Below you will find key messaging on both project work and general updates relating to travel assistance.
Updated October 2024.
What is a Personal Travel Budget (PTB)?
A PTB lets you make your own flexible travel arrangements to school/college, using a calculated amount of travel allowance from the Council.
The allowance can be used towards driving your own vehicle, arranging for family/friends or a shared travel service to help transport your child, to purchase a travel pass, or to help towards childcare arrangements for other siblings.
If your child is eligible for travel assistance and you would like to receive a PTB, please contact the team using our online enquiry form.
How will transport arrangements be communicated?
If the Council has assigned contracted transport in the form of a taxi or minibus, there is a two-step process for confirming specific arrangements to you:
- You will receive an email with a notification to access a letter detailing your transport provider. The notification from gov.uk will include a link to a letter which details the transport company.
- The transport provider will contact you in advance to confirm the start date and pick-up and drop-off time.
Best practice suggests operators should offer parents and carers a "Meet and Greet" service, to enable the pupil to see the transport being provided and meet their new transport team. However, we know that in some circumstances this may not be possible, particularly if we need to add a child or young person to an existing route that may change the setup of the arrangements.
Review of unsafe travel routes
We are currently reviewing a number of routes across the County that are deemed unsafe. This involves reassessing eligibility for travel assistance in some circumstances, if there are any changes to route safety, we will write to all families affected. Any review of an unsafe route will be undertaken in line with National Road Safety Guidance.
Post-16 contribution rates 2024 to 2025
Where it is agreed that travel assistance is required in the form of a taxi or minibus, we will ask you or your parent/carer to contribute towards the transport costs. However, if you or your family experience severe financial hardship, we will consider delaying, reducing, or waiving the charge for post-16 students.
We have increased the contribution this year at a time of real challenge for public finances, when we are all facing increased costs and recognise the hardship that families are experiencing. The new contribution rates for 2023 to 2024, while an increase on last year, are still lower than our neighbouring authorities.
Our new post-16 travel allowance has been in place since 2022 and if you choose to accept this, you will not be required to pay the contribution.
The contribution rates for the academic year 2023 to 2024 are as follows:
- £659.01 for students whose families are in receipt of the maximum Working Tax Credit and/or who continue to meet the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals; students in care; care leavers; those on Income Support/Universal Credit in their own right; disabled young people who receive Employment Support Allowance/Universal Credit and either Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment in their name; or
- £908.85 for all other students.
Potential changes to current arrangements
For existing passengers who access their education settings via contracted transport, wherever possible, transport will be the same or similar. There will be occasions where we will need to change a service, or where arrangements may change. Reasons why we are required to change a service, and what could change include:
- More children and young people being awarded transport to a specific education setting and are added to a specific vehicle/route.
- The operator of a current route changes.
- The type of vehicle.
- A journey time is increased owing to more children in a vehicle.
- The home pick-up and drop-off times.
For new applicants, and those where the travel arrangements are changing, you will be informed of the arrangements as soon as possible to make any necessary preparations. In all cases, we will aim to ensure that information is provided two weeks before the start of transport.
