This page explains how to pay on buses and West Midlands Metro trams in Birmingham, which tickets and passes are available and who travels free or at a reduced fare. It applies to every route in the city.
How to pay
National Express West Midlands buses take cash only as the exact fare, with no change. You can also tap a contactless card (Tap & Cap), use Swift pay as you go or buy an mTicket in the app. Swift Go, for adults only, works by tapping on the bus and tapping on and off on the tram, with caps for 1 day, 3 days and a week across several operators.
Since 13 September 2026 the West Midlands Metro works on Buy Before You Board: there are no tickets on board, so buy from a machine (cash and card), in the MyMetro app or with Swift.
Tickets and passes
nBus tickets are valid on several bus operators, nBus + metro adds the tram, and nNetwork covers bus, train and tram.
Who travels free or at a reduced fare
Up to 3 children under 5 travel free; ages 5 to 15 pay the child rate (season tickets only with a Swift child photocard), and 16 and 17 year olds pay the child rate with a 16-18 photocard. Students should carry ID.
Older person’s passes are valid on buses from 9:30 to 23:00 on weekdays and all day at weekends, and on the tram from 9:30; on the Metro only passes issued by the West Midlands Combined Authority are accepted. Without a ticket you pay a standard fare on the bus or a penalty fare on the Metro, and forgetting to tap off on the Metro means a maximum charge.
What we could not confirm
We could not confirm whether a hopper (free transfer) fare exists on buses in the West Midlands.
Routes
Buses: bus 1, bus 2, bus 3, bus 3A, bus 4, bus 4A, bus 4H, bus 4M, bus 5, bus 6, bus 7, bus 10, bus 12, bus 13, bus 14, bus 16, bus 16A, bus 17, bus 17A, bus 18, bus 19, bus 20, bus 21, bus 23, bus 24, bus 27, bus 28, bus 30, bus 33, bus 35, bus 39, bus 39A, bus 40, bus 41, bus 45, bus 47, bus 48, bus 49, bus 50, bus 51, bus 52, bus 54, bus 54A, bus 55, bus 60, bus 61, bus 63, bus 64, bus 65, bus 66, bus 67, bus 68, bus 71, bus 71A, bus 74, bus 76, bus 77, bus 77A, bus 80, bus 82, bus 87, bus 89, bus 94, bus 95, bus 96, bus 97, bus 97A, bus 98, bus 99, bus 99A, bus 101, bus 630, bus 631, bus 674, bus 907, bus 936, bus 937, bus 997, bus 998, bus FD, bus X2, bus X4, bus X5, bus X12, bus X14, bus X15, bus X20, bus X21, bus X22, bus X64.
Checked on 6 October 2026. Sources: National Express West Midlands, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), West Midlands Metro.