Free transport
To qualify for free transport to school, your child must:
- live within the area where Cambridgeshire is the local authority
- be registered at his or her designated school
- be in or above the school year when they will pass their fifth birthday
- live more than two miles from their primary school, or three miles from their secondary school
- be able to complete the journey in less than 45 minutes if at primary school, or 1 hour 15 minutes if at secondary school
Secondary school pupils from low income families
You may also qualify for transport under "Extended Secondary Rights for Low Income Families". To do so, you must meet the following criteria:
- be entitled to free school meals, or
- be from a family receiving the maximum level of Working Families Tax Credit (with no reduction due to income)
and be attending secondary school at:
- one of their three nearest schools, between two and six miles from their home address, or
- their nearest denominational school, on grounds of religion or belief, between two and fifteen miles from their home address
Subsidised denominational transport
For help with travel to a denominational (religious) school, your child must fulfil the criteria for free transport to school, and:
- attend the nearest denominational school
- be a practicing and appropriately admitted or baptised member of the denomination appropriate to the school
- have a written statement to this effect from their minister of religion
Normally families have to pay a contribution, but this is not charged if they:
- are receiving Income Support; Income Based Job Seeker Allowance; or pension credit
- are entitled to an NHS Tax Exemption Certificate under Child Tax Credit
- are already paying a subsidised transport contribution for a post-16 student in the family
Spare seat travel
If you don't qualify for other help, you can apply for a spare seat. If you do, please note:
- seats are issued on a first come first served basis, and are subject to availability
- seats are only made available one term at a time: issue of a ticket does not guarantee the place will be available in future terms
- Cambridgeshire County Council cannot guarantee to give advance warning of seats becoming unavailable
- applications must be received after the start of the half term holiday before the begining of the term you are applying for
- applications should include full payment, and will be counted as received only when full payment has been received