KCC 16+ Travel Saver

The KCC 16+ Travel Saver is a bus pass that can save parents and students up to 50% on the cost of bus travel to and from school and college.

Before you apply please read our guidance to help you decide if you will save money with the Travel Saver Pass this year.

To apply for a pass you must be:

• a resident of Kent (whose household pays Council Tax to a Kent district/ borough council for Kent County Council services)
• 16-19 years old and in academic years 12-14 (to be eligible your date of birth must be between 01/09/2001 and 31/08/2004)
• attending a participating school, college, work-based learning provider or apprenticeship provider.

For most students, this pass will save you around 50% of what you might otherwise pay if you bought an annual season ticket from a bus operator.

The KCC 16+ Travel Saver is valid at any time of the day and on any day of the year, including evenings, weekends and school holidays.

16+ Travel Saver applications and COVID-19

We still want to help parents and students with the cost if you need to travel by bus. Before you apply there are some things you should think about.

• Current government advice is to avoid public transport, so we are urging parents to use alternative transport where possible.
• If children live close to the school they should walk or cycle, for those that live further away they should consider getting a lift.
• How any changes to school times and social distancing on buses might affect use of the pass.
• If you are traveling less frequently, you might not save as much as usual and you might want to consider getting bus tickets from the operator.

If you are going to be travelling regularly then apply for the pass and let us help you with the cost.

Update on part year passes

We understand that it has been a difficult decision to make about applying for a 16+ Travel Saver pass this year.

We have said if government guidance changes, and there are less restrictions on bus travel, we will consider making a part year pass available later on in the year at a cost that reflects the shorter time you would use it for.

At this point, advice remains to avoid public transport where possible. While buses are working well and there is space for current passengers, some services are very busy. Therefore we don’t think it would be right to make this offer and risk causing capacity problems for those already using buses.

If the government guidance changes, making a part year pass does remain an option. In the meantime, you can buy tickets from the operator or make different transport arrangements.