A history-rich city full of arts, shopping, and culture. Visit Lincoln, a city where all the main attractions are in walking distance or short bus journeys. This guide demonstrates how to use the bus services in Lincoln: whether your journey is for shopping in Lincoln’s independent boutiques, climbing Steep Hill to see the Castle or commuting to the local areas around Lincoln. Information on how to use the Lincoln Bus Station and what to do if your visit to Lincoln is from a faraway place is also on this guide. Finally, this guide contains instructions on how to get to the best attractions in Lincoln by bus including the bus number to take, the routes and timings.
Most bus stops in and around Lincoln are signposted by a pole and an image of a bus. There are a couple of ways to locate your bus stop. If you know the bus number, you can find the timetable and look for the bus stop closest to your location. You can also search for your nearest bus stop on our live tracker.
Once you've located your bus stop and the bus timings, you can wait for your bus. Stand as close to the bus stop pole (if your bus stop has one) as possible and remain visible to approaching buses. Your bus stop may serve several bus services. For each approaching bus, determine which bus you need to flag down. Most buses display their bus number and destination on an electronic board at the front of the bus. To signal to the bus driver to stop, you must extend your arm.
Bus timetables can be viewed or downloaded on the Timetables page.
The main 4 bus companies that operate in Lincoln are: Stagecoach, PC Coaches, CallConnect and Brylaine. Find out about the bus companies including contact details.
To ride on the bus, you must have a bus ticket which can be purchased from the driver on the day of travel or in advanced by purchasing tickets directly from the bus companies. Once obtained a digital or physical bus ticket, you must always keep and have access to your ticket.
When entering the Lincoln Bus Station to take a bus, you must locate the bus stand and wait. If you know your bus number, you can find which stand your bus is assigned to on the Lincoln Bus Station website. While waiting you should either stand in a queue or sit in the chairs assigned to the bus stand.
During out of hours your bus may be assigned to stand O. You should wait at this stand for your bus. To determine if your bus is using stand O out of hours, go to the Lincoln Bus Station website and check for your bus under the bus stand O information. You should also ask a bus station adviser on the day of travel.
When arriving at the Lincoln Central Train Station (Lincoln Railway Station) the Lincoln Bus Station is simply across the road after exiting the train station.
The following lists the services from across the county to access Lincoln.
Get up Steep Hill with the Walk and Ride bus to visit Lincoln cathedral.
Other public bus services include service 7, 8, 17 and 18.
To visit Hartsholme Country Park take service 6 or service 9.
Catch the bus with our useful journey planning tools.
Lincoln Bus Station website View bus timetables Live bus tracker