London Luton Airport to Luton Town Centre (Station Interchange)
Luton town centre is about 5 km from the airport terminal. Arriva busway buses A, Z, X1, X2/X3 and X4 run from bay J to Luton Station Interchange in 10–15 minutes for about £3. Services A and Z run 24/7.
The trip into Luton town centre is short. Several Arriva buses an hour leave bay J for Luton Station Interchange, beside the railway station and the Mall, and two of the routes run through the night. Taxis are quick too. The main thing is not to buy an expensive London-style ticket for a five-kilometre journey.
How far is Luton Town Centre (Station Interchange) from London Luton Airport?
Luton Town Centre (Station Interchange) is 5 km (3 miles) from London Luton Airport by road, about 12 min by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 3 km. By public transport, Arriva A / Z (busway) takes about 12 min and costs £3.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: Arriva A / Z (busway) is the one to take: £3 with no change, and about as quick as going by car. Timetable: 24 hours, 7 days.
What it costs for your group
The bus / shuttle is charged per person, while a taxi is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus / shuttle (per person) | Taxi (per car) | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | £3 | £13 | Bus / shuttle |
| Couple · 2 travellers | £6 | £13 | Bus / shuttle |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | £12 | £13 | Bus / shuttle |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Arriva A / Z (busway) | From £3, about 12 min, no change needed. |
| Speed | Luton hackney carriage rank | 10 min and door-to-door, from £13. |
| A group of 4 | Arriva A / Z (busway) | Four tickets still come to about £12 — less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | Arriva A / Z (busway) | It runs through the night (Frequent; A and Z run 24/7). |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
Runs to Luton Station Interchange in 10–15 min. Capped £3 single, contactless on board.
Where to catch it: Airport bus station, bay J
Times: 24 hours, 7 days
Best for solo & budget travellersBus / shuttle
Same Interchange stop. These continue to Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes.
Where to catch it: Airport bus station, bay J
Times: Daytime and evening
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Metered at the council's airport tariff. Estimate based on a published 2-mile Luton Airport fare of £12.60 (PHTM, Nov 2024).
Where to catch it: Taxi rank beyond bus bay A
Times: 24/7
Best for small groups in a hurryLuton Town Centre (Station Interchange) & London in photos
Buying tickets in London
Luton DART: buy a single at lutondart.com and keep it as a mobile wallet pass or PDF, or tap a contactless card at the barriers. Oyster cards are not accepted. An adult single is £4.90, a child (5–15) £2.45, and under-5s ride free. If you buy a National Rail ticket to or from Luton Airport with Thameslink, East Midlands Railway or Luton Airport Express, the DART is already included. A ticket to Luton Airport Parkway does not include it.
Trains: Advance fares from Luton Airport Parkway start at £6.50 on Thameslink and £10 on the Luton Airport Express, before the DART is added. Advance tickets tie you to one train. For a flight that could be delayed, an Off-Peak or Anytime ticket is the safer choice. Thameslink offers a third off for groups of 3 to 9 adults.
Coaches: book National Express at nationalexpress.com or in its app. The £1.50 booking fee is waived if you are logged in to My Account. Greenline 757 tickets are sold at the airport and London Victoria sales desks, online, or from the driver. Both operators sell tickets at the Onward Travel Centre just past Arrivals. Local Arriva and Stagecoach buses take contactless payment, and single fares are as low as £3.
Taxi scams & safety in London
Official taxis: the only rank is the one marked just beyond bus bay A, outside the terminal. The vehicles are Luton Borough Council-licensed hackney carriages on a meter. Before you set off on a long run, ask the driver for an estimate, because no fixed fare to London is published. Turn down anyone who offers a ride inside the terminal. Licensed private-hire cars cannot pick up unless you have booked them.
Pre-booked cars and lifts: the forecourt Drop Off and Pick Up Zone costs £7 for 10 minutes and then £1 a minute. Drivers usually pass this charge on, so ask whether your quote includes it. The free alternative is the Long Stay car park, which a free 24-hour shuttle bus links to the terminal about every 20 minutes.
Ticket traps: buying a train ticket from "Luton Airport Parkway" instead of "Luton Airport" leaves you £4.90 short at the DART barrier. Advance train and coach fares only cover the booked departure. On National Express Standard fares you can switch to a similar coach within 3 hours either side of your booked time.
Step-free access in London
The Luton DART is fully accessible and step-free between Luton Airport Parkway and the terminal entrance. Disability badge holders and older person's bus pass holders ride the DART free, but they must register first on the Luton DART concessions page and upload proof. Approval can take up to 72 hours.
- If you book assistance through your airline, the DART team will help with the connection between terminal and station.
- For help on the train, contact the Luton Airport Express (East Midlands Railway) or Thameslink assisted-travel teams directly.
- Scheduled coaches stop right outside the terminal, and all bus stops are 50–100 metres from the entrance. Check with the coach or bus operator that your service is accessible.
Getting from LTN to Luton Town Centre (Station Interchange)
A five-kilometre hop
Most passengers head south to London, but plenty of people only need to get into Luton: residents, people staying in the town's hotels, and travellers changing to trains or coaches at the Interchange. The terminal is on a hill above the town, and the drive down is about 5 km.
Buses from bay J
Arriva's busway services all leave from bay J at the airport bus station, directly outside the terminal. Routes A, Z, X1, X2/X3 and X4 all stop at Luton Station Interchange, and the airport puts the journey at 10–15 minutes. Several routes share the corridor, so you rarely wait long during the day.
The A and Z run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The two routes go in opposite directions around the Luton–Dunstable–Houghton Regis area. Both pass the Interchange, so for the town centre either will do.
The fare is the cheapest of any LTN route on this site. These are normal local buses under England's capped single fare, and the airport describes bus journeys as costing "as little as £3". Pay by contactless on board.
Coaches that go to the Interchange
Some longer-distance coaches also call at Luton Interchange about ten minutes after leaving the airport. These include National Express 707, 737, 240 and 777, and the Greenline 757 on journeys from London that continue to Luton. Their fares are higher than the local bus and they run less often. They are useful if you are already booked through on one, but not worth buying just for this short trip.
The DART-and-train option
You could also take the DART to Luton Airport Parkway and then a northbound train one stop to Luton. The DART alone is £4.90, before any train fare, and you change at Parkway. For the town centre the bus is cheaper, runs from right outside the terminal, and goes directly to the Interchange. The train is only worth it if you are going on north by rail anyway, to Bedford or the East Midlands. In that case, buy a ticket from "Luton Airport" so the DART is included.
Taxi from the rank
The hackney carriages at the rank beyond bus bay A are licensed by Luton Borough Council and run on a meter. Journeys from the airport use a separate airport tariff in the council's table of fares. There is no fixed fare. As a guide, a national fare survey (PHTM, November 2024) put a two-mile Luton Airport fare at £12.60, so allow a bit more than that to reach the town centre. Expect around 10 minutes, or longer when the airport approach road is busy.
If you are staying at one of the hotels near the airport rather than in town, check whether it runs its own shuttle bus before taking a cab.
Times and tips
- Night arrivals: the A and Z keep running, which is unusual and very useful.
- Onward rail: Luton station is next to the Interchange, with Thameslink to London and East Midlands Railway north.
- Getting picked up: the forecourt pick-up zone costs £7 for the first ten minutes. For a five-minute lift, that is a large part of the cost of the trip.
Going the other way: town to terminal
From Luton Station Interchange, the same busway routes run back up to the airport, and the A and Z run all night. The Greenline 757 also starts at the Interchange (stop LS3) about ten minutes before it leaves the airport for London. If someone is driving you, the airport's Drop Off Zone at the terminal costs £7 for ten minutes and £1 a minute after that. Drop-offs in the Long Stay car park are free, and a free shuttle bus runs from there to the terminal about every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day. Luton Borough residents also get 50% off the DART after registering for the concession.
One last point: Luton station and the Interchange are next to each other, so the bus works as well for a hotel near the Mall as for someone continuing by train.
LTN to Luton Town Centre (Station Interchange) — FAQ
How far is Luton Airport from Luton town centre?
What is the cheapest way?
What is the fastest way?
How much is a taxi from Luton Airport to the town centre?
When is the last bus?
I land at 02:00. How do I get to Luton?
Should I take the DART to get to Luton station?
Sources
Fares and times on this page were last held against their official sources on 21 October 2026. Operators change prices without notice — if you spot a difference, the operator’s own page is the authority. How we check fares.
- London Luton Airport – local bus services (Arriva A/Z/X1/X2/X3/X4, Stagecoach MK1, bays) · checked 2026-10-21
- London Luton Airport – countrywide coach links (National Express services and bays) · checked 2026-10-21
- Luton DART – tickets and fares · checked 2026-10-21
- Luton DART – service summary (frequency, hours, contactless) · checked 2026-10-21
- Arriva Greenline 757 timetable (2025 edition, linked from airport site) · checked 2026-10-21
- Tandridge DC – national hackney fare comparison (PHTM table incl. Luton Airport 2-mile fare) · checked 2026-10-21
- Traveline – £3 national bus fare cap · checked 2026-10-21
Other destinations from London Luton Airport
