Go back
Back to School travel

Zoom Zero Travel Pass for travel to school

If your child lives further from school than the walking distance allowed by law, or if you're on a low income, they may be eligible for a Zoom Zero Travel Pass.

The pass entitles eligible school age children up to the end of year 11 to travel free of charge on public transport from home to school and back. The buses are not dedicated school buses, and other fare paying passengers are still entitled to use them.

The pass is valid between the bus stop nearest your home address and the bus stop nearest to their school. It can only be used at certain times of the day Monday to Friday, and only during school term time.

If your child has special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) or a mobility need, see our school travel support for children with SEND.

Who can apply for a pass

Children are eligible for a pass if they are:

  • under 8 years old and the distance between their home and nearest available school is two miles or more

  • aged 8 to 16 and the distance between their home and nearest available school is three miles or more

Low income families

Children from low income families (eg those claiming free school meals or receiving maximum Working Tax Credit) are eligible for a pass if they are:

  • primary school aged (8 to 11 years old) and the distance from home to their nearest school is two miles or more (rather than three miles)

  • secondary school aged (11 to 16 years old) and the distance from home to school is between two and six miles, as long as there aren't three or more suitable schools nearer to their home

When to apply

You need to apply before 30 June to be sure that your child will receive their pass before the start of the school year in September.

You need to re-apply for the pass each year, as we need to check your child is still eligible.

What you need to apply

If you're applying for a new pass you'll need to upload a photo of your child. You can crop an existing photo to the right size in the online form, or take a new photo if applying using your smartphone.

If you're renewing a pass you won't need a new photo, unless your child's appearance has changed significantly since you first applied. 

If you're applying as you're a low income family and you're on the highest level of Working Tax Credit, you'll need to upload your award letter as evidence. If you're applying because your child is entitled to free school meals, you don't need to upload any evidence as we'll check our records to confirm this.

How to apply

You can apply for a pass by filling in our online form.

What happens after applying

When we receive your application we'll check the details you've given us against our records to determine if your child qualifies for a pass.

If your child qualifies, Travel South Yorkshire will send the pass to your home address. The pass will last for the full school year.

If your child doesn't qualify, we aim to contact you within 28 days to let you know. It may take longer between May and July due to the large number of applications we receive for the new school year.

Lost or stolen passes

If you lose your pass or it's been stolen, you need to contact Travel South Yorkshire for a replacement by emailing zerofares@sypte.co.uk. There may be charge to replace the pass, and any replacement will only be valid up to the expiry date of the original.

More information

For more details about school travel support, see our home to school travel assistance policy.