School transport
While schools remain open to pupils, the council will try to continue to provide home to school travel arrangements as usual. This will be dependent on the availability of passenger assistants and drivers.
If your child's transport route cannot run due to staff absence you will be contacted and offered another travel option such as a mileage reimbursement to transport your own child to school.
If your child, or any member of your family is ill or showing symptoms of Coronavirus, please do not send your child to school and contact the school transport team to cancel transport. Passenger assistants and drivers may refuse to transport your child if they feel they are not well enough to travel.
Apply for a school bus pass
Fill in our simple online form.
Clock Completing this form takes around 10 minutes
Paperclip To complete this form you will need:-
- The National Insurance number of the applicant.
- A digital photo of the child, for new applications only. (See rules for digital photos below)
After you've applied
The bus pass will be sent to your permanent home address.
If the application is being made for the school year commencing in September you should expect your child's pass in late August.

Rules for digital photos
For new applications, you need a digital photo to apply for a school bus pass online. For renewals, the existing photo will be used.
The quality of your digital photo
Your photo must be:
- clear and in focus
- in colour
- unaltered by computer software
- at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall
- at least 50KB and no more than 10MB
What your digital photo must show
The digital photo must:
- contain no other objects or people
- be taken against a plan light-coloured background
- be in clear contrast to the background
We will accept digital passport style photos taken with a mobile phone, include your head, shoulders and upper body. Do not crop your photo - it will be done for you.
Lost or damaged school bus passes
If you have lost or damaged your school bus pass please contact METRO below. There will be a charge of £7.00.
- Phone 0113 348 1122
Eligibility
How to apply for Travel assistance for Children aged 5-16 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Applications for travel assistance for SEND children starting school in September 2022 need to be submitted before 30 April 2022. For those applications received after this date, travel assistance cannot be guaranteed to be in place for the beginning of September 2022.
Fill in our simple online form.
Clock Completing this form takes around 10 minutes
Paperclip To complete this form you will need;
Read the eligibility criteria above.
Specialist seating
Wheelchairs: We need to know the make and model of the chair as we provide the clamps for the vehicle. The wheelchair must have been crash tested and must be in full working order to be used on transport.
Moulded Car Seats: These must be provided by parents and support given to take them on and off the vehicle each day.
Booster Seats:Children must use a booster until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall. This must be provided by the family. Please note, our minibuses are not fitted with iso-fix points.
Include any extra supporting evidence such as care plans, doctors letters.
Apply onlineAfter you've applied
Once your application form has been received the application will be assessed by the Travel Assessment Team, who will decide whether your child fits the eligibility criteria for travel assistance.
- If your child is deemed not eligible you will receive a letter explaining the reasons why.
- If your child is deemed as eligible your application will be passed to our Travel Assessment Officer who will then make contact with you to discuss the application, gain any more information and come up with a suitable travel solution.
- If your child is going to receive transport via a minibus or taxi, our colleagues in the Passenger Transport Team will arrange this route and contact you with the details.
- If your child is going to receive a different form of travel assistance this will be set up within the Travel Assessment Team.
Appeals
You can appeal against any decision not to award a Free School Bus Pass by contacting us to state why you disagree and/or why your circumstances could be regarded as exceptional.
The decision will then be reviewed by a Senior Officer as part of a stage 2 appeal process.
If the original decision is upheld, the authority will issue appeal papers to you for the second part of the appeal process which will go before a panel consisting of three Elected Members of Kirklees Local Authority to hear your appeal.
Policies
My Bus scheme
Metro's revolutionary yellow bus scheme, providing dedicated school transport.
Bike scheme
If you are interested in receiving a bike instead of a bus pass:
- Email free.buspasses4schools@kirklees.gov.uk
- Phone 01484 416982
How to apply to be a school transport driver
Fill in our simple online form.
Clock Completing this form takes around 10 minutes
Paperclip To complete this form you will need:
- DVLA driving licence details
- A digital copy of Current TT badge
- A digital copy of DVLA driving licence photocard or old style paper card
- A digital copy of private hire/hackney carriage badge and/or Driver Qualification Card (DQC)
- A digital copy of a current utility bill or bank statement (dated within the last 3 months)
- A digital copy of Pass certificates for safeguarding e-learning training courses x2
- A digital copy of recent passport sized photograph which meets the following standards (a photo of a passport will not be accepted)
- A digital copy of DBS certificate (issued in the last 3 months for a new application and issued in the last 3 years for a renewal)
All Transport Team approved drivers must sign up to the DBS update service. Drivers must sign up to the service within 30 days of the 'date of issue' displayed on the certificate.
Please note, only complete applications will be assessed. Applications that are missing documentation will be rejected and not assessed.
Apply to be a school transport driverAfter you've applied
We will let you know the outcome of your application 1 week after applying. You will be contacted through email if one has been provided, if not, then we will contact you through the provided home and/or mobile number.

Contact us
School bus passes
For information about school bus passes.
- Email free.buspasses4schools@kirklees.gov.uk
- Phone 01484 416982
SENDACT (SEND Assessment & Commissioning Team)
For information on eligibility and applying for transport assistance, including Post 16 students, if your child has special educational needs and/or a disability.
- Email senact@kirklees.gov.uk
- Phone 01484 456888
Passenger Travel Team
For new travel applications and solutions contact:
- Travel Assessment Unit
- Email travel.assessment@kirklees.gov.uk
For independent travel training enquiries contact:
- Transport Team
- Email independenttraveltraining@kirklees.gov.uk
- Phone 01484 221000 - Extension 71309
For pre-16 home to school transport queries contact:
For post-16 home to school transport queries contact: