Apply for the Spare Seats scheme (Reception to year 11)

If you're responsible for your child or children's transport to school, you may be able pay for a seat on a vehicle that is contracted to take entitled children to and from school and you are advised to read the details of the scheme very carefully if you wish to consider participating in the scheme

The scheme operates to assist parent/carers who are responsible for making their children’s school transport arrangements. It involves making available, at a charge, spare capacity on vehicles contracted to take children entitled to free transport to and from school. 

Spare seat(s) can only be sold if they are available based on capacity limits of the vehicle, and if in doing so the Public Services Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 are not contravened. 

Whilst the we encourage spare seats on school transport vehicles to be used, you should understand the following conditions and constraints before taking part in the Scheme:

You should consider:

• children entitled to free school transport take precedence
• seats will only be available for as long as they are not required by a child, or children who is entitled to free transport
• a seat is a concession not an entitlement
• the availability of the seat will not be known until after the start of the school year (usually by mid-October)

It must be stressed that, until you are advised that a seat is available, you must make appropriate arrangements to get your child to school. You should not rely on the availability of a spare seat.

Apply for the Spare Seat scheme

Students who are 16 and over

Students should contact their post-16 education provider to check whether a seat may be available through the post-16 Spare Capacity Scheme.

Find out how seats are allocated