School Buses

oneillsa

Hi - we've just moved to Kildare from the UK and I'm trying to get my head round how the school bus system works. Apparently there is no Bus Eiran services for my daughter's school. Can anyone advise how I go about setting this up, or how I find out about a private service locally? thank you!

E.T.

Got this from the citizensinformation website, the first quote is for primary schools, and the second for post-primary: (And they will literally send out the bus inspector to measure distances to your gate)
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/primary_and_post_primary_education/going_to_primary_school/primary_school_transport_scheme.html

"In order to qualify for school transport, a child must be aged between 4 and 12 and living more than 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) from the nearest suitable national school.

The Department of Education and Skills decides what the nearest suitable school is. If a child is attending a school that has more than one teacher and there is a one-teacher school nearer the home, that fact will not usually disqualify the child from using the school transport scheme.

Children attending multi-denominational schools or Gaelscoileanna (Irish-speaking schools) are eligible if they meet the distance requirements to their school. They are not disqualified because there is another national school nearer to them. There are also special arrangements for Protestant children attending Protestant schools and children living in remote areas.

There are other conditions to be met before a transport service will be established. There must be enough children to use the service. This means that there must be a daily average (over a school term) of at least 7 children in a distinct area attending their nearest national school.

If 2 schools merge, the national school children for whom the closed national school would have been the nearest can only use the transport service to go to the school that is the result of the merger. The service can be continued as long as there are 7 or more such children using it.

A transport service to the nearest suitable school can also be established, provided it can be done within reasonable cost limits, in the following cases:

* Where there are at least 7 eligible children in a distinct area who are attending the nearest suitable school and are available for transport
* Where there are 5 such children in a distinct area, living at least 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) from the school
* Where there are 4 such children in a distinct area, living at least 6.4 kilometres (4 miles) from the school
* Where there are 3 such children in a distinct area, living not less than 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the school.

Parents or guardians should note that the scheme is not a door-to-door service. Parents are responsible for bringing their children to the nearest pick-up point to avail of the service. Generally routes are planned so pupils don't have to travel more than 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles) to their nearest pick-up point.

If there is no school transport there is a transport grant available to help with the costs of transport for children who are entitled to free transport - see 'How to apply' below."

2. "Information

The Department of Education and Skills provides subsidised school transport for post-primary students who are eligible for the school transport scheme.

Bus Éireann runs the service and the Department of Education and Skills decides the fares for each school year. The school bus service will only be provided where there are at least 7 eligible pupils in an area that can be economically serviced by a bus route.

Remote area grants are payable by the Department as a contribution towards private transport arrangements for groups of eligible students who live outside the range of transport services. They must live 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) or more from the nearest pick-up point for transport.

Even when a student meets the age and distance criteria for school transport, there is no legal entitlement to transport.

There are some special transport arrangements for students with disabilities.

The Department of Transport publishes advice for parents and schools in relation to authorised bus operators and taxis (pdf) on its website.
Budget 2011

The measures announced in Budget 2011 change the rules and rates for the school transport scheme. The proposed changes are detailed in the Information Note published by the Department of Education and Skills.
Rules

To be eligible for any form of school transport, a student must:

* Be enrolled in a recognised post-primary school
* Be over 12 years old before the 1st of January of the school year when he/she started in post-primary school.
* Have finished sixth class in primary school.

Rules about distance from school

Students who live more than 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) from the post-primary school catering for the catchment area where they live are fully eligible for the school bus service to their school. Parents must arrange to bring their son/daughter to the nearest pick-up point on the bus route. Generally, the bus routes are organised so that no student has more than 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) to travel to a pick-up point.

There is provision for parents to pay for the bus service to be extended to a closer point, where this is feasible from the point of view of time and where this would not result in a major disruption to other students using the service.

Students who are attending a recognised post-primary school that is not the post-primary school for their area can use the bus service if there is room on the bus, provided they live at least 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) from the school in question.

Students may be given transport to enable them to attend the nearest all-Irish post-primary school or a post-primary school for students of a minority religion if they live at least 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) or more from that school.

Students whose parents have a medical card and who live 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) or more from the school for their catchment area are entitled to free school transport. However, if the student attends a post-primary school outside their catchment area, they are not entitled to free transport to that school.

Dublin Bus operates a special fare for post-primary students living in Dublin.
Rates

The fares for the school year are as follows:
Fully eligible students living 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) or more from their school

For the 2010/2011 school year the fare was a single annual charge of €300 per student. The maximum amount for a family is €650 per year.

Budget 2011 increases the annual charge to €350 per student, with the maximum per family remaining at €650 per year.

In general, the charge is due to be paid in full by the end of July or else in 2 instalments by the end of July and the start of December.

Students who are basically eligible for transport to the school in their catchment area may be allowed catchment boundary transport on a service within another school catchment area, subject to availability. If they qualify for this service, they pay the same fee as fully eligible students attending the school in their local catchment area. This fee may be waived where the student's family has a medical card.
Dublin Bus concessionary fares for post-primary students

Dublin Bus offers concessionary fares during term time. The Travel 90 Schoolchild Ticket for students aged under 16 years costs €6.50. The Travel 90 Scholar Ticket for students aged between 16 and 19 years costs €10.00. These tickets are valid for 10 journeys of 90 minutes' unlimited travel to and from secondary school. They can be used up to 5.00 p.m. from Monday until Friday and up to 1.30 p.m. on Saturday.
How to apply
Students who live 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) or more from their post-primary school

When a student enrols in post-primary school, the school principal arranges for an application form for school transport to be filled by the parents. The principal makes the arrangements to have the student placed on Bus Éireann's list.

Bus Éireann will send the invoice for the fare directly to the parents. The payment must be made before the start of term. In general, the charge is due to be paid in full by the end of July or else in 2 instalments by the end of July and the start of December. You can pay the fare online through the Bus Éireann website.
Dublin Bus

Information about buying schoolchild and scholar tickets is available on the Dublin Bus website.
Applications for the remote area grant

Parents must apply in writing directly to the Department of Education and Skills in Tullamore for this grant."

oneillsa

Thank you!

Orion

Where in Kildare are you? It's a big county. E.T. has given you the official line but that won't cover private operators. If we know where you are then there may be more relevant information available.

(I'll ping the mods to maybe move this to the Kildare forum too - that may be a better forum for your query).

byhookorbycrook

Moved from Primary boards.