Helpful guides for using our app

If you’re not sure how to buy a ticket, plan a journey, track your bus or how to find service updates, we’ve pulled together the below guides to get you started.

How to track your bus on the app.

Watch our handy video, follow the step by step guide or instructions below:

There are two ways to track your bus on the app.

When you first download the app, you will see a message asking for permission to use your location. Please tap “Allow” so the app can find nearby bus stops.

You can track when your bus will arrive at your stop:

Go to “Live Bus Information” from the app’s main menu.
Zoom in on the map and tap the stop you need.
Select “Track Vehicles” at the bottom of the screen.
A live map will then appear, showing your bus in real time.

You can also track buses on a specific route:

Go to “Live Bus Information” from the app’s main menu.
Tap the settings icon in the bottom left corner.
A pop up will appear - use the search bar to enter your route number or location.
Select your route from the list by tapping the star icon, then choose ‘Done’.
Your chosen route will be saved as a favourite, and you’ll see all current bus locations on the map.

How to plan a journey on the app.

Watch our handy video, use the step by step guide or instructions below.

Planning a journey on the app is simple:

From the app’s main menu, tap “Journey Planner”.
Travel from your current location or choose a stop to depart from.
Enter your destination.
Select when you want to travel and update the date or time if needed.
Tap “Search”.
Choose an option from the list of journeys to reach your destination.
Tap to view departures for your chosen journey.
Select a service to see where your bus is in real time.
You can also view the full journey steps on the map.

How to buy a ticket on the app.

Watch our handy video, or follow the instructions below to get started.

Create an account or make sure you’re logged in.
Go to the Tickets section of the app.
Select the area and then the zone for the ticket you want to buy.
View the coverage map to make sure the ticket you’re buying covers where you want to travel.
Choose the type of ticket you need — you can filter by passenger type or ticket duration to narrow your options.
Proceed to checkout.
Complete your purchase by entering your payment details.
Activate your ticket when you’re ready to travel.

How to view a timetable on the app.

Watch our handy video, or follow the instructions below to get started.

From the main menu, select “Timetables”.
Choose your travel area to browse all services.
A full list of services will appear — select yours. You can narrow the list by searching for your route or location in the search bar.
Your timetable will then display. Scroll to the right to view later times in the day.
It will automatically show today’s timetable, but you can choose a different date by tapping the calendar icon in the top right corner.

Timetables on the website and app are live and update automatically whenever a service changes. Because of this, they aren’t available as PDFs and can’t be downloaded. If you need a printed or digital version, please get in touch with us through the ‘Contact Us’ form on our website.

How view updates or get notified about services you use.

Watch our handy video, follow the step by step guide or instructions below.

You can manually check for any disruptions to your services:

Option 1:

From the app’s main menu click on “Timetables”.
Click on your zone of travel or search directly for your route or location in the bar at the top.
If there’s a disruption, you’ll see the service marked with a warning symbol - just tap to view the update. When you open the timetable, the warning icon will appear in the top right corner if that service is affected by a disruption.

Option 2:

From the app’s main menu click on “Service Updates”.
This will take you to the Arriva Bus website. From here navigate to the area you wish to travel.
On the right hand side of the page you’ll see any updates affecting services.

You can also choose to receive notifications whenever there’s disruption affecting your usual services or stops. You can do this by turning on notifications. You’ll need to create an account or log in to do this.

From the app’s main menu select “Account” and then “Notification settings”.
Turn on “Personalised travel alerts and disruptions”.
Once this is on, you’ll receive updates about your favourite stops or services.

You can add stops and timetables to your favourites when you see the star icon.

If you favourite a bus stop, you’ll receive alerts for that stop. If multiple buses operate from that stop, you’ll get notifications for all of those services.

To favourite a bus stop:

From the app’s main menu click on “Live bus information”.
Zoom in on the map and tap the stop you need.
The stop information will appear.
Click the star icon on the right hand side.

If you favourite a timetable, you’ll receive updates specific to that particular service.

To favourite a timetable or service:

From the main menu, select "Timetables’"
Choose your travel area to browse all services.
A full list of services will appear — select yours. You can narrow the list by searching for your route or location in the search bar.
Your timetable will then display.
Tap the star icon in the top right corner to favourite the timetable.
You can also favourite a stop from here too. Simply click on a stop within the timetable and the departures for that stop will open - tap the star icon in the top right corner.

You can also:

Go to “Live Bus Information” from the app’s main menu.
Tap the settings icon in the bottom left corner.
A pop up will appear - use the search bar to enter your route number or location.
Select your route from the list by tapping the star icon, then choose ‘Done’.
Your chosen route will be saved as a favourite, and you’ll see all current bus locations on the map.

How can I find out if my bus is running late?

You can check live bus times in the app to see if your bus is on time.

Using the app:

Open the app menu and tap “Live Bus Information”.
Find your bus stop on the map and tap it.
Tap “Departures” at the bottom of the screen.
You’ll see a list of upcoming buses and their expected arrival times.

You can also use the app to track buses on the services you use. Follow your bus in real time with live updates and see when your bus is approaching your stop and follow its journey live. See our step by step guide here or watch this video.

How to favourite services, stops and journeys.

You can add services, stops and journeys to your favourites when you see the star icon. Watch the video here