The Belfast Metro is the city’s dedicated city bus network and the backbone of daily travel in and around the Belfast area. The Metro’s pink buses are a convenient way of getting around the city everyday, whether you are a short term visitor or a long term resident.

Belfast Metro routes and network map

The bright pink buses serve 12 bus corridors, which are trunk routes radiating outwards from the city centre. There are also additional numbered services separate from the 12 corridors that serve specific destinations.

Each corridor is a made up of a common high frequency trunk with branches at various points to serve specific areas. The Metro’s route numbers display the corridor number and a suffixed alphabet denoting the branch (e.g: “1a”, “1b”, “1c” and so on).

All Metro services begin and terminate at or around Donegall Square outside Belfast City Hall, which is the city centre’s Metro hub. Bus stands are placed at each of the square’s 4 cardinal directions (i.e Donegall Square North, South, East, West) and also the neighbouring streets.

Transferring from one route to another usually requires travelling into the city centre and walking to the appropriate bus stand as there are no orbital routes allowing easy transfers outside the city centre.

Belfast Metro city centre stands

Each Metro corridor and its services are assigned to a stand on a designated side of Donegall Square or on a particular street nearby, which may change from time to time depending on operational needs. As of July 2024, the Metro’s city centre stands are located as follows:

Metro Service Nos.	City Centre Departure Points
1	Donegall Place (NEXT store)
2	Donegall Place (Footlocker store)
3	Donegall Square West
4	Donegall Square West
5	Donegall Square West
6	Donegall Square West
7	Howard Street (Deanes restaurant)
8	Howard Street
9	Bedford Street
10	Queen’s Street
11	Donegall Square North
12	Donegall Square North
13	Donegall Place (NEXT store)
14	Donegall Place (NEXT store)
93	Donegall Square East
94	Wellington Place
96	Upper Queen Street
646	Europa Bus Centre
648	Donegall Place (McDonald’s)
649	Donegall Place (McDonald’s)
650	Europa Bus Centre

For information on changes to the Metro’s city centre bus stands, please visit Translink’s website or their social media pages.

How to buy Belfast Metro tickets

The Metro sells tickets onboard and there are also travel cards available for discounted and/or multi-journey travels. Here’s how to buy tickets for travel on the Metro:

• Paying cash onboard (for Single and Day tickets);
• Paying via contactless cards onboard (for Single and Day tickets);
• Buying a ticket via Translink’s mLink app (for Single and Day tickets); and
• Travel with a travel card (yLink, iLink, dayLink, Smartlink).

All Metro bus tickets must be validated onboard the bus during boarding. Note that Single and Day tickets sold onboard are only for Metro services. Metro Day tickets are usable for all Metro services on the same day.

For cash and card payments onboard, simply tell the driver where you want to go, specify if you need a Single or Day ticket, and hand over cash or tap your contactless bank card on the reader. Your paper ticket will then be issued to you, although note that no printed tickets will be issued for Single tickets paid for via contactless.

Using Discounted Tickets and Travel Cards on the Metro

If you’re using an mLink ticket on the app, remember to purchase and activate it before boarding, and to show it to the driver. mLink Metro tickets are also valid on the Belfast Glider.

If you’re using your yLink card for discounted Single or Day tickets, tap your yLink card on the reader before paying for the ticket with cash or contactless. You will then receive the paper ticket – check to make sure that the discount has been applied.

If you’re travelling with an iLink, dayLink, or a Smartlink card, tap on the reader to validate it when boarding. A paper receipt will then be issued to confirm that the card is valid for your journey. These travel cards cannot be bought onboard Metro buses.

Frequencies and schedules

Metro services run on scheduled timetables throughout the day. Trunk sections typically offer intervals of between 5 to 10 minutes in the day time and between 20 to 40 minutes during off peak hours. Branches usually have longer service intervals and I recommend planning your journey ahead of time if you’re travelling to a locale served by a single branch only.

Each bus stop displays timetables for the routes servicing the stop in question, and some are also equipped with an LED board displaying live bus times. All Metro timetables are available on the Translink website.

The Metro benefits from bus lanes located on various city roads, and is generally reliable throughout the day. It is nevertheless not a perfect system and is still susceptible to delay and service interruptions particularly during the rush hour heavy traffic flow. You might also come to realise that walking is faster than waiting for a delayed Metro service.

Translink journey planner and service updates

There are 2 ways to plan your journey when using Translink services:

• Using Google Maps (Translink shares live data for its buses and trains with Google); or
• Using Translink’s own journey planner app (App Store link), (Google Play link).

Service updates for Metro services are provided by Translink’s Twitter feed. There is also a dedicated Belfast Metro Twitter feed if you want updates for only the pink buses.

Belfast Metro routes for QUB and Ulster Uni students

Here are some popular locations for QUB and Ulster University students and their most convenient Metro routes:

Location	Metro route
Belfast City Hall	All Metro routes lead to City Hall.
Ulster University (Belfast campus), 123 York Street, LIV Student	2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2j, 2k, 2m, 2p
Lanyon Place Rail Station	6a, 6d, 6e
Botanic Avenue, QUB McClay Library, Union Theological College	7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7g, 7h
Queen’s University Belfast, QUB Student Union, Botanic Gardens, QUB College Gardens, QUB Guthrie House, QUB Mount Charles	8a, 8b, 8c, 8d
QUB 76 Malone Road, QUB Grant House, QUB Elms Village BT9 (incl. Willow Walk)	8b, 8c
QUB Elms BT1	All Metro routes leading to City Hall.
QUB Elms BT2	9a, 9b, 9c, 9e, 9g, 9h, 9j ,9k, 9m

How are the Metro buses like?

The Metro bus fleet contains a mix of single deck and double decked units, most of which are built by NI-based manufacturer Wrightbus.

All buses are low-floor and have the capability to “kneel” to bring the door closer to the kerb to provide easier access when boarding. The buses are also wheelchair-accessible and the internal layout accommodates wheelchair users. To board a Metro bus with a wheelchair, make yourself known to the driver who will then assist you.

Some newer buses are equipped with WiFi, USB charging ports, leather seats, and a second door intended as an easier exit from the bus for wheelchair users. These doors are not used for ordinary de-boarding like buses in other cities.

External Links

• Translink website;
• Timetables page on Translink website (type in your stop name or route number).