bus into Harrogate and the Flyer out, this will be cheaper for many people.

 

[Statto]

Liverpool Airport is normal fares, day tickets & passes valid, even on the 500 Liverpool Airport to Liverpool City Centre, which is the main route.

 

[Matt_pool]

The 500, 80A and 86A from Liverpool city centre to Liverpool Airport all cost £2 single.

The 500 is the quickest but is only every 30 mins, the 80A was every 20 minutes but is now every 30 minutes and is the next best option as it doesn't get as crowded as the 86A. The 86A is more frequent but isn't very reliable and has been known as the "banana route" for decades as they always comes in bunches! I remember on one occasion I was on an 86A which was in convoy with another 86A, two 86's and a Stagecoach 86C along Smithdown Road and onwards into the city centre!

 

[F Great Eastern]

Aircoach did in the past charge passengers more to travel from Belfast to Dublin Airport than to Dublin City (despite the bus passing through the airport en route to the city), but they have since ceased this practice.

That was a commercial decision because of another operator using somewhat aggressive tactics when starting up a Belfast to Dublin City non stop service departing from the same stop at around the same time in Belfast.

 

[miklcct]

Why is this fare a 'rip-off' ?. Some airports charge high access fees to bus companies, especially for services aimed at air passengers rather than workers, in order to offer lower landing/usage fees to entice airlines to serve their airport (and also not to compete too much with their lucrative parking operations, which also subsidise the landing/usage fees). These airlines can then advertise lower fares to entice passengers to use them. It is really not much good having bus services with low fares to access airports that have no flights because the airlines will not serve them due to theim not being economically viable due to their high landing fees and consequent high fares!

Whether air travel should be encouraged in this way is a moot point.

If the extortionate bus fare nullify the savings made by the low air fare, passengers also won't take flights from that airport as well.