We offer travel support to children attending their nearest qualifying school if it’s over the walking distance set out by the Children's Transport Policy.
If your child has Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) and you can also apply for
specialist SEND transport help.
Check if you’re eligible
Children aged 5 to 16 years old may qualify for home to school travel support if they are either:
- under 8 years old, attend their nearest qualifying school and live more than 2 miles away
- between 8 and 16 years old, attend their nearest qualifying school and live 3 miles or more away
Find your nearest qualifying school
Your nearest qualifying school for transport is measured by road or walking distance. This may not be your nearest school for admissions, which is measured by straight-line distance.
If you need help to work out your nearest qualifying school for transport, you can contact the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
We may also offer travel support to eligible children who:
- are from low income families
- don't have a safe walking route
- can't walk to school because of a disability or temporary mobility problem
- have disabled parents or carers and as a result don’t have anyone to take them to school
If your child is transferring to secondary school, they will not automatically be eligible for a free bus pass (even if they have a sibling who has, or previously had one).
To confirm that your child is eligible you will need to apply for support.
How to apply
- Check to see if you meet the criteria by reading the
Children’s Services Transport Policy.
- Call the Education Transport Assessment Team at Metro on 0113 348 1121 for an application form or you can
apply online through Metro external link.
- Return your completed application form with the subject line 'Leeds zero fare application' to:
You will be contacted within 15 working days of completing your application form.
Not eligible for school travel support
If your child is not eligible for travel support with us, you can
find out about tickets and passes from Metro.
Appeal a decision
If you applied for transport help and didn't get it, you can appeal the decision.
Please write to us to explain why you think we haven’t assessed your application properly. This will be reviewed and a written response will be sent to you within 20 working days of receiving your letter.
Please send your appeal letter to:
Leeds Education Transport Assessment Team
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Wellington House
40 to 50 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 2DE
