Education Travel Support

Travel support can come in a variety of forms including travel training, bus pass, personal allowance or other direct transport, as appropriate to individual pupils' needs as determined by Dudley Council.

All applications for home-to-school travel support are considered on an individual basis. 

Additional information

For the following September and the new academic year:

Applications for travel support for the new academic year must be submitted by 30 June. This deadline applies to both new applications and requests for support renewal for September.

As the majority of children and young people (CYP) receiving support in Dudley have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND), schools can help with technical language or completing forms online.

Where schools submit applications on behalf of families, they are required to sign to confirm they have consulted with and have the approval of parents/carers. We strongly recommend parents and schools work together on preparing applications. However it is primarily the responsibility of parents to apply on behalf of their children for travel support, ensuring that all information provided is accurate and that the forms are fully completed. Incomplete forms may be rejected. Additionally, even if support is approved, missing information can cause delays in determining the appropriate type of support.

Please allow us to assist in ensuring that what will undoubtedly be a very hectic time for everyone goes as smoothly as possible. We are committed to keeping you informed and updated throughout the entire process.

Our contracts with our contractors are reviewed annually or as necessary to align with service requirements. It's imperative for the H2S team to ensure that the routes are both effective and economically viable. As part of this process, the H2S team will be reviewing their contracts to ensure they meet service needs. Non-compliance with our policy may result in contract removal.

New Transport contract update

Applications from suppliers to join Dudley Council's Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the provision of home to school transport are now being invited, with a closing date of 16 June.  We expect to have appointed suppliers by the end of June, following which the re-tendering of routes will begin.

Procurement rules require all transport arrangements are renewed on a regular basis, normally every two years. A series of tender exercises (mini competitions) will take place during July-August.  These may result in changes to taxi companies and consequently in drivers and passenger assistants.

We will also take the opportunity to return the number of vehicles to pre-pandemic levels. Numbers of vehicles increased significantly as a result of Covid when routes had to be ended and then procured again.

In making these changes we will ensure the needs of children remain the priority, that they are not disadvantaged, and that parents/carers are kept informed.