Welcome to Lincoln

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.

New to Lincoln? - Here's how to take the bus

How do I find my bus stop?

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.

How do I flag down and get onto a bus?

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.

Where are the bus timetables?

Bus timetables can be viewed or downloaded on the Timetables page.

Which bus companies operate in Lincoln?

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.

How do I pay and display my bus ticket?

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.

How do I use the Lincoln Bus Station?

Each bus service is assigned to a stand

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.

The out of hours stand (bus stand O)

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.

Visit Lincoln by train or connecting buses

Getting to the Lincoln Bus Station from Lincoln Railway Station

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.

Accessing Lincoln from across the county

The following lists the services from across the county to access Lincoln.

  • Service 56 to and from Skegness.
  • Service 103 to and from Scunthorpe.
  • IC5 to and from Boston.
  • Service 100, 106 and 107 to and from Gainsborough.
  • North Lincoln is service 17 and 18.
  • South Lincoln is service 533 and 535.

Visit Lincoln's exciting tourist hotspots by bus

Lincoln Cathedral

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.

View or download the timetables.

Hartsholme Country Park

To visit Hartsholme Country Park take service 6 or service 9.

View or download the timetables.

Journey Tools

Catch the bus with our useful journey planning tools.

Lincoln Bus Station website View bus timetables Live bus tracker