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Look confident with my little
Glasgow bus guide
It's all you'll need to get you around safely
cheaply & on time in a Glasgow bus
The Lowdown | Guide | Airport & National Buses | Minibus & Coach Hire
 Is it worth getting the bus here?
Well, the short answer to that is 'yes'.
Put aside for a moment all your preconceptions about travelling around by bus. Replace them with the snooty-nosed satisfaction you'll feel glaring righteously at all those polluting, carbon-loving car drivers like me as you pass their traffic-jammed 4x4s in your bus lane.
Jumping a Glasgow bus these days allows you to do just that, without having to compromise on getting around on time & in comfort as you'd have to have done years ago.
It really is changed days with Glasgow buses. Years ago I remember it being commonplace that you'd be as lucky as Larry even to find a bus stop nearby, with a regular Glasgow bus taking you pretty much wherever you wanted to go. If you did manage to get one, any seat you'd be privileged to grab would be so uncomfortable that you'd find yourself walking like John Wayne when you got off the bus! The windows would rattle about until your teeth fell out. The engine would be so loud that you'd feel as though they just hadn't bothered fitting a floor to the bus. Well, that's if you could feel anything at all given that you'd likely have been drowsy with the intoxicating smell of fuel & smoke coming from the engine!
Am I exaggerating?
Yeah OK, so probably a little. But suffice to say that the typical Glasgow bus service you'll be faced with when you get here should be the complete opposite of all that. Yes, I've had my run in with Glasgow bus drivers. I've stood in the rain watching them ignore me at the bus stop. I've run like a maniac to catch the bus, only to see them smugly drive away just as I get to the stop (I'm sure the drivers sit there watching in their rearview mirrors). I've also been a victim of out of date timetables and drivers who just don't bother to turn up at all. But hey, haven't we all? It'd be completely unfair if I formed an opinion only on my past, one-off experiences, or automatically took the view of the occasional Glasgow citizen who thinks I'm talking trash.
I can honestly say that despite what it's been like in the past, you'll be glad to know that with all the funding our public transport services have been given as a result of political pressure over the years, our City is now fairly chuffed to bits with the Glasgow bus service. And rightly so. We've never had so many comfortable, reliable and cost effective buses at every corner of the City, so many updated and readily available timetables, so much time saved with all the bus lanes cutting through traffic jams in town. I may have a car, I'll freely admit that, but any chance I get I'll jump a Glasgow bus to get me around (yeah OK, usually so that I don't have to stay off the alcohol!), and I've found that save for the odd dodgy experience everyone will face from time to time getting any form of transport given that nothing's ever completely perfect, unlike many other cities who focus their public transport more on the metro or train the overall standard of bus service in Glasgow really is second to none.
Hopefully when you visit you'll agree with me, and don't feel drawn to paying your bus driver some blood money to chase me down...
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 A wee guide to get you around
Step 1. First thing's first, pick yourself up a
Glasgow mapmate
. For those not used to travelling around in a Glasgow bus, this wee map is absolutely indispensable. If the link to it doesn't work, make sure you've got Adobe Reader installed on your computer. You can get Adobe Reader here (a new window will open so you can download it without leaving this page), and you should be able to increase the size of the map so that you can read it properly.
If you'd prefer to get a funkier, glossy version of the mapmate, you can pick one up in any of the tourist information centres around the City, or in any SPT travel outlets & various retailers. It gives you a brilliant but simple guide to the routes and frequency of all the First Glasgow buses in the City (the First Group is the main Glasgow bus provider), and points out the main landmarks & atttractions for you.
Step 2. Next, spend some time on the
First Glasgow
site, which allows you to plan your intended journeys around the City with its Glasgow bus timetable links and prices, and introduces you to the various ways to save money on your Glasgow bus tickets. For example, if you're planning to travel on the bus for about a week, you can get the unlimited travel FirstWeek pass for a very reasonable price, or you can opt for the FirstDay pass and so on, whatever your needs may be. Either way, you should find that if you plan your journeys well rather than just jumping the bus randomly, these kind of passes will save you a whole lotta cash. The First Bus site also tells you about the special services they run like the SECC Gig n Go bus, or the Braehead Bullet.
Step 3. Once you know what pass or ticket you'll be needing and which bus to catch having looked at the mapmate & timetables, it'll just be a case of finding the closest bus stop which shows on its sign the number of the bus you're looking for, watching for your bus number at the front of the approaching buses, waving out your hand to make sure the driver stops for you (unless someone else puts out their hand instead - no-one likes a copycat!), then stepping onto the bus once it's there.
Of course, without wanting to be accused of preferring only one bus company, you should be aware that other independent bus companies operate around the City as well as First Buses. The other ones use older buses, and their numbers & routes pretty much mirror the First Buses. They tend to be cheaper for single fares but you can't get weekly passes and so on. The good thing about them is that they're used to being rejected at bus stops by the folks preferring First Buses (probably because unlike First Buses, the independent buses don't have a pile of the Metro on them, which is a free and absorbingly entertaining newspaper available on the First Buses and at bus & train stations around the city), so they won't stop at the bus stop unless you put your arm out. In busier periods of the day therefore, they sometimes turn out to be quicker for you, as if you get on they'll stop less along the route.
It's normally a good idea to have your exact fare ready before you get on the bus. Glasgow buses generally don't give out change, so don't step onto a bus with a £10 note for example, as the driver will probably look at it like it's diseased. Just go to the First Group site above before you visit, work out your fare following the easy links there, and make sure before you get to the bus stop that you have the exact amount of change. If you haven't done this and don't know what the fare will be, just make sure you've got enough coins to cover you (single journeys will range from about 75p to less than £4 depending on the journey length).
 Step 4. Are these steps becoming annoyingly obvious for you yet?!! Once you're on your Glasgow bus, say to the driver where you're heading. The driver will let you know what the fare is, although I'd listen carefully, because they're usually behind a glass partition which muffles the sound of their voice and I'm sure some of them deliberately speak quietly so that you'll have to ask them to repeat what they said! Once you know the fare you'll then have to insert your coins into a wee slot machine which should be easily identifiable. Once you've inserted the correct amount, the driver will print out a ticket which will be dispensed out of a slot next to where you just put your change. Take the ticket and move on straight away so that you don't annoy the impatient folk behind you and waiting on the bus.
Step 5. If there's a seat available, sit as near to the front of the bus as you can. If you don't know where and when your destination is, my suggestion would be to either ask a friendly face to let you know when to get off, or to ask the driver to shout out the name of the destination when the bus arrives there. You might find however, that the driver can't be bothered doing that, so it's probably best if you just use your mapmate, follow any street signs you may see, count the number of streets you pass by and so on. Basically, as before it's a great idea to plan the journey route in advance, as it's the best way to ensure your Glasgow bus journey will be more relaxing for you. Be prepared, as my old Scout Master always taught me!
So I hope this guide helps you get around in a Glasgow bus when you're here, and that I've not insulted your intelligence with my direct lifts from the Book of the Obvious!
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 To & from Glasgow and our airports
If you've got this far through my Glasgow bus guide without ending it all, you might be interested in learning about the Glasgow Airport bus service, or how to get a bus to Glasgow or a bus from Glasgow. If you are interested, I promise I won't hold it against you. Seriously. I mean, this is just the kind of soul destroying stuff Tracey nails me to the PC for any time we'll be heading anywhere other than down the road - What's the transport like Scott? Is there a bus stop nearby Scott? - normally I've only enough masculine strength & pride to grumble something under my breath before doing my duty and learning all there is to know about bus timetables! Ah, the power of man against woman!...
...So anyway, the Glasgow Airport bus service. I've written a wee bit about it in my Glasgow Airport Guide, and if you're heading between Glasgow and Prestwick, in my Prestwick Airport Guide. Both services operate via Buchanan Bus Station, the main Glasgow bus station, and you'll see in the First Bus link above how many buses you can get from there to where you're headed, although if you prefer, there's a taxi rank right outside the station just off Cowcaddens Road (looking out of the main building towards the buses, go to the exit nearest you on the left). Buchanan Bus Station is pretty small despite the number of services it covers. However, it's got a few shops, toilets and cash machines, as well as a number of screens in the main building showing the departure information you'll need, a pretty snazzy tactile & audio map of Glasgow for impaired travellers, and a statue of two young travellers meeting in love which is a good place to meet before or after you travel.
It's Buchanan Bus Station you'll be using if you're travelling on a bus to Glasgow or a bus from Glasgow. If you're travelling via England, for example on the London Glasgow bus, it'll more than likely be a
National Express
service. I've used the National Express a few times when money was a bit tight in my student days, and it still comes highly recommended.
The site I've linked to gives you all the information you'll need if you're planning on using the bus between England or Wales and Glasgow. The Citylink site I've linked to in my Glasgow Airport page also gives you everything you'll need to plan & book a journey between Glasgow and the rest of Scotland, although you'll also see the Megabus link on the same page which takes you through a rather cheaper but equally reliable bus service around Scotland. For example, despite how much slower the Edinburgh Glasgow bus is compared to the train these days, you'll still find that it's a very popular service (principally due to how cheap it still is), so you should get there a little earlier than your departure time to ensure you get a seat.
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 Coach Hire Glasgow Minibus Hire
To cut a long story short (too late?), one of the most reputable Glasgow coach hire and Glasgow Minibus rental companies here is
Croft Coaches
. They run a fleet of luxury minibuses between 12 & 18 seats, and larger coaches of up to 40 seats, and will help you out for Glasgow Airport transfers, corporate events, special occasions and so on. The price is usually pretty reasonable & if you're anything like me, you can convince everyone on the coach to split the cost! Have a look at the Croft site for more information.
So I hope this wee Glasgow bus guide helps you get around here for less money than you would on a train. If you've got this far, well, I'm truly proud of your achievment! Truly proud. So as a worthy reward, I'll leave you humbly with the best info I've got:
Did you hear about the magic bus?
- It went along the road, then turned into a side street.
And then cue my abject apology...
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