Using your Diamond Travelcard bus pass
You can apply for a Diamond Travelcard if you are of state pension age, receive a qualifying benefit qualifying age or meet the disability criteria. This gives you free bus travel anywhere in England.
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How to use your Diamond Travelcard
The pass is a smartcard. This means that passes can be scanned on bus card readers for travel in South Gloucestershire and most areas of England. You will not receive a paper ticket.
You cannot use your Diamond Travelcard on trains or in taxis.
You can use for your Diamond Travelcard on Transport for London buses for free travel but it should be used as a flashcard instead.
When you can travel
In South Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, you can use your Diamond Travelcard Monday to Friday from 9am through to 2am the next day. At weekends and bank holidays you can use your Diamond Travelcard all day.
In the rest of England, you can use your Travelcard Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 11pm and all day at weekends and bank holidays.
Bus companies may offer concessionary travel outside these hours on a discretionary basis. Check with the operator before you travel.
Where you can travel
The Diamond Travelcard provides free travel on local bus services that are part of the local bus network in England. This includes the Bristol MetroBus.
This does not usually include long distance bus and coach services but you can check with the operator before you travel.
Journeys can be made into Wales from South Gloucestershire on the T7 service to Chepstow and Magor but the Diamond Travelcard cannot be used for other services within Wales.
A Diamond Travelcard is not valid for free travel on:
- sightseeing tour buses within Bath and Bristol
- coach services such as National Express, Megabus or Falcon
- the A1 or A4 bus service to Bristol Airport (but can be used on these services for journeys not to or from the airport)
Companion passes
We may provide companion passes to severely disabled residents who can only access local bus services with the assistance of a travelling companion.
The cardholder needs to be at least 11 years old to be eligible and will need to provide supporting evidence.
The companion bus pass will have a letter C on it and gives free bus travel to a companion travelling with the concessionary bus pass holder on journeys that start in South Gloucestershire.
Travel companions may be required to pay a fare if the journey starts outside the area.
It does not need to be the same companion on all journeys.