Hello So, as I search out prices of the bus tickets I find a Ridacard. Sounds good. Even includes the Airport Buses. Huge savings to have that included. BUT why can't you Purchase it at the Airport or make it available for pre-purchase online? You can only get it once you are their Travel Hubs- Waverley Bridge, Shandwick Place or East Coast Buses. This seems like a bit of a scam or scheme to not make it available at the Airport. What do you say? Anyone else experience this? Thanks
Posted by
London
81 posts
Lothian Ridacard is subsidised and supported by the city council and was designed for residents. And Lothian buses have three hubs with staff in them, all easily accessible by residents. It was never designed with tourists in mind.
If they placed a hub at the airport then they would probably have to double the cost, such are the ground rents at Edinburgh airport. And the average trip time to Edinburgh also means that the ridacard isn't worth it for most.
It might come across as a scam but I really do think it's to do with the costs of having a new hub and the limited demand. And they don't have ticket purchasing at all online or on their app at present.
What would be good would be an option to claim back a same day airport transfer when buying the card, as that would cover cases like this.
Posted by
12 posts
We bought our Ridacards when we first stepped out of Waverly back in 2017. We were delighted to find that we could top them up for the week's stay in 2019 and anticipate doing so again a bit later this year when we return.
I understand the inconvenience, but I've found the Waverly Bridge office to be very quick, friendly and efficient. I'll admit, I enjoy have a picture Ridacard like a local.
Posted by
Lake District, England
5807 posts
I have responded offline to Shelley. But the short answer is that the weekly tap a tap contactless cap of £22 from Monday to Sunday is the same price as the Ridacard, and includes the airport bus.
Or the daily cap of £4.80 contactless pays for itself after the 3rd ride every day, although that excludes the airport bus. On arrival day it's likely cheapest just to pay the airport bus then start contactless when in the city- if arriving at the end of the week.
Posted by
London
81 posts
The weekly tap tap cap is indeed the same price as a ridacard but sadly, just like the TFL Travelcard vs weekly contactless, still only runs Monday to Sunday.
It really is a shame they don't just make it a rolling seven days.