Students who receive post-16 transport which began in 2025/26

In August 2025, the County Council approved changes to the Post-16 Transport Policy. These changes included:

  • introducing eligibility criteria based on household income from September 2026; and
  • introducing parental contributions for all approved users aged 16 to 18, including those from low-income households.

The County Council also agreed that these changes would be phased in. This means that the new eligibility criteria would apply to:

  • new applicants for post-16 transport; and
  • existing users whose circumstances change, including a change of home address, school or college, course, or transport needs.

What this means for you

If a student has received post-16 transport continuously since the 2025/26 academic year and their circumstances have not changed, they may continue to be assessed under the arrangements that applied before September 2026.

This may mean that:

  • eligibility continues to be assessed under the previous criteria rather than the income-based criteria introduced from September 2026; and
  • students from low-income households may continue to be exempt from parental contributions whilst aged 16 to 18.

Qualifying for the continuing arrangements

To qualify for the continuing arrangements, a student must meet all the following conditions:

  • they receive post-16 transport which began during the 2025/26 academic year;
  • they are attending the same course at the same school or college;
  • they continue to live and travel from the same home address; and
  • there has been no other relevant change in their circumstances.

If any of these conditions are not met, the application will be assessed under the latest Post-16 Transport Policy.

In addition, students from low-income households who qualify for continuing arrangements will continue to be exempt from parental contributions while aged 16 to 18, in line with the arrangements that applied before September 2026.

This arrangement is intended to support students who were already receiving post-16 transport assistance when the policy changes were introduced and whose circumstances have remained unchanged.

Parental contributions

Eligible students aged 16 to 18, and students who started a course before their 19th birthday, are normally required to pay the parental contribution that applies for the relevant academic year.

Students who were aged 19 and over when they started their course are not required to pay a contribution.

An exception applies to some students from low-income households who qualify for the continuing arrangements described above.

From September 2028

The continuing arrangements described above are temporary.

From the start of the 2028/29 academic year, all applications for post-16 transport will be assessed under the eligibility criteria set out in the latest Post-16 Transport Policy, regardless of when transport assistance was first awarded.