The School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) provides subsidised travel for eligible school students on rail, bus, ferry and long distance coach services. A subsidy is also available for transport to and from school in private vehicles in areas where there is no public transport.
Transport for NSW manages the School Student Transport Scheme. Transport operators issue passes to eligible students, and schools play an important role in verifying students’ eligibility and liaising with transport providers. Download SSTS Brochure PDF (176KB)
The School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) can only be used for:
The scheme does not extend to travel for activities such as:
To be eligible for the Scheme an applicant must be:
a resident of NSW
4 years and 6 months of age or older and enrolled as one of the following:
Bus Passes issued last year are automatically updated for the new school year, so you’ll only need to apply if you’re:
You will need an email address to complete the form.
At the start of the new school year, there is a 4 week period to allow students who have not yet received a student pass to receive one. As from Monday 4th March 2024 students must hold a Martin’s Free Travel Pass to gain entry or a fare will be charged.
If you have any questions about timetables or pick up points, please contact Martin’s Albury on 02 6040 4400.
The application process may take approximately 2 weeks. You will be informed of the outcome of your application by email.
For any further questions regarding the School Students Transport Scheme or the application process, please click here.
A new application must be completed when a student:
Applicants can reapply for the Scheme through Transport NSW (TNSW) if the operator rejects their application. They should reapply in writing to the nearest TNSW regional office setting out the reasons why the student should have access to the Scheme. These may include safety or medical issues.
If the application is also rejected by TNSW, and the applicant believes there are special circumstances that should be taken into account (such as safety or hardship issues), they can appeal. The regional office will provide information at the time of rejection on how to appeal the decision.
Appeals are assessed by the School Student Transport Scheme Appeals Panel. Members of the Panel include representatives of the Department of Education and Training, the Federation of Parents and Citizens’ Associations of NSW, the Council of Catholic School Parents or the NSW Parents’ Council and a member with expertise in safety.
In a shared parental responsibility situation, a student is eligible for subsidised travel from both the parents’ addresses, subject to meeting the normal eligibility criteria Applications for subsidised travel for Friday afternoons and Monday mornings only (to cover weekend access visits) are not eligible under the Scheme.
You do not in the first instance need to provide a court order or statutory declaration to TfNSW for shared parental responsibility situations. However, TfNSW in its discretion reserves the right to request these or further evidence documents if required for the purposes of determining eligibility for subsidised travel from both parents’ addresses.
Each parent must submit an application form for subsidised travel, on behalf of a student under 16 years of age, stating that parent’s address. Where a student is aged 16 years or over, they must submit a separate application form for each address.
When completing an application for subsidised travel under the Scheme, parents and guardians acknowledge that students have been made aware of the Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct was developed in conjunction with the bus industry, CityRail, representatives of parent groups and education authorities. They aim to ensure both the safety of students and the comfort of other passengers by outlining the behaviour required of students when travelling to and from school.
The Codes of Conduct are printed on the School Student Transport Scheme application forms. Parents/guardians are asked to discuss these simple rules with their children so that they understand the standards of behaviour required of students.
Depending on the seriousness of the misbehaviour, students may be penalised if they breach the Codes of Conduct. Students may have their travel pass temporarily or permanently suspended and may be required to make alternative travel arrangements.
School travel is only available between home and school for school attendance and is available on school days only.
Passes are not transferrable and must be shown on demand. Therefore all students are advised to carry their Travel Pass with them on all school days. Students must present their Pass to the driver upon boarding or to an inspector when requested.
For those students not eligible for TNSW Travel Passes (for example Primary School students who live less than 1.6km (radial distance) from the school or High School students who live less than 2km (radial distance) from the school), ordinary sectional concession fares apply.
However, a pass can be purchased for a Term, Semester or Year, for a forward, return journey or both. The cost is discounted by 10% for a term, 20% for a semester and 30% for a year.
You can download the Martin’s Albury School Bus Pass Application form (27kb) for students not eligible for TNSW Travel Passes. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the form.
Martin’s Albury and TNSW reserves the right to withdraw a Travel Pass if investigation shows the student to be ineligible. Following notification to the parent/guardian, any issued pass must be surrendered to the school principal or Martin’s Albury and subsidised travel cease immediately.
Should a bus pass be LOST, STOLEN OR DAMAGED a replacement pass is available from the office of Martin’s Albury, 66 Fallon Street, Albury with a payment of $11.00 (including GST).
