Note: all bus fares increased again from 1 January 2025, see fare increases. This page reflects the new fare structure.
Fares became cheaper after the start of Bus Fares Pilot negotiated between Cornwall Council and the bus operators and funded by a large subsidy of £23 million from central government and implemented in 2022; secondly, in 2023 the government funded a £2 maximum single fare. However, the money from the Bus Fares Pilot has nearly all gone and the government funded single fare cap price has increased to £3 from 1 January 2025. For many passengers, the price of catching a bus in 2025 will be more than it was before the Bus Fares Pilot.
All tickets can be used on any operator’s buses across Cornwall.
Tickets can be purchased in a number of ways:
From the driver by cash or by contactless card or smartphone
Using one of the bus operator’s apps - mobile tickets or m-tickets
Tap on and tap off (also known as tap and cap)
Note however that not all options for paying are available for all tickets. Details are below.
Adults or under 19
Adult fares are charged for persons 19 years and older. Under 19 fares are charged for persons up to and including 18 years of age. You may be asked for proof of age if requesting an under 19 fare. Prior to the Bus Fares Pilot, child fares were half of the equivalent adult fare. However, now they are close to the adult fare.
Single or return
Single fares: you can purchase a single ticket from the driver using cash, contactless or by using tap and cap. See the page about tap and cap. As from 1 January 2025, the maximum fare for a single journey is £3. Neither the bus companies nor Cornwall Council published an updated schedule of single and return fares. Their news items merely say, "From 1 January 2025, the majority of single bus journeys will cost £3. There are some which will cost less than £3 as part of our offer to passengers.” However, after four attempts, I managed to prise out of Cornwall Council further information on what might be in this offer to customers, and it is not good news, see Fares further details.
Return fares: as from 1 January 2025, all return fares are double the single fare. There is absolutely no point in buying a return fare rather than buying two singles.
Multi-journey tickets
As an alternative to paying for single tickets each time that you travel, there is a selection of multi-journey tickets, although the selection has been much reduced from 29 September 2024. Gone are the 5-day bundle for all-Cornwall, or town zones or for under-19s; gone also are most of the monthly tickets; also the family all-week ticket has gone.
What we are left with is:
Cornwall All Day: this ticket enables the passenger to travel on an unlimited number of journeys with any operator(s) across Cornwall for one day. The price for an adult, from 1 January 2025 is £8.00, for under 19s, it is £6.00. The ticket can be purchased from the driver, or through a bus operator app. Adults can take advantage of this price using tap and cap (if an U19 uses tap and cap, they will be charged the adult fare - the system cannot differentiate between an adult or U19). See the page on tap and cap that explains how the maximum charge is applied to the journeys that you make.
Cornwall All Week: this ticket enables the passenger to travel on an unlimited number of journeys with any operator(s) across Cornwall for one week, i.e. 7 consecutive days. The price for an adult, from 1 January is £32.00, for under 19s, it is £24.00. The ticket can be purchased from the driver, or through a bus operator app. Adults can take advantage of this price using tap and cap (if an U19 uses tap and cap, they will be charged the adult fare - the system cannot differentiate between an adult or U19). See the page on tap and cap that explains how the maximum charge is applied.
Cornwall All Day family tickets: a family ticket entitles 2 adults plus an unlimited number of children (in this case, children are classified as under 16) to travel on one ticket across Cornwall for £16. These tickets can be purchased from the driver or through a bus operator app.
Cornwall All Month under 19s ticket: following some adverse publicity about the impact of the removal of under 19s monthly tickets, the bus operators have reintroduced, from 6 October 2024, a monthly child (under 19) all Cornwall bus pass, although the price has increased considerably from £50 to £65. The price of £65 is being maintained from 1 January 2025, although it will only be "for the rest of the 2024/25 academic year”.
Town Zones
For passengers travelling within one town only, there are town zone prices. Although they are called town zones, they include villages in the vicinity of each town. The towns, and the areas around them, covered by this scheme are:
Bodmin including Bodmin community hospital, Dunmere, Carminnow Cross, Bodmin Parkway station
Bude including Stratton, Poughill, Flexbury, Kings Hill, Lynstone, Upton
Camborne including Tuckingmill, Tolvaddon, Pool, Pengeggon, Beacon, Troon, Baripper, Treswithian
Falmouth-Penryn including Budock Water, Swanpool, Mabe Burnthouse, Penryn campus, Flushing
Hayle including Connor Downs, Gwithian, St Erth station, Lelant
Helston including Porthleven, Culdrose, Trewednack, Wendron, Crowntown, Sithney
Launceston including Stourscombe, Dutson, St Stephen, Pennygillam
Liskeard including Liskeard hospital, Morrisons, Liskeard station, Trembraze, Gipsy Lane
Newquay including Quintrell Downs, St Columb Minor, Porth, Trevemper, Treloggan
Penzance including Newlyn, Mousehole, Heamoor, Madron, Gulval, Ludgvan, Long Rock, Crowlas, Marazion, Goldsithney, Roseudgeon, St Hilary
Redruth including Illogan, Lanner, Four Lanes
St Austell including Duporth, Charlestown, Penwithick, Trewoon, Sticker, Polgooth, London Apprentice
St Ives including Lelant, St Erth station, Halsetown, Carbis Bay
Truro including Tresillian, Playing Place, Carnon Downs, Chacewater, Threemilestone, Trispen, St Erme
Town All Day: this ticket enables the passenger to travel on an unlimited number of journeys within the town for one day. Prices from 1 January 2025 are £5.50 for an adult, £4.00 for U19. The ticket can be purchased from the driver or through a bus operator app.
Town All Week: this ticket enables the passenger to travel on an unlimited number of journeys within the town for one week (7 consecutive days) for £22.00 for an adult, £16.00 for U19. The ticket can be purchased from the driver or through a bus operator app.
Recommendations
For the very occasional adult passenger, taking a single journey, the simplest is to tap on and tap off for your one journey. You will be charged the single fare for the journey. See further information on tap and cap. For persons under 19 years, on short journeys, you should purchase your ticket from the driver, but for longer journeys you will pay the same as an adult and can use tap and cap if more convenient.
Prior to the introduction, then extension, of the maximum single fare and then the increases in prices for the all Cornwall bundle ticket prices, the ticket bundle prices were great value versus paying for each journey individually. Now, however, generally the bundle ticket prices do not stack up unless you are sure that you will be making at least three journeys a day, or if you have a large number of children and purchase the family bundle ticket.
My recommendation, therefore, is that, if you do not live in a town zone, it is probably best for adults not to buy any of the ticket bundles. However, if you pay for your single fares using tap and cap, you will have the benefit of being charged just the £3 maximum single fare but, if you take more than three journeys on the same day, your total fare will still be capped at the all day maximum of £8.00.
For under 19s, it is probably not worth considering any of the bundle prices. Many under-19s may have a Truro and Penwith College or Callywith College pass making the purchase of these bundle options unnecessary.
For information about how to buy and how to use m-tickets, see Apps.
Concessionary passes
Finally, there are those passengers who have a concessionary pass. For them, all travel on buses wholly within Cornwall is free at all times (excludes Truro park and ride).
Park and ride
Truro park and ride is not included in the all Cornwall ticketing structure. Day tickets for the service can be purchased on the buses or individual day tickets can be purchased through the First Bus app. The cost, as from 1 April 2024, is £2.40 for unlimited travel on the park and ride service for one day (this price applies all week, there is no longer a cheaper fare on Saturdays). As from December 2024, it has become possible again to purchase a day ticket in the offices at the terminals at Tregurra and Langarth, see back to the future.
Multi-day ticket bundles can be purchased through the First Bus app. However, be aware of the expiry dates that apply on these bundles. For further information, see park and ride.