Getting to the School

Cost

The cost of the KCC Travel Saver is £550 for the year or £560 if you pay in instalments.

Pay online in full or spread the cost with our Direct Debit option and make 8 monthly payments between August 2024 and March 2025.

The pass costs the same no matter when you apply for it, so the earlier you apply the more value you get, and the longer period you can spread the payments over.

Lower cost and free passes

Lower cost and free passes are available for children and families meeting certain criteria.

Free school meals pass

Free school meals passes are for children who are eligible for free school meals. Just select this option when applying. No other information is needed and we can check eligibility.

The cost of a free school meals pass is £120.

You can spread the cost by making 8 monthly payments between August 2024 and March 2025.

Carers or those in care

Free passes are for:

young carers
children in care.

You do not need to get your application endorsed, we can check when you apply.

3rd pass free for families with 3 or more children

For households with 3 or more children, pay for 2 full price passes and get the 3rd and other additional passes for free. That means 2, 3 or 4 full year passes would cost £1,100 or £1,110 if paying by instalments.

This offer is not available if any of the passes are lower cost, free or 16+ passes.

Pay in instalments by Direct Debit

You can spread the cost over 8 months from August to March. When you apply online you will need to select the Direct Debit option.

A £10 administration fee is added to the first payment, unless you are applying for the free school meals pass.

Free bus passes

Who can get it

Your child can get free travel if they attend their nearest appropriate school.

Appropriate in this instance means:

age appropriate - attendance at a primary and secondary school
ability appropriate - attendance at a mainstream or special school.

They also need to be:

over 8 years old and live more than 3 miles from the school using the shortest available walking route.
under 8 years old and live more than 2 miles from the school using the shortest available walking route.

A walking route can include public footpaths, bridleways, other footpaths as well as recognised roads where they are available.

Your nearest suitable school may not always be the school of your choice, and won't take into account your preferences for types of school, for example a single-sex school, sports college or grammar school. In some parts of the county it may be a school in another educational authority, outside of Kent.

If the local council decides a route is hazardous, free transport assistance will be granted, even if it is under the statutory distance, provided the child is attending their nearest appropriate school. Once your nearest school has been established, we will not consider the route your child may take to any other school, as they will not be eligible to receive free school transport to that school.

The same rules will apply to all families, including those who have recently moved to Kent from Ukraine.

If your child has special educational needs (SEN)

If your child meets the criteria above you may also be able to apply for a personal transport budget.

If your child doesn't meet the criteria above you may still be able to get help if their needs make their journey to school difficult. We will take into account whether your child can safely travel to school with a parent or carer, either on foot or in a vehicle.

As a starting point, normally you won’t be entitled to free school transport if the school your child goes to is not the closest one that meets their needs. There are, however, some exceptions to this principle and you should read the SEN transport guidance (PDF, 500.2 KB) to see if these are applicable to you.

For advice about your child's journey to school speak to your SEN officer.

If you have low income

Secondary school children

Your child is entitled to free school transport if they meet all of the following criteria.

They go to 1 of the 3 nearest schools suitable for their age and ability.
They live between 2 and 6 miles from school (or between 2 and 15 miles for faith schools).
They are entitled to free school meals or your family receives one of these benefits:
- income support
- income based jobseekers allowance
- Child Tax Credit (without Working Tax Credit and with an annual income of no more than £16,190)
- guarantee element of state pension credit
- income related employment and support allowance
- maximum level of Working Tax Credit (TC602).

Children in the care of Kent County Council and children from low income families who are entitled to receive free school meals, can get free school transport to the nearest grammar school if:

they have met the admissions criteriaof the school
they have been offered a place at the school
it's the nearest grammar school to their home
the distance from their home and the school is between 2 and 15 miles.

Distance

The minimum distance between home and school is measured via the shortest available walking route. A walking route can include public footpaths as well as roads and is a route that a child, accompanied as necessary, can walk to and from school with reasonable safety.

The maximum distance between home and school (15 miles for faith schools and 6 miles for all other schools) is measured using road routes only.

Evidence

We will need to see evidence of your benefits (TC602 for the current tax year) when you apply, and we will review your situation every year.