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School transport for 4 to 16 year olds

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It is your responsibility to make the necessary travel arrangements so that your child can attend school each day.

In certain circumstances, we can provide free home-to-school transport for eligible children and young people in Peterborough.

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Eligibility criteria for school transport

Please read the criteria to check if your child is eligible before you apply.

Primary school children

We will provide free school transport for:

  • Children in Reception to Year 3 who attend their catchment or nearest available school and live at least two miles from the school
  • Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 who attend their catchment or nearest available school and live at least three miles from the school
  • Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 who attend their catchment or nearest available school and are entitled to free school meals and live at least two miles from the school (low income families)

Primary aged children will not be eligible for school transport assistance if:

  • They attend a preference school (regardless of preference rank), and that school is not the catchment or nearest available school
  • Their address has changed, and the address and school preferences have not been updated with the School Admissions Team to reflect this

Secondary school children

We will provide free school transport for:

  • Children in Years 7 to 11 who attend their catchment or nearest available school and live at least three miles from the school
  • Children who attend any one of the three nearest available secondary schools, where that school is between two and six miles from their home, are entitled to free school meals, and live at least two miles from the school (low income families)
  • Children who attend their nearest available secondary school chosen on grounds of religion or belief, where that school is between 2-15 miles away from their home, and are entitled to free school meals

Secondary aged children will not be eligible for school transport assistance if:

  • They attend a preference school (regardless of preference rank), and that school is not the catchment or nearest available school
  • Their address has changed, and the address and school preferences have not been updated with the School Admissions Team to reflect this

Check our catchment area map to find the schools nearest to where you live.
Find out if your child is eligible for free school meals.

School transport for children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)

If your child has special educational needs, a disability or mobility problems, they may be eligible to receive SEND transport assistance.

Spare seats scheme for non-eligible children

In certain cases, children who are not eligible for school transport assistance may be able to purchase a spare seat on existing transport services that we have contracted (not public transport). Read the following drop-down box for more information.

In certain cases, children who are not eligible for school transport assistance may be able to purchase a spare seat on existing transport services contracted by Peterborough City Council only. Seats are not available on transport provided by public transport operators.

We can only agree these arrangements when we receive advanced payment on a termly or half-termly basis. A parental contribution will be required, which is subject to an annual review.

Passes for a spare seat on existing transport are issued, subject to availability, strictly on a 'first come, first served' basis. We cannot guarantee to give advance warning if seats are no longer available at the start of each half term.

The issue of a bus pass for a term of half-term does not guarantee the issue of subsequent passes.

It is the responsibility of the child's parent or carer to remember to pay in advance each term for discretionary passes. We will email you a Go Cardless link to enable you to pay.

We may take up to 15 working days to process applications. Children may not board the bus until they receive their pass.

Discretionary transport is not available on all transport services we contract.

The route and timetable of an existing transport contract will not be adapted to accommodate any applications for discretionary transport.

We may alter, withdraw or amalgamate a transport service at short notice without reference to the children travelling on that service who have discretionary passes. Under these circumstances, we will not provide alternative transport for children who are not eligible for transport assistance.

The offer of a seat may be withdrawn in the event of any serious misbehaviour on the part of the child concerned.

Please contact us to enquire about spare seats:

The current discretionary pass cost is £115 per half term.

When to apply

To apply for transport assistance for the start of the new academic year in September 2026, we must receive applications by 31 July 2026.

Applications received after 31 July 2026 may not be processed in time for the start of academic year 2026-2027. You may need to make alternative arrangements to ensure your child's attendance at school.

How to apply

If you believe your child is eligible for school transport, please apply online.

What happens after you apply

During term time, we can usually set up school transport arrangements within 15 working days of receiving an application. It can take longer during busy periods, such as the summer, due to the volume of applications we receive.

We assess each application individually, but plan school transport collectively to ensure routes operate as effectively as possible.

We will email you to confirm whether your application is successful. You will then receive a follow-up letter from us once we have finalised your child's transport arrangements with an operator.

We aim to confirm school transport arrangements with you by the end of August.

We receive high volumes of calls and emails about school transport, particularly over the summer. Please only chase us if you haven't received confirmation of arrangements by the week before term starts.

Circumstances that require you to re-apply for school transport

Once you have applied for school transport for your child, you only need to re-apply when / if:

  • Your child reaches a transition year - i.e. Year 7 or Year 12 - and they're due to transfer to a new school or college
  • Your child moves home
  • Your child received a seat on school transport through the spare seats scheme

Otherwise, if there are no changes to your circumstances, your child will continue to receive school transport assistance and you don't need to renew or re-apply.

Replacement bus pass

If your child loses or damages their school transport bus pass, there is a £15 charge to replace it.

We will replace stolen bus passes free of charge when you supply a valid Police Incident Number.

Policy and guidelines

Further information

If you need help with applying, or have a query not covered by this page, please contact the Passenger Transport Operations Team:

  • Phone: 01733 317455 (open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays)
  • Email: educationtransport@peterborough.gov.uk
  • Post:

    Passenger Transport Operations Team
    Peterborough City Council
    First Floor
    Sand Martin House
    Bittern Way
    Fletton Quays
    Peterborough
    PE2 8TY

We can pay a cycle allowance of £100 per term to parents of students who are entitled to transport assistance but wish to cycle instead.

We will only pay the cycling allowance where the cost of transport would exceed the amount of the cycling allowance. We will not pay the cycling allowance to students travelling on any other form of transport.

To apply for cycling allowance, you need to complete the online form on our online transport application system. Section 10 of the online form asks you if you would like to receive the cycling allowance.

A Personal Transport Budget (PTB) is an alternative to transport organised by the council. It is a payment made directly to families giving you the freedom and flexibility to make transport arrangements that suit you and your child. The amount you receive is based on the distance being travelled from home to the school or education setting.

Visit our Personal Transport Budgets page for more information.

Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council have combined the Education and Social Care Transport Service. This means any potential businesses wishing to provide education and social care transport services can now provide these services for both councils.

Further information is available on the Cambridgeshire County Council website.

If we reject your application for school transport assistance, you can challenge the decision through our appeals process.

You have 20 working days from receiving our decision to ask for a review / make an appeal.

Find information about the appeals process in our Mainstream School Travel Assistance Policy.

Please contact us if you have a complaint about anything to do with school transport:

Depending on the nature of your complaint, you can leave the details with our Customer Services staff or ask to speak to the Passenger Transport Operations Team directly.

If your reason for contacting relates to a safeguarding concern, please ask to speak with the Passenger Transport Operations Team directly / or report your concerns to your child's school as soon as possible. 

We prefer you report any issues to us directly, rather than the transport provider. We are able to take action if they breach their Conditions of Contract.

We have to ensure school transport is re-tendered in line procurement legislation and that we achieve best value.

Over the summer, we have to review transport arrangements taking into account children leaving and new students starting school, ensuring transport is provided in the most logistically sensible way and that travel times are as short as possible for those allocated to the routes. Services are usually tendered for a certain time frame and it may not be possible to extend the contractual arrangement. 

If your child no longer requires school transport assistance, please let us know:

If you leave any of your belongings on the vehicle, please contact your transport operator directly, or contact us on 01733 317455 and ask for the Passenger Transport Operations Team.

Last updated: 23 July 2026
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