Apply
Ticketing technology has advanced, with more options for contactless payments and tickets through an App available on college services from Autumn 2024.
Operators have introduced more ticket options, which are more flexible and cost-effective, to meet the needs of students. These can be purchased on and off the bus.
For students who need to use public transport from September, purchasing tickets directly from the bus operator would be the most flexible and cost-effective option. Bus operators will continue to offer discounted student tickets and for further information, please refer to our Post-16 Transport Policy.
For students attending a sixth form school and wishing to travel on a contracted school bus for the next academic year, there is the option of applying for a paid seat on the contracted school bus, where there is space available.
To use school transport on a paying basis, we will send you a pay agreement to complete. This outlines the terms that transport is provided on and you will be told the cost. We subsidise the charges but they do increase every September.
You can pay for transport annually, or the cost can be spread over instalments. You can also pay by monthly direct debit. We ask for payment in advance.
If you choose to pay by direct debit, you will be consenting to Somerset Council carrying out a full credit check with an independent credit reference agency. This check will be recorded. We reserve the right to withdraw paying by direct debit depending on the result of this check.
If your child stops travelling during the year, please tell us in writing immediately and you will be refunded any money we owe you. Once we have received your completed pay agreement and your payment or direct debit mandate, we will make the transport arrangements and tell you the details. We will reduce the charge if your child has not used the transport for 10 consecutive days because of ill health, but not for holiday absences or non-attendance.
To qualify for this reduction, you must tell us about your child’s absence and we will confirm it with the school.
We cannot refund any costs if the vehicle cannot run for reasons beyond our control, such as adverse weather conditions. If we do not receive your payment for school transport the transport will stop being provided immediately. Any debts incurred will be passed to our solicitor for retrieval.
For sixth form students attending post-16 provision at a Local Authority School or Academy, please refer to the Post-16 Travel Policy 2024/25 for more information.
Bus services to colleges from September 2024
The Government is working to make sure transport is not a barrier to people accessing education establishments from September. As part of this work, local authorities have been awarded over £40m to make sure college and school students can travel safely.
There are many ways students can travel to places of education. First, we encourage all students to walk, cycle or scoot to college if they can and if they live a short distance (3 miles or less) from their further education college or school. This will help to reduce pressure on the public transport network for the people who need it most.
If students aren’t able to walk, cycle or scoot, they can use public transport or drive to get to their school or college.
The Excel document below gives details of the bus routes for each college. Please use the tabs at the bottom of the document to find your college’s information.
Transport ticket options
All bus operators offer a range of daily tickets and most can offer types of season tickets at a discounted rate we have included some information in the Post 16 Travel Policy 2024/25 academic year.