Children aged five to 15 will receive free bus travel on participating routes in England during August through a scheme that sits within more than £100 million of government funding to continue support for bus services in the country.
The free travel is also part of a wider package of measures aimed at the cost-of-living. No registration is required of children that participate, and there is no limit to the number of journeys they may make under the voluntary arrangement.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce details of the overarching cost-of-living scheme, Great British Summer Savings, on 21 May. Free bus travel for children across England will follow a successful pilot in the West of England built around school holidays.
That local approach generated around 1.4 million trips over summer and Christmas periods in 2025 and the Easter break in 2026. It has been funded by North Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority.
Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin says that it generated “a huge increase in public transport use,” with bus travel in the lowest income areas in the region having doubled year-on-year last summer.
The wider government funding for bus services in England that is part of the over £100 million allocation recognises their vital nature, particularly for children, senior citizens and rural communities, and increased costs. The Department for Transport will work with the industry to decide how that support “can be allocated with the greatest impact.”
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has given a cautious welcome to the free travel scheme.
Chief Executive Graham Vidler says the trade body and wider bus sector will engage with the government, local authorities and frontline staff to ensure that the project delivers on its objectives “without detriment to the quality of service that 11 million passengers, young and old, rely on every day.”
Mr Vidler adds that it will be vital to ensure unaccompanied children travelling on buses are properly safeguarded, and that capacity is taken into account to avoid overcrowding. He acknowledges the broader package of support for bus services and says CPT will liaise with the Department for Transport on the details of it.
Such a position comes against a backdrop of spiralling costs, particularly for diesel, although it has been confirmed that the temporary 5ppl reduction in fuel duty will be maintained to the end of the year instead of starting a phased removal from September, as was planned.
Mr Vidler has also highlighted how operator reimbursement for the £3 national bus fare cap in England has failed to match inflation.
Bus Users UK has welcomed the free travel scheme for children in August. CEO Lydia Horbury describes it as “a wonderful opportunity for more families to experience the convenience and value of local bus services first-hand.”
She adds a hope that it will inspire “lasting confidence in public transport and encourage the next generation to see buses as an easy and sustainable way to travel.”
