The family portal for new applications for mainstream school transport services for the 2025/26 school year is about to close.
Any new applications made after the closing date of Friday, April 25, will be considered late and a ticket may not be made available.
New applications are considered as:
- Students starting in primary school or post primary school in 2025,
- Students that did not apply for school transport in previous years,
- Students that have moved home address or will be attending a new school in 2025.
Payment/Medical Card Details Deadline: Friday, June 6
- Families can pay or enter medical card details when applying or any time before the payment deadline
- Payments made or medical card details entered after the payment deadline date will be deemed late and a ticket may not be available.
The Bus Éireann family portal will close for three weeks starting on June 7.
This means that no applications can be submitted through the portal during this time. This will give Bus Éireann time to plan for the new school year.
Those wising to apply can contact the Customer Call Centre on 0818 919 910, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday or contact Bus Éireann via their website.
Primary school children are eligible if they live 3.2 km or more from their nearest national school.
Post-primary school children are eligible if they live 4.8 km or more from their nearest post-primary school or education centre.
Distance is measured by the Department of Education/Bus Éireann. The rules also take into account the language and ethos of the school.
If a child is eligible and the family applies and
pays on time, they will be given a place on the school bus if a service is running in their area and there is space available.
If a child is not eligible, but the family still applies and pays on time, they may be offered a spare seat if there is one. These are called concessionary seats.
However, because eligible children are given priority, there may not be enough spare seats for everyone who applies. In these cases, Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process
Temporary Alleviation measures will continue for 2025/2026; if a child is eligible for transport to their nearest school, but is going to their second nearest school, they may still get transport — as long as a service is running and there is space, and they apply and pay on time.
For the 2025/26 school year charges of €50 per student at primary level and €75 per student at post-primary level will apply, with a cap per family of €125.
Eligible children with a full medical card and children who are eligible for Special Educational Needs (SEN) transport services remain exempt from the annual ticket charge.
SEE ALSO – Laois family embarking on fundraising skydive to honour their late husband and father
