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Hertfordshire County Council

You can purchase spare seats on "Education route" buses and coaches that we run across the county, if there are any available.

We are happy to provide spare seats on buses / coaches operated by the county council (which are already running) to provide transport for pupils who have a statutory entitlement for 2024/25.

No-one is automatically entitled to a spare seat and we can't guarantee that a child will keep their place for longer than a term.

Education route buses and coaches only transport pupils who qualify for free travel under our current home to school transport policy. They don't run to every school. The scheme doesn't include public or commercial bus routes.

Applicants for the 2024/25 academic year should not assume that existing spare seats will be available on vehicles operated by the county council for children if their child is not entitled to free home to school transport.

 

 

Who’s eligible

Firstly, seats are given to:

  • statutory school-aged pupils who are eligible for free transport
  • students aged 16-25 who are eligible for travel assistance due to their disabilities and / or learning difficulties.

If there are spare seats once all eligible pupils have been allocated, they will be offered in the following order:

  • statutory school-aged pupils
  • students aged 16-19.

If we receive more applications than spare seats available, we'll allocate seats based on the following criteria:  

  1. Children Looked After, children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabled pupils who don't have a statutory entitlement to transport but may benefit from a spare seat as a result of their SEN or disability. In either case, this is on the basis of a particular medical or social need to travel to this school.

    In this case, we'll send you an Individual Transport Needs Form. A panel of our senior officers will consider each application and whether the evidence provided meet the requirements.

  2. Children from low-income families who do not qualify for free home-to-school transport. For more details on what constitutes low-income, please refer to the home-to-school transport policy. Note that low-income families are not eligible for a concession on the publicised spare seat cost.

  3. Siblings of those entitled to free transport.

  4. Distance from school, giving priority to those living furthest away.


We can't guarantee seat availability each term, and you won't have a continued right to purchase spare seats. Availability depends on the number of children who have a statutory entitlement to transport – that might change throughout the year.


How to apply

Email the admissions and transport team to apply for the spare seats scheme.

We'll need the child's name, date of birth and the school they've been allocated.

 

To ensure proper assessment against the spare seat criteria, applications and payments for spare seats for the start of the academic year must be submitted by 15 August. Applications received after this date will be considered only after those submitted on time. Unsuccessful applications will be placed on a waiting list, prioritised by the spare seat criteria.

We cannot offer spare seats until all applications for free home-to-school transport have been processed. Therefore, tickets for spare seats will not be issued until the start of the autumn term. Please ensure you have alternative travel arrangements for September.

Spare seat applications received throughout the academic year will be individually assessed and either offered a seat if available or placed on the waiting list according to the spare seat criteria.

Prices (24/25 academic year)

Miles (home to school)Charge per pupil

0 – 2.99

£926

3 – 4.99

£1,234

5 – 6.99

£1,418

7 and over

£1,632

You can pay for a spare seat annually, termly or half termly. Spare seat charges are standard, irrespective of when the ticket is issued and no reductions will be given.

Once a spare seat has been agreed, we'll send you a letter or email confirming the seat.

To pay by credit or debit card, call 0300 123 4050 and ask for the Passenger Transport spare seat payment team.


Tickets will be issued on a termly basis but can be withdrawn if:

  • payment has not been received for at least the following half term
  • an eligible pupil joins that route and a seat is required. In these circumstances, seats will be withdrawn in reverse criteria order and a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice will be given.

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