In this guide
💡 The Short Version: A bus or city-zone tram single is £2.40, a City DAY ticket £6.00 (buy before 18:00) for unlimited Lothian buses and trams, and £5.70 with contactless capping. The Network DAY ticket is £14.00 and is the one that includes the Airlink 100 and the tram to the airport, which City DAY does not. Tap on a bus and you are done; on the tram tap on before boarding and tap off at the end. Without a tram ticket the on-board fare is £10. The NightBus runs from midnight to 04:30. Cash on a bus is exact fare only. Or ride the sightseeing buses: the City Sightseeing hop-on hop-offad is from £18 (GetYourGuide).
Tickets
Prices are adult, from Lothian and Edinburgh Trams. A child is 5 to 15, and up to three children under 5 travel free with a fare-paying adult.
| Ticket | Adult | Child | Valid on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | £2.40 | £1.20 | One journey on a Lothian bus, or in the tram’s city zone |
| Tram day return, city zone | £4.60 | £2.30 | A return on the day |
| City DAY | £6.00 (£5.70 capped) | £3.00; family £13.00 | Unlimited Lothian buses and trams in the city zone; not the airport or Airlink; buy before 18:00 |
| City LATE | £5.50 | 18:00 to 04:30, buses, trams and night services; not the Airlink | |
| Night single | £3.50 | One journey on a Lothian night service | |
| Network DAY | £14.00 | £7.00 | Everything, including the Airlink, the airport tram and the following morning’s night services |
| Week cap (contactless) | £26.50 | Capped Monday to Sunday | |
| Tram multi-day, city zone | 3 days £12.50, 4 days £16.00, 5 days £18.00 | Trams only, bought at edinburghticket.com and shown on a phone or printed |
Buy tickets from the driver, the machines at tram stops, the Bus & Tram app or edinburghticket.com. Tickets in the app are for one customer per device, except the family City DAY, and the ticket must be activated before you board. Edinburgh Airport to the city has the airport fares.
Contactless: TapTapCap
Lothian and Edinburgh Trams share a contactless system that charges the cheapest adult daily or weekly fare.
- Use the same card or phone all day. A phone and a card do not add together, and the card is the ticket, so one per person.
- Bus: tap on as you board and there is no need to tap off.
- Tram: tap on at the platform validator before you board and tap off at the end. If you forget to tap off, the journey is charged as the full airport fare, which does not count towards the cap. If you did not tap on, an inspector’s tap makes it the £10 on-board fare.
- The cap: the daily cap applies from the third journey in the city zone. Charges show on your bank statement a couple of days later, and cards issued outside the UK may carry overseas transaction fees.
- Cards: Visa, Mastercard and Maestro work, with Apple Pay and Google Pay. American Express is not accepted on the tram validators, though the ticket machines take it.
Buses
Lothian Buses run the city network, with the NightBus from midnight to 04:30 every day and the Airlink 100 to the airport 24 hours. Cash is exact fare only and drivers cannot give change. The Lothian Bus app and the live tracker show arrival times. Routes out of town include the 37 to Rosslyn Chapel and East Coast Buses’ X5 to North Berwick.
A hop-on hop-off ticket is a sightseeing bus, not public transport. Edinburgh Bus Tours runs three routes from £20 for a single tour, and GetYourGuide sells the City Sightseeing tourad from £18 and the three-tour passad from £26. The Edinburgh City Pass includes a 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket.
Trams
Newhaven to the airport · every 7 minutes in the day, every 10 early and late
The line runs from Newhaven in Leith through Princes Street, St Andrew Square, Haymarket and Edinburgh Park to the airport. The first tram leaves Newhaven at 05:20 and the last at 23:56. From the airport the first is at 06:30 and the last at 22:52.
A tram and a Lothian bus on Princes Street. Photo: Peter Trimming, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Buy before you board. Machines at every stop take coins and cards. Without a valid ticket the on-board fare is £10.
- St Andrew Square is a short walk from Waverley station and the bus station. The tram connects with trains at Haymarket, Edinburgh Park and Edinburgh Gateway.
- Luggage racks hold six items on each tram, and dogs on leads travel free.
- Bikes are not allowed on trams in August, during the festivals. E-bikes and e-scooters are never allowed.
Taxis
Metered · from £3.60 for the first 430 metres
The City of Edinburgh Council sets the fares for every licensed taxi. Since 25 July 2026 the tariff for up to three passengers starts at £3.60 on weekdays from 06:00 to 18:00 and at £4.80 from 18:00 to 06:00 and at weekends, then runs by distance and time. Higher tariffs apply over Christmas and New Year. Each passenger beyond three pays 50p, two children under 12 count as one passenger, and one child under 5 is free. A pre-booked taxi adds a £1.00 call-out charge, and cancelling it costs £3.00. A hire that ends outside the city needs the fare agreed with the driver first.
Waverley station and the bus station
- Edinburgh Waverley, Princes Street, EH1 1BB, is the main station. The ticket office in the Travel Centre is open Monday to Saturday 06:00 to 22:00 and Sunday 07:00 to 22:00, and every platform has step-free access. Buses leave from Princes Street, and a PLUSBUS add-on to a rail ticket gives unlimited bus travel around Edinburgh.
- Haymarket has trains to Glasgow, Fife, Inverness, Aberdeen, North Berwick and London, and a tram stop.
- Edinburgh Bus Station, St Andrew Square, EH1 3DQ, is for Citylink coaches and the pick-up point for several day tours. Day trips from Edinburgh has the trains and coaches to Glasgow, Stirling, St Andrews and North Berwick.
Waverley station’s platforms, with the Balmoral clock tower behind. Photo: Ermell, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Which ticket
- Short city hops: contactless with TapTapCap, and nothing to buy.
- A day of buses and trams, no airport: City DAY, £6.00, or the contactless cap at £5.70.
- A day that includes the airport or the Airlink: Network DAY, £14.00.
- Out after 18:00: City LATE, £5.50, or a £3.50 night single.
- Trams only for several days: a 3-, 4- or 5-day city-zone ticket from £12.50.
What to book before you go to Edinburgh lists the sights that need tickets, Edinburgh walking tours covers the Old Town on foot, and where to stay in Edinburgh compares the areas, with hotels near the Royal Mile for the centre.
Common questions
How much is a bus ticket in Edinburgh?
£2.40 for an adult single on a Lothian bus, and £1.20 for a child aged 5 to 15. A City DAY ticket is £6.00 for unlimited Lothian buses and city-zone trams, or £5.70 if you tap a contactless card on three or more journeys. Cash is exact fare only.
What is the cheapest way to pay for buses and trams in Edinburgh?
Tap the same contactless card or phone every time. TapTapCap works out the cheapest adult daily fare, capped at £5.70 for the city zone and £14.00 on the whole network, and a weekly cap of £26.50 that runs Monday to Sunday.
Do I tap off on an Edinburgh bus?
No: tap on when you board a Lothian bus and there is no need to tap off. On the tram you must tap on before boarding and tap off at the end, or the journey is charged as the full airport fare.
Does the City DAY ticket cover the airport?
No. A City DAY ticket does not cover the tram to the airport or the Airlink 100 bus. The Network DAY ticket at £14.00 covers all of it, with the night services the following morning.
Are there night buses in Edinburgh?
Yes. The Lothian NightBus runs every day from midnight to 04:30, a night single is £3.50, and the Airlink 100 to the airport runs 24 hours. A City LATE ticket at £5.50 covers buses and trams from 18:00 to 04:30.
How do I pay for an Edinburgh taxi?
Taxis are metered at the City of Edinburgh Council's tariff, which since 25 July 2026 starts at £3.60 for the first 430 metres on a weekday daytime and £4.80 in the evening and at weekends. A pre-booked taxi adds a £1.00 call-out charge.
