School transport

The new Customer Query Form is available to everyone wishing to engage with school transport unit.

It is an online form that is easy to access and straightforward to complete. It will prompt you to enter all of the information required so that the Department of Education can ensure that every customer interaction is processed in a timely and professional manner.

Applications for school transport for the 2025/26 school year

Bus Éireann’s on-line application portal is now open

How to apply

You can apply on-line to Bus Éireann at www.buseireann.ie/schools or click here Bus Éireann Portal.

The closing date for new applications is Friday, 25 April 2025.

You can apply and pay or enter medical card details at the same time.

The closing date for payments or entering medical card details is Friday, 6 June 2025.

Who needs to apply

• Students who have never applied for school transport.
• Students starting junior infants or first year for the first time in the 2025/26 school year.
• Students changing home address or moving school in the 2025/26 school year.

If you apply after the closing date, your application will be late and you may not get a ticket.

Payment facility for 2025/26 now open

You must submit payment or medical card details if you are:

• A new applicant
• A pupil who has used school transport before and needs a seat for the 2025/26 school year

The closing date for payments or entering medical card details is Friday, 6 June 2025.

If you make a payment or enter medical card details after this date, it will be late, and you may not get a ticket.

School transport ticket charges

The annual charges for School Transport services for the 2025/26 school year are:

Medical card holders

Children who are eligible for school transport and have a valid medical card (GMS Scheme) do not have to pay the annual fee. However, the medical card details must be submitted to the Bus Éireann Portal by 6 June 2025.

If you submit medical card details after this date it will late and you may not get a ticket.

Temporary Portal Closure

The Bus Éireann family portal will close for 3 weeks starting on 7 June 2025. This will give Bus Éireann time to plan for the new school year.

Bus Éireann contact details

Bus Éireann runs the School Transport Scheme for the Department of Education. They have a dedicated customer care call centre to help families with school transport questions.

If you have any questions, you can call the centre at LoCall 0818 919 910. The phone lines are open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

You can also submit your questions to Bus Éireann online.

School Transport Section contact details

If you wish to contact the School Transport Section you can submit an online Customer Query Form

Eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria for School Transport for the 2025/26 school year is as follows:

Children are eligible for school transport if they meet the following criteria:

• Primary Level: They live at least 3.2 km from their nearest national school, as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, considering the school's ethos and language.
• Post-Primary Level: They live at least 4.8 km from their nearest post-primary school or education centre, as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, considering the school's ethos and language.

Eligible children who complete the application and payment process on time will get a seat on a school bus service, if a service is available.

Children who are not eligible for school transport but complete the application and payment process on time will be considered for any spare seats available after eligible children have been accommodated. These spare seats are called concessionary seats.

There may be more demand than availability for concessionary seats. In such cases, Bus Éireann will use an agreed selection process to allocate tickets for the spare seats.

Temporary alleviation measures will continue for the 2025/26 school year. This means that, if there are available services and enough capacity, transport will be provided for concessionary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school but are attending their second nearest school or post-primary centre. This is only if they apply and pay on time.

A review of the School Transport Scheme, which was carried out in three phases, has been completed . The report from each phase, as well as a summary report, are available here. The final report, “School Transport 2030 Review of the School Transport Scheme - Phase 3 Report” contains recommendations on the future operation of the scheme. These recommendations will be implemented on a phased basis between now and 2030

• Review of the School Transport Scheme – Summary Report
• Review of the School Transport Scheme – Summary Report (Irish version)
• School Transport 2030 Review of the School Transport Scheme - Phase 3 Report
• Review of the School Transport Scheme - Phase 2 Report
• Review of the School Transport Scheme - Phase 1 Report

The Department of Education and Bus Éireann will continue to provide School Transport Scheme services for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine. Applications continue to be received on a daily basis as families are relocated or as new families arrive. Every effort is being made to ensure school transport services are up and running as they are required, it may in some cases take time to arrange services for families. Full information on the process is available on Item was unpublished or removed and is available in Ukrainian, English and Russian.

Bus Éireann operates the school transport schemes on behalf of the Department of Education.

As part of the scheme, transport is provided to and from school for:

• children who reside remote from their nearest primary and post-primary school
• children with special educational needs

Primary schools

The primary school transport scheme supports the transport to and from school of children who live more than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest primary school.

Please see further information on the scheme, including eligibility criteria, below:

Primary School Transport Scheme

Post-Primary schools

The post-primary school transport scheme supports the transport to and from school of children who live more than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post-primary education centre/school. It is subject to the following exceptions:

• children who choose to attend their nearest minority religious denominational school due to religious ethos may be eligible for school transport to that school, even if it is not their nearest school
• children who choose to attend their nearest all-Irish school/unit may be eligible for school transport to that school/unit, even if it is not their nearest school
• children who choose to attend their nearest all-English school/unit may be eligible for school transport to that school/unit, even if it is not their nearest school

Please see further information on the scheme, including eligibility criteria, below:

Post-primary School Transport Scheme

Applications for the School Transport Primary and/or Post Primary scheme must be submitted online via Bus Éireann’s website through their family portal. Only new pupils need to apply, or those who change address/school. A child who is eligible for school transport continues in the scheme if there is no change in their circumstances.

The closing date for applications is usually the last Friday in April for the following school year. It is important to check buseireann.ie for updates on the opening and closing dates of the family portal.

There is a late application process. You may still apply for school transport following the application closing date. Any application completed after the closing date is a ‘late application’. If your application is late you may not secure a seat on a service.

Eligibility can only be determined at the time of assessment. ‘’Late applications’’ will only be assessed after all “on time” applications have been processed. Please note that there is no guarantee of seats on services for late applicants. To use School Transport Scheme Services, pupils must be in possession of a valid ticket for travel.

Change of address or new school

Should your circumstances change during the academic year, a new application will have to be assessed. A new school transport application form must be submitted on Bus Éireann’s website as your old ticket will no longer be valid.

There is no direct application form for a Remote Area Grant. An assessment for a Remote Area Grant can only be made once eligibility for the School Transport scheme has been determined following an application for school transport through Bus Éireann’s website. Further information in relation to applications can be found on Bus Éireann’s website.

Remote area grants are payable by the department as a contribution towards private transport arrangements for eligible pupils for whom no transport service is available. These grants may also be paid for eligible pupils who live 3.2km or more from the nearest pick-up point for school transport.

An application for transport must be submitted for each subsequent child requiring transport, even in cases where the family is already in receipt of the Remote Area Grant.

Please access further information on the Remote Area Grant below.

Change of address or new school

Should your circumstances change during the academic year, a new application will have to be assessed. A new school transport application form must be submitted on Bus Éireann’s website as your old ticket will no longer be valid.

If you have applied to attend your nearest school in regards to ethos and language and have been advised by the school authorities that it is full, the department will consider if you are eligible to the next nearest school.

Please provide the following documentary evidence as proof:

• an application for enrolment that was made within the deadline dates specified by the school, and
• a letter from the school authorities confirming that the school was full at time of enrolment

Individual queries may be addressed to school_transport@education.gov.ie

The school transport scheme supports the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs that come from a diagnosed disability.

Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO).

Application forms should be completed and signed by the parent, school principal and the SENO.

Change of address or new school

In instances where a child is changing home address and/or school, a new application should be made by the school principal to the SENO.

Please access further information on the scheme, including eligibility criteria, below.

School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs arising from a Disability

Apply

In order to apply please open the document below.

Application for School Transport for Children with Special Educational Needs

A parent/guardian may avail of a Special Transport Grant (STG) for a child with special educational needs. A school transport application under the scheme must have been made before a Special Transport Grant (STG) can be considered.

Where the provision of a reasonable level of transport service is not possible, Special Transport Grant (STG) towards the cost of private transport arrangements may be provided by the department on the basis outlined below:

• Bus Éireann is not in a position to arrange a reasonable level of service for the child
• the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) by reference to relevant professional reports or through information supplied by the relevant school authority, is satisfied that the nature of the child’s disability is such that he or she would be unable to avail of a time-tabled school bus service which picks up other children along the route

With effect from the start of the 2024/2025 school year the rate of the Special Transport Grant will be increased as recommended in the review of the school transport scheme, the rate should be increased to 41.80 cent for the first 6,437 kilometres travelled and 31.78 cent per kilometre for each kilometre travelled thereafter.

Grants are subject to periodic review and may be varied or withdrawn where circumstances change.

The Special Transport Grant is sanctioned from the date of application. Retrospective payments are not a feature of the Special Transport Grant.

Special Transport Interim Grant

A Special Transport Interim Grant may be available to families of children with special educational needs who, following the application process, are eligible under the terms of the school transport scheme and are awaiting a School Transport service to be put in place.

This grant is a once off payment. The interim grant is offered from the date of application to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements the family had put in place until a transport service is ready to commence.

Families should contact School Transport Section at: school_transport@education.gov.ie for more information on this Special Transport Interim Grant.

Bus Escort

Bus Escorts are employed on board a school transport service provided through Bus Éireann where the child’s care and safety needs while on board the school transport are such as they require the support of an escort.

The School Management Authority employs the School Bus Escort.

Queries regarding bus escorts should be directed to the School Management Authorities.

Summer Programme

Summer Programme offers learning support for a set period during the school summer holidays to children with special educational needs.

Schools running the Summer Programme are required to register the children requiring school transport. Transport for the Summer Programme is provided for children who are participating in the school based programme, are eligible for school transport for children with special educational needs and are currently on a service. Where services are not available for pupils who normally avail of transport under this scheme, grant funding is payable to eligible parents/guardians following completion of the summer programme.

Further information in relation to the Summer Programme

School Transport Application for School Transport on Medical Grounds

Special transport arrangements on medical grounds may be considered by the department. In order to apply for school transport on medical grounds, please access the following link: School Transport - Application for School Transport on Medical Grounds.

If your application for school transport has been refused, you are entitled to appeal the decision to the School Transport Appeals Board

The Board is independent in the performance of its functions but acts in accordance with (a) its Terms of Reference as determined by the Minister and (b) a set of Operating Procedures.

The types of decisions that may be appealed are as follows:

• decisions made by or on behalf of the Department of Education under the terms of the Primary/Post Primary School Transport Scheme and the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs
• decisions made by or on behalf of the department under the various grant schemes for school transport
• decisions made by Bus Éireann under the Guidelines for Discipline and Procedures for Dealing with Alleged Misbehaviour on School Transport but excluding cases deemed by Bus Éireann to involve serious misconduct or behaviour which poses a threat to the safety and well-being of pupils and/or the driver or to the safe operation of the service generally
• parents or pupils who are over 18 years of age may appeal a decision made by Department of Education under the terms of the school transport schemes or grant aid under the terms of the school transport schemes

It is the role of the Board to ensure that the terms of the School Transport Scheme are applied correctly.

To appeal a decision by the Department of Education/Bus Éireann, please use the following link: School Transport Appeals Board

A review of the School Transport Scheme has recently been completed. Following approval by Government at the end of February, School Transport 2030 was published. Government is committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030.

A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations will begin in September 2024. As indicated at the time of the launch of the School Transport Review, this will include a shared effort between the Department of Education and the Department of Transport, supported by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann, to pilot and introduce greater integration of existing public transport networks with post-primary school transport routes. Two areas have been identified for these initial pilot projects:

• One in the Limerick/Shannon area

• One in the Roscommon/Athlone area.

Following closure of the application process for the upcoming school year, consideration will be given to further pilots in other areas of the country. These will be considered in areas where potential demand exists and where capacity/resources are not a particular issue.

The School Transport Scheme is significant in scale and changes as recommended in the review will take time and careful planning to implement. As part of the analysis undertaken for the review the Department has identified projected growth of pupil numbers nationally. Work is commencing on plotting and mapping this data, using GIS technology, to ensure optimal planning for the expansion of the scheme. Engagement with stakeholders, including families and school communities, will continue as the scheme changes are implemented.

A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations will begin in September 2024. This will include a shared effort between the Department of Education and the Department of Transport, supported by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann, to pilot and introduce greater integration of transport networks with school transport routes.

Two areas have been identified for these initial pilot projects:

• One in the Limerick/Shannon area

• One in the Roscommon/Athlone area.

The planned pilot projects in the 2024/2025 school year will provide valuable insights on

• the impact increased demand will have on the scheme.

• the potential to integrate public transport services with school transport services.

• the facilitation of more sustainable modes of transport

These insights will give an indication of the scale of planning and implementation required for national implementation of a revised School Transport Scheme, to include the integration of public transport and school transport services.

The Department of Education will be engaging with families and schools in the pilot areas to advise them on what this will mean for them and how to apply for transport should they wish to do so.

Full details of the review of the scheme are available at Item was unpublished or removed

The new Customer Query Form is available to everyone wishing to engage with school transport unit.

It is an online form that is easy to access and straightforward to complete. It will prompt you to enter all of the information required so that the Department of Education can ensure that every customer interaction is processed in a timely and professional manner.

A new Customer Query Form is available to everyone wishing to engage with school transport unit.

Bus Éireann School Transport

Contact details for Bus Éireann’s School Transport offices are available.

School Transport Section, Department of Education

• address: Department of Education, School Transport, Portlaoise Road, Tullamore, Co Offaly, R35 Y2NS

Phone