For anyone heading to Orkney, here is a terrific article from the Guardian about how the bus fares have been capped through the end of the year.
The article also goes into detail about some of the wonderful places to visit and how you can get there by bus. Hopefully that will stick around till next year when I go. But I’ll tell you, it’s making me want to pack a suitcase right now and head on over!
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/bus-fares-cap-at-2-in-shetland
This applies to all bus and coach services throughout the Highlands of Scotland and the Northern Isles- so the coach-bus from Oban to Inverness only costs £2, as does the coach-bus from Inverness to Scrabster Ferry Port (for Orkney).
On Shetland there has been some debate as to how it works, but the £2 fare should also apply to the integrated service from Lerwick to the top of Unst- 3 buses and 2 ferries.
All buses on Mull are only £2 as well (for instance Craignure to Iona)- so West Coast Motors have withdrawn their Mull bus rover ticket until 2027 as you can't use enough buses in a day to make it worthwhile.
On Orkney there may be circumstances where the weekly rover of £35.50 is still worth it, as that is only 3 buses a day on average.
Full Orkney timetable- https://www.orkney.gov.uk/media/e0vhtvq2/orkney-public-bus-guide-summer-2026.pdf
