Metro

Metro is the bus service you will probably rely on to get around Belfast if you don’t have access to a car. The buses cover most routes though some roads are still neglected and get very infrequent (if any) services. I won’t go into detail about where the buses go and so on as you can easily get this information from their website. I would use buses quite a lot and they are generally fine, but they can quite often run behind time and sometimes one that is timetabled just won’t turn up. They are very packed and slow during rush hours, though luckily I generally don’t need to travel during these times as I can walk to work. It’s hard to tell what the bus driver will be like when you get on a bus — some are very pleasant and helpful, others just grunt at you or can even be rude for no reason.
Prices have risen quite a lot and your best bet is to either get a day ticket for unlimited travel, or buy a Smart Link card and top it up with journeys as it works out cheaper. If you travel from the inner zone it will be cheaper anyway. I do rely on buses at times and so find the service essential for Belfast, but do think that some competition from another bus company would improve Metro a bit.

Firstly I would say that back when I was living in Stranmillis the Metro service served me to the best of it’s abilities and still does for that random trek out to Swedish gargantuan Ikea.
Metro is Belfast’s inner city and out city transport system, owned and operated by Belfast’s only truly nationwide transport company Translink. I’ve had good and bad days with them — on one hand they get you to where you need to go, fairly cheaply with little or no fuss, on the other some of the staff I’ve had to deal with has been ridiculous.
The worst instance of customer dissatisfaction was on a short, late night trip back from Sainsburys (located just outside the city in the Forrestside shopping centre)
I was coming back and the bus made a routine stop on the Ormeau Road. A man in a wheelchair was attempting to get on board but was having difficulty with the frankly archaic ramp. Essentially the step was too steep and he couldn’t get up — to which the driver replied with something condescending and proceeded to stare out his window. The traveller only got on board after calling up the walkway to myself who was sitting closest to the door.
A few instances similar to this have prevented anything overly positive. It does the job but since it’s not competing hasn’t really got any drive (pardon the pun) to push it’s standards.

Can you say loathe? The Metro’s biggest problem is that the company behind it, Translink, have no competition whatsoever in B’fast. So bus drivers are free to be as rude to passengers as they like because they don’t have many other public transport options. Not all the drivers are bad, but the ones who are are very memorable. And Translink doesn’t actually care enough to do anything about it when they receive a complaint.

The metro service is a great new provision from Translink. I remember back in the day when City Bus used to run what seemed like once a year along the Shore Road in to town. The arrival of the new metro service has definitely changed the slow old days of the buses which if they did arrive would be an hour late. Now the Metro buses can be annoying in that they stop at every single stop, but they are really good value and they’re normally on time. Helpfully most of their drivers are nice, and they do offer that great value travel card which is really handy. Plus, bonus for the oldies, 65+ travel free. I frequently get the bus from the Shore Road in to Belfast and the only thing I can complain about is that on a Saturday morning the bus times are so unreliable and infrequent. I used to work every Saturday morning and not having a bus around the time I was travelling was really unhelpful, so I think they should maybe look in to changing this. Apart from that the previous reviews have been spot on in their information and critique.

If I like Ulsterbus (see the relevant review), I really, really like Metro. But, just to save myself from being an even bigger nerd, I’ll stick to four stars for this review. Don’t wanna look too keen now, do I?
Easily identifiable by their distinctive pink and white colouring, Metro buses are based in Belfast City Centre, and follow twelve main corridors right across the city. Each corridor is allocated a number, say 1, and then the destination is allocated a letter, say b. This classifies in terms of their link with the corridor, so that all number 1 buses roughly follow the same route and travel to destinations close to each other. These buses are the most frequent and travel along all the main arterial routes — the Upper Newtownards Road, the Lisburn Road, the Antrim Road, etc etc. They should come at least every 10 minutes at peak times of the day, meaning that they are super easy to catch. Woohoo!
Some numbers, such as the 3, only have one letter option, which is, in this case a 3a. It journeys along the number 3 corridor to Knocknagoney in the east of the city, but there isn’t a 3b or 3c which travel alongside it. Instead, there are other, minor routes nearby which have less frequent bus services, such as the 27 and 28. All the routes (major and minor) are outlined on Translink’s website. It’s not as complicated as you first think, honest!
Paul (the previous reviewer) has detailed the Metro service very well, and I must agree with him about the use of the Metro Ticket, which is why I love these lovely pink buses so. I travelled from east Belfast to Queens using a Day Ticket — four whole bus journeys! Had I paid for each separately, I would have been forking out at least £5-£6, so I really saved myself an awful lot of money. I’ve been on countless numbers of buses using my Day Ticket, and it really is a bargainous way to travel.
Gonna stick with the four stars. Just imagine another half there… will that do?

Translink and Ulsterbus is the bus service in this part of the world. I can’t vouch for the entire service from city to city, or county to county, but what I am reviewing here is what’s known as their ‘Metro’ service.
And in the last five years I think it’s become a great service, with routes divided up into ‘corridors’ which mostly emanate from the city centre, and travel a variety of routes through the north, south, east, and west of the city.
Aside from the ever-​growing routes that have been introduced to accommodate as many users as possible, the buses are pretty regular, and usually on time, give or take a few minutes. It’s a really good system, and any visitors to Belfast could greatly enhance their stay when they familiarise themselves with the operation of it.
The best example of this is the ‘Day Ticket’. There’s always a bit of confusion around this, even among locals, so let me break it down for you:
a day ticket currently costs £3.50 if purchased before 9:30am, or after 3pm. Between 9:30am and 3pm it’s discounted to £2.90.
This gives you UNLIMITED journeys on the Metro system for the entire day, across all Metro services — you just get on the bus, show your ticket, and you’re away.
If, for example, you’re staying in east Belfast and want to go to Belfast zoo, you get a bus to the city centre, jump off, and get a bus going up the Antrim Road. As I said, the buses are pretty regular, and Belfast is a small city, so going from one end of the city to another is just a matter of jumping on and off buses at your desired destination. It’s fantastic value, and a great way to see the city.
Want to be prepared? Timetables are on
on the ‘Metro’ link.
In Belfast and don’t have access to the internet? Call 9066 6630 and they’ll tell you times of buses from where you’re coming from/​going to.
Tickets are available from the driver when you get on the bus. Happy sightseeing!