Unibus and public transport

Many public bus services stop close to our Derby sites:

• The Allestree - Derby City Centre to Allestree
• 114 - from Ashbourne
• The Sixes - from Bakewell, Matlock, Wirksworth, Belper, Ripley, and Openwoodgate
• Transpeak - from Buxton and Matlock 
• Swift - from Uttoxeter and Ashbourne
• Comet - from Chesterfield and Ripley
• Red Arrow - from Nottingham

More information on connecting bus services with maps, times, and routes can be found on the Derby bus network page.

The U1 connects Morledge bus station to the Kedleston Road Campus.

Trains to Derby run direct from:

• Sheffield
• Nottingham
• Leicester
• Birmingham New Street
• London St Pancras

The U1 Unibus links Derby train station to the Kedleston Road campus and student accommodation.

You can track live train departures and arrivals to and from Derby Train Station.

www.railcard.co.uk offers various rail cards to provide discounts on rail travel. 

• 16-25 railcard - 1/3 off on eligible fairs
• 26-30 railcard - 1/3 off on eligible fairs

• Unibus runs on weekdays all year round (check the timetables and Unibus service dates for frequency)
• The Unibuses are very popular at peak traffic times and can be affected by traffic conditions. Please ensure you plan your journey time around peak travel times
• Please note that the Unibus is also a public service, and the fares below will only be applied if you have purchased the relevant termly or annual pass or registered as a student on the Mango app or to pay as you go (single journey, off-peak or daily unlimited pass), you must show your University ID card when you purchase your ticket, otherwise standard fares apply (currently £3 per journey)

Pay as you go

The full public fare for the Unibus is £3 per journey but staff and students can benefit from the fares below upon presentation of either a valid University of Derby ID card or verified purchase on the Mango app.

• Single journey: £2 or £1.80 when purchased via the Mango app
• Daily unlimited pass: £5 (available for purchase on board as a paper ticket or registered users paying via the Mango app will be capped at £5 per day)
• Multiple: every 10th trip is free via the Mango app
• Off peak*: £1.40 per trip

*Off-peak fares apply if the ticket is issued before 7:30am any day, or outside the hours of 8am-6pm between 1 October and 28 February.

Other discounts

The Unibus is eligible for all Trent Barton and Kinchbus tickets, including the ZigZag. Gold Card holders and Spectrum card users can also use this on the Unibus services.

Derbyshire County Council also offers discounts to young people via the b_line travel card. This gives you a maximum £1.50 fare for young people in college, university, on training courses or in an apprenticeship up to their 19th birthday providing they live in Derbyshire. Find out more and apply for a b_line card.

There is also a pilot scheme underway for the b_line3 which caps fares at £1.50 for people aged 19-21 who live in Derbyshire. This runs until 31 December 2025. Find out more and apply for a b_line3 card.

Term pass

Purchased via the Mango app.

• Term 1: £145
• Term 2: £145
• Term 3 £65

Annual pass

Purchased via the Mango app.

• Annually: £310

Travelling from further away

For staff and students using the Mango app and travelling from further afield:

• The U1 and U2 are included in the main student Trentbarton/Kinchbus fare caps (currently £6.70 daily off peak, £10.20 all day, £40 weekly, £108 for 28 days)

PlusBus

You can also use your PlusBus ticket on the Unibus, but please note that your ticket must show the PlusBus extension and have the correct date of travel on it.

• You can pay as you go by cash, card or Mango app, or buy one of the available passes as per the Unibus fares for staff and students
• Passes are available to purchase via the Mango app. To access university discounts and travel schemes, follow the step-by-step instructions for setting up your account as a University of Derby student or staff member
• All our teaching sites and halls of residence are within 30 minutes’ walk of each other, and many are much closer. Active travel, such as walking or cycling, is often the quickest way to travel across our Derby campus, especially at peak travel times. It’s also the healthiest and most environmentally friendly option

This option allows you to apply and pay for a student or staff travel product, giving you free travel on the Unibus services (U1 and U2) run by Notts and Derby.

To get started, download the my mango app from your app store. You can also visit the Mango website for more information.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the app and login
2. Go to ‘Account’ and tap ‘travel schemes’
3. Enter the relevant code into the search bar, then tap ‘search’
4. A ‘Unibus Travel’ option will open, then tap ‘apply’
5. Select your preferred subscription gateway from the options available
6. Read and accept the terms and conditions, then tap ‘continue’
7. Enter your University of Derby email address (students: @unimail.derby.ac.uk, staff: @derby.ac.uk)
8. Check your email and tap the verification link
9. Return to the Travel Schemes section – tap ‘continue’ and you should now see an option to ‘pay’
10. Tap ‘pay’ then ‘yes’ to make payment (payment options include debit/credit card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay)
11. Once payment is complete, the subscription is active (to check that your application succeeded, go to ‘travel schemes’ in the app and look for the ‘active’ flag above your subscription)

To access additional student discounts on the U1 and U2 services, the University of Derby has partnered with Notts and Derby Buses to offer enhanced single trip (£1.80 vs £2 per journey) and daily unlimited pass (capped at £5 per day). These are available on top of the usual student discounts offered by commercial operators. 

To benefit, simply register as a student (even if you are staff) using your University email address (either @unimail.derby.ac.uk or @derby.ac.uk) via the  mango app, available from your app store. You can also visit the Mango website for more information. 

Then follow these steps: 

1. Open the app and go to Account Settings
2. Tap Register as Student
3. Enter your @unimail.derby.ac.uk or @derby.ac.uk email address and tap Register to send a verification email
4. Find the email in your inbox and click the Verify Email button
5. Your student status should now be active for one year

(You’ll need to repeat this process annually to maintain your discount) 

Don’t want to use the app? 

If you don’t want to use the app and just pay as you go by card or cash, you MUST show your University of Derby ID card at the point of purchase to access the discounted fare of £2 per journey.