We provide free school transport for pupils aged 5 to 16 who do not live within walking distance to their school. We measure the distances by the shortest walking route.
If your child is eligible for free school transport and there is a school bus service in your area, we will issue a bus pass for that service.
If your child is eligible for free school transport and there is no school bus service in your area, we will issue a bus pass that can be used on public transport buses.
Eligibility
Pupils from reception to year 11 are assessed for free school transport eligibility every year.
Your child will not be eligible for free school transport if you:
- did not apply for the catchment area school, or
- rejected an offer for the catchment area school.
If you enrol your child late or have recently moved address, please contact us.
If your child uses free school transport, you have agreed to the school transport policy (248kb PDF) and Welsh Government behavioural code.
Primary school pupils are eligible if they live over 2 miles from their catchment area school, or the next nearest school that you applied for or was offered, if the catchment school is full.
If your child is eligible for free school transport, you do not need to do anything.
We will send you a letter over the summer to tell you which service they can use and the route timetable.
Secondary school pupils are eligible if they live over 3 miles from their catchment area school, or the next nearest school that you applied for or was offered, if the catchment school is full.
You can view the
secondary school bus route timetables.
Pupils starting year 7 in September
All pupils starting year 7 in September will be assessed. If your child is eligible, we will send you a letter over the summer.
If you have not received your letter the week before term starts, please contact us.
Pupils starting years 8 to 11 in September
We will assess if your child is eligible for a bus pass every year. If nothing has changed and your child is still eligible, we will send you a letter over the summer.
If your child is no longer eligible, we will let you know by August. If you have not heard from us or you have a question about eligibility, please contact us.
Pupils starting year 12 and 13 in September (post 16)
We do not provide free school transport to post 16 pupils. If your child goes to sixth form at a school where they used to have free school transport, you may be able to buy a pass for that school bus service.
If you want to pay for a spare seat on a school bus service, please complete the online application form.
If you want to buy a seat on a 600 or 800 series bus, please contact the service providers.
Cost
The cost of a pass for the 2024 to 2025 academic year is £500.
If a seat is allocated to your child, we will send invoices in October. The invoices will include instructions for how to pay.
Additional information
If you buy a pass, we cannot guarantee the pass will be received before the start of the new school year. You may have to make other temporary arrangements.
Contact us
If you have any questions or you want to report an incident, please complete the online form.
Contact us