School transport options including spare seat scheme

Children only qualify for free council-provided school travel assistance under specific circumstances.

If your child is not eligible for this there are different options for you to get your child to school depending on your circumstances. The fees and payment options may differ between services.

Public transport

You should check if there is suitable public transport between home and school. Most operators will offer season tickets and child discounts:

• bus - See our local bus timetables
• train - Plan a journey on Traveline
• taxi  - Operators may offer discounts for regular journeys.

Paying for home to school transport

If there is no suitable public transport service, you may be able to pay for a seat on a school bus service. Depending on the route, you can purchase a seat in one of two ways:

1. commercial coach companies - School routes are operated independently by commercial companies. Parents should contact the coach company that operates the route to purchase a seat.
2. Spare Seat Scheme - School routes run on behalf of the Council to provide transport for eligible children may have some spare seats available. If there are spare seats on these services, they are made available to paying parents

Other options

You may also be able to arrange transport using:

• walking and cycling routes - Check if your school has a travel plan
• childcare -  A childminder they may be able take your child to school, or pick them up
• parent and community schemes - Your school PTA may help to see if there is interest in contracting your own transport or arranging ‘Walking buses’
• car share - Setting up a lift scheme for parents to car-share may be an option, or consider using a car share app like Liftshare