Edinburgh runs on two things: Lothian Buses, which cover practically every street in the city, and a single tram line that cuts straight from the airport to the city centre and on to Leith. Tap a contactless card and you’re set for both — there’s no need to work out zones or ticket types before you travel.
The basics
Lothian Buses is the backbone — over 50 routes across Edinburgh and the Lothians, including the 24/7 Airlink Airport Express and the NightBus network that takes over after midnight. Two affiliated companies, Lothian Country (west Edinburgh and West Lothian) and East Coast Buses (east Edinburgh and East Lothian), run on the same tickets.
Edinburgh Trams is the other half: one line, running from Edinburgh Airport through Ingliston, Edinburgh Park, Haymarket, the West End, and Princes Street, on to Leith and Newhaven. It’s not a sprawling metro — just one route — but it’s the fastest way in from the airport and a handy spine through the city centre.
There are no ticket gates on either buses or trams — it’s a tap-and-validate, proof-of-payment system throughout.
How to pay
- Tap a contactless bank card or phone (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and similar) on the reader as you board the bus, or at a platform validator for the tram. On buses this is TapTapCap; on the tram it’s the equivalent Tap On, Tap Off service — either way you’re charged a standard single fare, and the system automatically works out and applies the cheapest daily or weekly total for you, so you never have to buy a day ticket in advance.
- Buy an m-ticket in the Bus & Tram app in advance, including day tickets and Ridacard top-ups.
- Pay cash on the bus — drivers carry no change, so bring the exact fare.
- Get a Ridacard if you’re staying longer — a season card covering day and night Lothian services (details below).
On buses, you only tap once, when you board — there’s no tapping off. On the tram it’s different: if you’re paying by contactless, you must tap on before boarding and tap off again when you leave — forget to tap off and you’ll be charged a flat Adult Airport Single fare instead of the capped rate. (Ridacard and concession-pass holders only need to tap on.) There’s no way to buy a ticket once you’re aboard, but Ticketing Service Assistants do work the trams and can inspect your tap with a handheld reader.
Each card or phone is one person’s ticket — a group can’t share a single tap.
Fares
| Single | Day (City DAY) | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £2.40 | £6.00 (£5.70 with TapTapCap) |
| Child (5–15) | £1.20 | £3.00 |
| Family (up to 2 adults, 3 children) | — | £13.00 |
A single buys one journey, not a transfer window — Lothian’s fares aren’t time-based the way some cities’ are. That’s what makes TapTapCap worth using: tap every ride on the same card and you’re automatically capped at £5.70 a day and £26.50 a week (Monday–Sunday), so you never have to plan ahead or buy a pass. Children under 5 travel free with a fare-paying adult.
If you’re staying longer, a Ridacard (Lothian’s season pass) undercuts even weekly capping: £26.50 for one week, £80 for four weeks, or £760 paid upfront for a year (£74/month on direct debit, plus a one-off £25 admin fee). It covers day and night Lothian services, including journeys to and from the airport.
Night fares: a NightBus single is £3.50; a City LATE ticket (6pm–4:30am) is £5.50.
Getting from the airport
You’ve got three options, in order of what most visitors choose:
Edinburgh Trams — the fastest and most direct. Trams run every 7 minutes between 7am and 7pm (about every 10 minutes outside that window) straight from the airport terminal to the city centre, calling at Haymarket, the West End, and St Andrew Square (a short walk from Waverley Station). Buy your ticket before boarding — at the platform machine, in the app, or online — booking online in advance is cheapest: an Adult Airport Single is £7.50, an Adult Airport Open Return £9.25 (children £3.50/£4.80; a family open return is £28.00).
Airlink 100 — the budget option, and it never really stops running. It departs the airport roughly every 10 minutes from 4am to 1am, and every 15–20 minutes overnight, taking an average of 30 minutes to reach Waverley Bridge, right next to Princes Street and Waverley Station. An Airport Single is £6.00, an Open Return £8.50 (children £3.00/£4.25). Airlink runs 24/7 in both directions, so there’s no “last bus” to worry about catching.
City bus Service 17 or 18 — slower but cheapest, at the standard £2.40 flat city fare (no separate airport surcharge). Service 17 takes about 50 minutes via Ocean Terminal; Service 18 takes about an hour 15 via Fort Kinnaird. Worth it if your hotel is directly on one of those routes, or you’re counting every pound.
Standard Lothian DAY and LATE tickets aren’t valid on Airlink or the tram’s airport-zone fares — those need a Network ticket instead, and the £5.70 daily TapTapCap cap doesn’t cover them either. The £26.50 weekly cap does, though — it folds in Airlink and airport-zone tram trips along with everything else.
Apps to download
- Bus & Tram App — the official app: real-time departures, service alerts, and a place to buy m-tickets or top up a Ridacard.
- Citymapper — covers Edinburgh’s buses and trams together for door-to-door, multi-modal directions.
- Google Maps or Apple Maps — solid for straightforward trip planning with live departure data.
When it runs
Edinburgh Trams run from about 6am to midnight, seven days a week, every 7 minutes in the core daytime window (7am–7pm) and about every 10 minutes outside it.
Lothian Buses run through the day across the network, and NightBus takes over after regular services finish, running midnight to 4:30am on 18 routes across the city and the Lothians — so there’s always something moving, even late.
Airlink, as above, is genuinely 24/7.
Accessibility
Every Lothian bus carries at least one dedicated wheelchair space and a boarding ramp, with braille on the push-bells and audio and visual “next stop” announcements. Drivers can lower the ramp and assist on request, and Lothian’s Accessibility and Inclusion team runs bus-familiarisation sessions for wheelchair users and blind or partially sighted riders who want to practise boarding before they travel.
Edinburgh Trams are step-free throughout: platforms are reached by ramps or lifts, trams have low-floor entrances, and each tram has a wheelchair space in its middle carriage.
For door-through-door transport beyond fixed routes, HcL Transport’s Dial-A-Ride serves Edinburgh and the Lothians — free to register, with fares quoted by mileage when you book.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Tap or validate every time — on the bus when you board, on the tram platform before you do. If you’re paying contactless on the tram, tap off again when you get off, or you’ll be overcharged.
- Bring exact change if you’re paying cash — drivers genuinely can’t give change.
- Signal the driver at a bus stop by raising your hand as the bus approaches; it won’t stop automatically just because you’re standing there.
- Press the bell well before your stop — Edinburgh’s streets and hills mean buses can’t always stop on a dime.
- Keep your ticket or validated card on you for the whole journey — a ticket inspector can ask to see it at any point.
Good to know
- No on-board tickets on the tram. Buy before you board — at a platform machine, in the app, or online — or you’ll be charged a £10 on-board fare for travelling unvalidated.
- Tram contactless is tap on, tap off. Unlike the bus, a single tap only covers boarding — skip the tap-off on the way out and you’re charged a flat Airport Single fare rather than the capped rate.
- One tap, one journey. Unlike some cities’ time-based fares, a single Lothian fare doesn’t include a free transfer — if you change buses, you tap (and pay) again, though TapTapCap’s daily cap means a second or third ride in the same day effectively becomes cheap or free once you hit £5.70.
- Ridacard beats capping if you’re here a week or more — £26.50 for unlimited week-long travel, bought in advance, versus paying as you go up to the same weekly cap.