How bus results are ordered
What decides the order you see, and what operators can pay for.
Which trips appear
A trip appears only when all of these are true:
- it stops at a place matching where you leave from, and later at a place matching where you are going, in the direction it travels;
- the operator sells tickets between those two stops;
- it boards on the date you chose, at least 15 minutes from now;
- it has enough free seats for your group on every part of your journey;
- the operator has published it and it has not been suspended.
A bus that starts somewhere else and passes through your stop is included, as long as the operator allows boarding there.
Recommended order
Recommended order is a score that combines:
| What | Weight | How |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 35% | The cheapest fare in your results scores highest. |
| Timing | 25% | Closest to the time you asked for, or earliest if you did not choose one. |
| Journey time | 15% | Shorter scheduled journeys score higher. Trips without a journey time count as average. |
| Listing detail | 15% | Vehicle photo, make and model, amenities and boarding notes. |
| Verified operator | 10% | Only when Parffic has checked the operator's business details. |
There are no star ratings or reviews yet, so they play no part. You can also sort by lowest price, earliest departure or shortest journey.
Sponsored results
Operators can pay Parffic to show a trip in a separate row marked Sponsored. Paying does not change the recommended order, and every sponsored trip still appears in its normal place in the full list.
- A sponsored trip must match your search exactly: same places, date and enough free seats. An operator cannot pay to appear for a journey it does not run.
- At most two sponsored trips are shown, one per operator, and never more than half of the results.
- Price, seats, times and verification are shown the same way as for any other trip. Sponsored is not a recommendation.
Parffic counts how often a sponsored trip is shown and clicked, so operators can see what they paid for. These counts are not linked to your identity.
What you pay
You pay the fare the operator sets, shown before you book. There is no booking fee and nothing is added at checkout. Paying an operator more never changes the recommended order; sponsored trips are always labelled. Read the ticket terms.