The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education.
In the current school year over 161,600 children, including over 135,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 19,800 pupils with special educational needs, and 6,800 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.
School Transport is not provided for free of charge for children living in rural areas. However, the Government announced a wide range of once-off measures to assist with increased cost of living pressures which includes a significant reduction in charges for school transport for the 2023/2024 school year. For the 2023/2024 school year, reduced charges of €50 per student at primary level and €75 per student at post-primary level apply, with a cap per family of €125. This means that ticket holders will save up to €50 at primary and €275 at post-primary, with an overall reduction in the family maximum contribution of €525 compared to the fees for 2021/2022 school year. Children with a full medical card and eligible children availing of transport on the scheme for children with special educational needs are exempt from the annual ticket charge.
The Department has recently completed a review of the School Transport Scheme. The review was conducted with a view to examining the current scheme and how it currently operates, its broader effectiveness and sustainability and that it adequately supports the provision of services to students and their families. One of the recommendations of the review is that there should continue to be a fee charged for the annual ticket on primary and post-primary school transport services.
