Transport and travel support
Always check all your travel options and consider your journey to and from school or college when choosing where to attend. Receipt of travel assistance in previous years does not guarantee any assistance post 16.
Most students walk or make their own travel arrangements using public transport. For help with planning a journey visit the Traveline website. For details of bus routes and route maps visit our bus travel pages. Some schools and colleges also operate their own transport – contact them directly for information.
Staffordshire County Council post 16 scheme aims to provide support to those young people who need it the most, such as low income or requiring specialist travel arrangements due to a learning difficulty or disability.
Concessionary tickets for young people 16 – 25 from public bus service providers
Bus companies offer their own passes at competitive prices which may be your cheapest option. To find and buy the public bus ticketing option that best meets your needs please contact bus operators in your area directly.
The Knot ticket
The Knot ticket can be used on buses operated by Arriva, First, Select, D&G/Chaserider, National Express/Travel West Midlands and some Diamond Bus routes. This covers around 90% of the Staffordshire bus network and allows unlimited travel all day for £7 on any of those operators' buses within the specified area.
Stoke on Trent Smart ticket
The Smart multi-operator bus pass student tickets allows you to travel on buses provided by different operators across Stoke and parts of north Staffordshire with just one ticket.
Smart tickets cannot be used to travel to or from areas outside the boundary of the scheme, but you can use it to travel up to the boundary and pay the additional fare to your final destination.
Train travel
If you’re aged 16 or 17, you can get 50% off standard Anytime, Off Peak, Advance and Season tickets – as many times as you like. A 16-17 Saver railcard is just £30 and is valid for one year or until your 18th birthday, whichever comes first. (increasing to £35 from 2 March 2025).
Travel support from schools and colleges
Schools and colleges may also offer their own transport arrangements. For up-to-date information, prices and application forms contact the school or college directly.
