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Personal transport budgets

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Introduction

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you may qualify for a Personal Transport Budget.

A Personal Transport Budget (PTB) is an alternative to Council Organised Transport. It is a payment that is made directly to families giving you the freedom and flexibility to make transport arrangements that suit you. The amount payable is based on the distance being travelled from home to school/education setting.

If you feel that you may be eligible, please apply below.

Eligibility

You may be eligible for a PTB if your child meets the following criteria:

  • Lives within the area where Cambridgeshire is the local county council
  • Has a Statement or EHCP
  • Attends the school outlined in the Statement or EHCP
  • Lives more than 2 miles (primary) or 3 miles (secondary) away from the school or not be able to walk less than those distances specified due to SEND

And either:

  • Is currently being transported on a single occupancy Council transport route
  • Needs to be placed on a single occupancy route due to your child's needs or behaviour
  • There is no existing transport route available, resulting in your child being single occupancy

Your child could qualify for a Personal Transport Budget if they are attending a mainstream school, SEN or out of county school.

Please see our Home to School Travel Assistance Policy for further information.

You can use the PTB payments in any way you wish, to aid your child in getting to school or college. This could be:

  • Paying a friend, relative or neighbour to take your other children to school to free you up to transport your child with SEND
  • Towards fuel costs and wear and tear on your vehicle
  • Paying for a shared taxi with other children
  • Towards costs of a car share with other parents
  • Pay for childcare for younger siblings so that you can take your child to school
  • Buying travel passes for your other children so they can travel to and from school, allowing you to transport your child with SEND

Please note: the Local Authority reserves the right to ask your child’s school for evidence of their attendance.

Personal Transport Budgets are calculated on a price per mile, from the distance from your home address and the school. The total amount paid is based on 2 return journeys each day (4 journeys).

We measure these distances on a digital mapping system.

Example:

Distance from your home address to school = 10.2miles

Mileage is paid at 40p per mile x 4 journeys (2 return journeys AM/PM)

10.2 miles x 40p = 4.08p x 4 journeys = £16.32 per day / £81.60 per week / £362.40 per month (based on a four-week month)

Payments will be made monthly, directly into your bank account. There will be 11 monthly payments. We do not pay in August as schools and colleges are closed. We also do not pay during half-term holidays.

The Local Authority reserves the right to ask your child’s school for evidence of their attendance. If their attendance drops below a satisfactory level, payments will be stopped.

Personal Transport Budget case studies

PTB Case Studies203KB–pdf
Size: 203KBFile format: pdf

Reviewing Personal Transport Budget provision

The Personal Transport Budget funding is reviewed annually, with a new application needing to be made each academic year.

Apply for a Personal Transport Budget

Personal Budget Transport Application Form184KB–pdf
Size: 184KBFile format: pdf

Please note: applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and will be discussed with your child's SEND Casework Officer and other professionals. 

If you qualify for SEND transport and would like to discuss the option of a Personal Transport Budget, please contact:h2stransportrequest@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Contact the Passenger Transport Service

Need to get in touch with us? Please find all contact information here.