All Aboard! First Bus offers 50% off tickets during The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen
This exclusive discount is being offered to help locals and visitors during what is set to be one of the biggest events of the year
First Bus has announced a 50% discount on tickets across its Aberdeen routes during next week’s historic Tall Ships Races. From July 19 to July 22, 2025, hop on board and cruise through the city with ease and affordability.
The discounted tickets will be unlimited during the event’s run, available only through the First Bus app on Two-Trip, Day, 3- and 5-Day tickets. The announcement is in addition to First Bus partnering with Aberdeen City Council to offer 25,000 free Day tickets over the four event days, able to be used on services across the city.
To redeem one of the 25,000 free Day tickets, a code will be released each day of the event on The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen website and social media. This code should be entered into the ‘Discount Code’ section of the First Bus App in the ‘Tall Ships Promotion’ category. The free ticket will then be ready to activate. Each code is only valid for that specific day with a limited number of tickets available. Once that number has been reached, a 50% discount on Two-Trip, Day, 3- and 5-Day First Bus tickets will still be available.
As one of the busiest events of the year, expected to draw 400,000 visits, the bus operator and council are teaming up to minimise road congestion and reduce the overall Tall Ships Aberdeen carbon footprint. The Council will be supporting 4 Park & Ride shuttle bus services, which will be operated by local bus operators, departing from Bridge of Don P&R, Craibstone P&R, P&J Live (surface parking) and Kingswells P&R, with services running up to every 15 minutes.
Port of Aberdeen’s North Harbour will transform into a maritime festival, featuring almost 50 tall ships from around the globe. From food stalls and captivating street performers to free live music on multiple stages, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
The festivities kick off on July 19 with the grand arrival of the fleet and a dazzling opening ceremony. The city will welcome over 1,500 sailors to take part in the lively international crew parade on July 20, featuring live music, dance, and captivating theatre performances. The grand finale on July 22 will see the ships set sail for Kristiansand, Norway, in a breathtaking parade along the beach esplanade.
Graeme Macfarlan, Commercial Director for First Bus Scotland, said: “We’re excited to support The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen with a 50% discount on tickets across all our routes in the city. This is an amazing opportunity for both locals and visitors to immerse themselves in the festival without blowing their budget on travel.
“With venues for this event scattered around the city, we wanted to play our part in helping people explore the festival to its fullest in the most sustainable way. We can’t wait to see everyone hopping on our buses and having a fantastic time!”
Councillor Martin Greig, Chair of the Tall Ships Aberdeen organising committee, said: “It's reassuring that The Tall Ships Races event will benefit from effective and strong partnership working with First Aberdeen. Their involvement helps to ensure that bus travel will be available cheaply, safely and speedily for the many thousands of spectators visiting the event. It is vital to get the transport arrangements right for everyone, especially around the harbour and city centre areas which are the focal points for visitors. Careful, detailed planning for buses and other forms of transport is underway so that all can enjoy the fantastic and memorable experience of The Tall Ships Races 2025."
For more information, visit: firstaberdeen.com/tallships
Notes to editors
About First Bus
At First Bus, we’re on a mission to grow bus usage – so we’ll get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto the bus.
We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, transporting more than 1.5 million passengers a day. Our local bus services serve more than 25% of the population of Great Britain and over half of the UK’s top 15 most populated urban areas.
We are a leading operator in the majority of our local areas, including major urban centres such as Glasgow and Leeds.
We have proudly launched our First Bus London operation and now operate 83 routes in west and central London from 10 garages serving 180 million passengers annually.
The combined operation now manages a fleet of over 5,750 buses across the UK.
Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re the UK’s largest national bus operator to achieve real Living Wage employer status, cementing our position as an employer of choice in the sector.
First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. We will have over 1,500 zero-emission buses in operation across our UK fleet by the end of 2026.
We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses to progress their decarbonisation journeys – giving them access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company, Lakeside, Ensignbus, Anderson Travel - and the Aircoach network and Matthews in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
For more information on First Bus: news.firstbus.co.uk