Non-entitled (paid for) school travel assistance

We will guarantee a seat on one of our existing contracted transport services for a student where an application is received on or before the 3rd Friday in May prior to September of that academic year. Guaranteed seats will not be available for applications received after that time, and will then be subject to availability, which will be considered once all statutory students have been allocated. Please note that this may not be processed until the October half term and parents will be responsible for taking their child alongside any associated costs.

In submitting an application form by the aforementioned date, parents or legal guardians will be committing to purchasing a seat for the full academic year at a cost of £600. Regrettably discounts, of any kind, will not be available if transport is used for only part of the year (i.e. passed their driving test etc.). Only in circumstances where a family moves home and transport is no longer required will consideration be given to refunding the remaining full school terms of transport costs, if the yearly payment option has been chosen.

If you opt to pay monthly, the refund will be based on the amount paid to date as well as the term in which transport ceases.

Applications which are not required prior to the commencement of the academic year to which it refers, must be cancelled by emailing [email protected] as soon as possible. However, if we have already dispatched a bus pass, you will be liable for any costs until it is returned and received in the Non-Entitled Travel Scheme office along with a covering letter.

Where transport is no longer required after the academic year has commenced, you must notify us in writing, specifying the reason for the cancellation and the last date of travel; where a bus pass has been issued, this must accompany the letter.

Read more about cancelling your application.

It is important to remember that until we receive the letter of cancellation, and where applicable, the bus pass, you will still be liable for any costs incurred. If the school issue their own bus passes, please state this on the letter of cancellation so that we can notify the school’s administration department accordingly.

Consideration should be given to returning the bus pass by recorded or signed for.

We will withhold an application where there is an outstanding debt in relation to the pupil or their siblings until the account is cleared in full.

Please also be aware that non-payment of an invoice will result in a debt collection agency being notified to recover any monies which remain outstanding. 

If your application is successful, you will receive an invoice prior to the start of the academic year, if you have applied by the deadline for guaranteed transport, for £600 if the yearly payment option has been chosen, or on a monthly basis over a six-month period where the monthly payment option has been selected. Payments should be made within 28 days as specified on the invoice. 

The Council reserves the right to withdraw the entitlement to travel where invoices are not paid on time and or the misuse of the travel facilities or bus pass. In these circumstances we have the right to recover any costs it has incurred as a result of the afore-mentioned misuse.

“Code of Conduct” and, where applicable, the “conditions of use” are printed on the reverse of the bus pass. Any misuse of the “Code of Conduct” and or “conditions” e.g. misbehaviour etc. could render the transport invalid and no refund will be given. 

Parents or legal guardians and students are required to read and adhere to the “Code of Conduct”.

This scheme is only available on existing contracted home to school transport vehicles. Students will be expected to make their own way (accompanied where necessary) to the nearest scheduled boarding point along which the existing contracted home to school transport vehicle operates. Transport will not be diverted to accommodate non statutory entitled students even where the vehicle passes through or near your village.

Applications received after the 3rd Friday in May of that academic year are hereby known as non-guaranteed seats.

If your child is allocated a non-guaranteed seat under the scheme, we must inform you that, should a new application by a statutory entitled pupil be received, it may be necessary to withdraw the offer of the non-guaranteed seat that your child occupies giving you up to 14 days’ notice in writing. A pro rata refund of any fees paid would then be given and you would be required to make alternative transport arrangements.

There are occasions when Northamptonshire Highways Operational Team, or external operators need to cancel transport e.g. adverse weather, issues involving internal recourses i.e. passenger assistants or drivers or vehicles. Every effort is made to ensure this does not happen but should it be unavoidable it is the parent’s or guardian’s responsibility to transport the student to and from education and there will be no reimbursement for costs incurred. Every effort is made to restore the transport arrangements as soon as possible. 

Please be aware that should transport no longer be required for qualifying statutory age students, current journeys will be cancelled as a consequence, under these circumstances, the processing of the application may be delayed until the statutory transport requirements are confirmed.

If you have a query about the bus pass issued or you have a concern about the service being provided, please email [email protected].