First Bus Rides

Bus 36

We have been here for one month and have walked everywhere we have wanted to go; everything is so conveniently close. Now, we have used the bus system for the first time. Beth is considering another volunteer position; this one would be far enough away to require bus travel. And, like most everything else for us here, it is requiring an interesting learning curve.

Edinburgh, like virtually all cities in Europe, has an excellent mass transit system. Here, everything a bus traveler needs to know can be found in one comprehensive, easy-to-use, phone app. Routes, timetables, and live bus tracking are all there. So is ticketing; buy a ticket on your phone and use it for travel. Once over the learning curve, it is oh so convenient. A one-trip ticket costs £1.80 ($2.35 US), and an all-day pass costs £4.50 ($6.00 US); monthly passes can be also be purchased. Paper tickets can be purchased at various locations, if desired.

So, we took one bus from our Stockbridge neighborhood to the city center, changed to a different bus to travel to her potential volunteer location; then did the reverse. Later in the day, we ventured out again by bus for dinner and a movie in the city center. Although we have been walking to the city center thus far, this time we opted to take the bus just for the practice.