School transport guidance 2025

Section 2 - What does this mean in practice?

2.1 Decision Making

20. In addition to ensuring compliance with their statutory obligations, Scottish Ministers recommend local authorities take into consideration the following issues when formulating their policies on home to school transport:

Educational impact – it is important that the impact of a local authorities’ policies on home to school transport, including proposed changes such as removal of school transport services also consider pupils’ ability to participate in the curriculum and their well-being.

Engagement with the local community - it is essential that local authorities engage with the local community, their elected representatives and those directly affected by home to school transport policies. Opportunities to put forward views can be provided through for example, online surveys, public meetings or meetings with representatives of affected groups. Please note where proposed changes involve removal of home to school transport services to denominational schools and GME provision the local authority has a statutory obligation to conduct a full consultation under the 2010 Act (see above).

Impact assessments – local authorities have statutory obligations in relation to the provision of impact assessments in relation to disability (under the Equality Act 2010)

UNCRC Compatibility – Local Authorities, have statutory duties under Section 6 of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, for public authorities, including Scottish Ministers, not to act incompatibly with the UNCRC requirements (as defined in section 1 of the Act). It is important for all those undertaking relevant public functions to consider children’s rights in their work. Consideration of children’s rights should be evident across all public service delivery. One good practice approach to assess and record the impact of decisions on children’s rights is to prepare a Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA). The Scottish Government has published CRWIA guidance^[12] for public authorities to support good practice and better or further effect of children’s rights.

Duty of Best Value - Local authorities have statutory duties under the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 to make arrangements which secure best value. The Best Value: revised statutory guidance^[13] that the Scottish Government published in 2020 identifies the characteristics of Best Value to help local authorities develop arrangements to demonstrate continuous improvement in their performance.

21. Scottish Government recommends any changes to local authority school transport policies or eligibility criteria to be clearly communicated to local families and reflected in their published school transport policy at the earliest opportunity.

2.2 School Transport and the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme (YPS)

22. Since January 2022, the YPS permits children and young people under the age of 22 and who have registered for the scheme to travel for free on most registered public bus services across Scotland. To mitigate potential child safety risks, parent or guardian consent is required for under-16s accessing the YPS. This allows those who know the child best to make a careful judgment about whether they are suitably equipped to exercise their entitlement responsibly and safely.

23. Some transport for some schools will have always been on locally registered public bus services which run at appropriate times on routes to or nearby their place of education, with the local authority paying the bus operator directly for a bus pass allowing the child to travel.

24. The statutory obligations related to home to school transport that apply to local authorities, as outlined in this guidance and relevant legislation, are unaffected by the introduction of the YPS scheme. It was not designed to replace dedicated home to school transport. Local authorities must continue to ensure that home to school transport policies meet their statutory obligations and should take appropriate legal advice if needed.

25. Where the local authority exercised discretion to provide dedicated school transport as a more appropriate alternative to local registered services, the introduction of the YPS and the ability to cut costs, should not impact that decision.

26. It is important to acknowledge the YPS provides free bus travel to cardholders across Scotland on registered local and long distance services. While a parent may be content that a local authority pay a bus operator directly for a bus pass allowing a child to access free home to school bus transport, they may not want their child having access to free bus travel that extends beyond the school journey. Local authorities therefore need to be aware they cannot mandate that pupils obtain a YPS pass to travel to school as it will not be appropriate for all children who are eligible. The decision as to whether it is appropriate for a child to exercise their eligibility rests solely with the pupil and their parent given the extra travel freedoms YPS offers.

27. If a Local Authority believes that there are adequate transport facilities available through local registered bus services eligible to carry concessionary passengers and that it is not necessary for them to make alternative arrangements it is important that they take into account a number of considerations.

28. These considerations would include pupil’s wellbeing, parental input regarding the suitability of access to the YPS for their child (as access would offer free travel across the whole of Scotland), whether use of the scheme will allow the child to participate fully in the school day, and the safety of the home-to-school journey the young person will be required to make, including any journey to and from the relevant bus stop.

29. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor the interactions between the YPS and the provision of home to school transport, and consider whether further collaborative action with Local Authorities may be required in order to ensure efficiencies between the two areas of policy as more information becomes available about uptake.

2.3 Shared Parenting

30. In the case of pupils who live at two addresses within the local authority’s area during the school week, the local authority may consider that the arrangements necessary include transport to school from both addresses.