Press release
School transport scheme brings record number of children to school in 2024
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The number of children travelling on the school transport scheme this year has reached a record high of 172,000 pupils.
New statistics released by the Department of Education have revealed that the number of children on the scheme is up by 6 per cent on the 163,800 total in the previous 2023/2024 school year.
In the current 2024/2025 school year, there are 172,000 children travelling daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country each day.
These daily trips cover over 100 million kilometres, which is the equivalent of nearly 2,500 journeys around the world.
The children being transported on the scheme includes over 143,700 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 21,500 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
Minister for Education Norma Foley said:
“I’m delighted to see the increasing number of children availing of the School Transport scheme because I know how important it is. It allows children to reach school safely, frees up parents to go directly to work and reduces traffic on the roads.
"Since I became Minister of Education, the number of pupils travelling on the scheme is up from 117,500 in 2019 to 172,000 now and investment in the scheme has increased by over 100%, rising from €219 million in 2019 to €450 million in 2024.”
The School Transport Scheme is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education.
There has been a 46% increase in the total number of school transport journeys from 2019 to the current school year. This includes students travelling on school transport services for mainstream, Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Ukraine/IPAS.
There is a 6.2% increase in total tickets issued across all schemes when compared with tickets issued at the same time last year. There has been significant investment in the scheme, the scheme cost €219 million in 2019 and is expected to cost approximately €450 million to run the scheme in 2024.
The School Transport Scheme 2030 report, which was published earlier this year, marks the largest review of the School Transport Scheme since it was established in 1967.
The Department of Education 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. Throughout the review, the value of the School Transport Scheme to both families and in supporting wider government policies has been very apparent.
School transport not only plays an important part in supporting children's access to education, but it also aligns to wider policy objectives. A phased implementation of the review’s recommendations commenced in September 2024.
Recommended changes to the future operation of the Scheme include an expansion of the current eligibility criteria, over time, moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure optimum value for money to the Exchequer.