TRAVELLERS heading to and from Edinburgh Airport by tram will have to pay a premium for the privilege.

Edinburgh City Council was criticised yesterday after it revealed a return fare from the city centre will cost £7.50 by tram while the faster bus journey costs £6.

A single fare to the airport will be £4.50, compared to £3.50 on the bus. The tram journey could also take eight minutes longer than the half hour bus journey.

The cost of a single ticket on trams within the city centre will be £1.50, the same as buses currently charge.

The council said it plans to move towards further integrating the tram and bus services.

Scottish Conservative Lothians MSP Cameron Buchanan said he believed the airport pricing would put people off using the service.

He said: "Given the tram will be more expensive and take longer than an already excellent airport bus service, I cannot see many people using it - that is before the question of luggage storage has even been addressed. Once the novelty has worn off, I can see people going back to using the bus."

A bus day ticket will remain at £3.50 but will now include tram journeys in the city. For £8, passengers can get on the tram at the airport and travel on trams and buses all day.

Day tickets will be usable across both tram and bus and Ridacards will be valid on the entire route.

Edinburgh City Council's Transport Convener, Lesley Hinds, said: "The tram will offer a fast, comfortable, convenient and reliable transport option at a very good price.

"With Lothian Buses, we've ensured that the bus and tram ticketing systems are fully integrated for ease of use and to keep costs low."

Ms Hinds also said the council would fund free travel for those who are eligible.

She said: "The tram needs to be wholly integrated into the national transport network and, for me, this means that over-60s and people with disabilities should have free use of the service."

The trams are forecast to be up and running by next May.

Plans have been set out for the handover of a section of the tram route between the Gogar depot and Edinburgh Park Station for testing in early October, with full route testing in December.

The city centre will be clear of tram works by next month, with Haymarket Junction set to reopen to traffic around October 12 and the Shandwick Place area a week later.

The project remains in line with the revised budget of £776 million, up from an original costing of £545m, with work either ahead of schedule or in line with the revised timescale set in 2011.

Last month the council set out plans to create a new group, Transport for Edinburgh, to integrate transport in the capital.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Grand Theft Auto V, the latest version of the hit video game released by makers Rockstar on Tuesday, takes an apparent swipe at the controversial trams system.

In the game, the fictional US city of Los Santos features a tram system with the same white- with-red-stripes colour scheme as Edinburgh's. In one, in-game news bulletin, they say the scheme "aims to get average speeds in the city up to 3mph".

Players are told "they'll cost $16 billion and shut down streets for years". Rockstar's offices are on Greenside Row, near Leith Walk, which saw heavy disruption from the tram works.