PARENTS MUST ACT NOW to avail of waived school transport fees for the coming school year.
At the beginning of July, as part of new budgetary measures targeted at offering assistance to struggling families, the Government announced that school transport fees would be suspended for one year and that the Back to School Allowance would increase by €100 per child.
The maximum a family can pay for pupils in secondary school to take school transport is €500 per year and €150 for families with kids in primary school. However, families will not have to pay at all for the coming academic year.
Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) has urged parents to act now to register with Bus Éireann. School children who are eligible for the scheme must register before July 29th to get free fares for the coming year.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, the Inagh native outlined that the temporary scrapping of the transport fees can create a new habit to lower air pollution around school settings. “The waiving of fees for school transport is an excellent initiative and will come as a welcome relief for many. It’s important that as many children in Clare avail of it as are eligible. Going back to school is always an expensive time for families and with the rising cost of living this year it will be particularly hard.
“Not only will this free transport scheme save parents money but if there is strong take up then it will ease congestion around schools, reduce emission and lower air pollution. It’s very much a win-win-win. I’m glad to see public transport being given priority both through reducing fares and investing in new infrastructure. I really want to get the message out that families need to register now,” she added.
Children are eligible for free transport at primary level for 22/23 where they live not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school. At secondary level that distance changes to 4.8 kilometres. Parents who wish to register can do so at schooltransport.buseireann.ie
