School Free Travel

Most students residing in New South Wales are eligible to apply for free travel to and from school. Such transport is provided only after presentation of a current and appropriate travel pass to the driver upon boarding the bus.

Application for travel by Eligible Students
Parents/Guardians must apply for a new travel pass when:

• the student has changed schools
• the student has changed residential address
• the student is moving from Year 2 to Year 3
• the student is moving from Year 6 to Year 7
• the student repeats a school year

An "Application for Subsidised Travel & Update of Student Details" form is obtainable from your school. After obtaining the signatures of a parent/guardian and the principal of the school, the completed application is processed by Shorelink on behalf of the Ministry of Transport. A travel pass is then issued by Shorelink to the appropriate school for distribution.

Eligibility Conditions
To be eligible for subsidised travel under the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) students should:

• Be 4 years 6 months of age or older.
• Be an infant student i.e. attending kindergarten, year 1 and 2 classes, irrespective of the distance from home to school.
• Be a primary student (year 3-6), and reside more than 1.6 kilometres (radial distance) from the school attended measured on a radius from the centre of the school site, or 2.3 kilometres or more by the most direct practicable walking route to the nearest point of physical entry to the school.
• Be a secondary student (year 7-12), and reside more than 2.0 kilometres (radial distance) from the school attended, measured on a radius from the centre of the school site, or 2.9 kilometres or more by the most direct practicable walking route to the nearest point of physical entry to the school.
• Be enrolled at a registered day school.

Use of Free Travel Pass
School travel is only available between home and school for school attendance and is available on school days only.

Passes are not transferable and must be shown on demand. Therefore all students must carry their travel pass, with their Tcard, on all school days. Students must present their pass and Tcard to the driver upon boarding and to an inspector when requested.

Withdrawal of Free School Pass
The Ministry of Transport reserves the right to withdraw a travel pass if investigation shows the student to be ineligible. Following notification to the parent/guardian, any issued pass must be surrendered to the school principal or Shorelink and subsidised travel cease immediately.

Read further below for more specific details relating to the SSTS system.

School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS)

What is SSTS?
SSTS is a scheme run by the NSW Ministry of Transport in conjunction with schools and transport companies to enable eligible students to travel to and from school at no cost to the parents or guardians.

Eligibility Criteria

The table below summarises the eligibility criteria for free travel under SSTS.

The eligibility criteria are applied in sequence. That is, the year that the student is in is examined first. If the student is in Kindergarten to Year 2 they are eligible regardless of any other factors, as long as they are travelling to and from their home address.

If the student is in a year greater than Year 2 the Radial Distance is then examined. If the Radial Distance exceeds that shown in the table, then the student is eligible.

The application needs to be sent in to the Ministry of Transport with a letter.

If the Radial Distance is less than that shown in the table, the Walking Distance is then examined. If the Walking Distance exceeds that shown in the table, then the student is eligible.

Health or Safety criteria only need to be examined when the age or distance criteria are not satisfied.