Student bus pass for free travel
A student bus pass for free travel provides eligible students free or discounted travel between home and school and/or school and home.
There are three kinds of student bus passes.
A Student Bus Pass For Free Travel is for eligible child students on fare-charging services. It provides free travel between home and school and/or school and home.
A Student Bus Pass For Free Transfer is for eligible child students that must use more than one school bus to travel between home and school and/or school and home. The services must charge a fare and be operated by different companies.
Students pay a fare to the same operator in the morning and afternoon.
A Special Circumstance Bus Pass is for eligible adult students on general access services. It provides discounted or free travel for some or all of a journey between home and school and/or school and home.
See eligibility information below.
To be eligible for a Student Bus Pass For Free Travel you must be:
You also meet one of the following three eligibility types:
You hold, or are listed as a dependent, on a current concession card.
Accepted concession cards are:
Your house and school are both in a rural area and you are attending your local intake area school and there is only a fare charging bus service available.
Rural area means outside the urban boundary.
Intake area school means the school in the same intake area as your house. An intake area is the geographical boundary that surrounds each government primary and combined (district) school. Sometimes called school ‘catchments’ or ‘home areas’, intake areas are set by the Department of Education.
Learn more about intake areas and see intake area maps.
You are under a Care and Protection Order. When you apply you must include a letter from your Case Manager on official letterhead.
To be eligible for a Student Bus Pass For Free Transfer you must be
You must also need to use more than one bus to travel between home and school and/or school and home. The buses must be operated by different companies, and all charge a fare.
To be eligible for a Special Circumstance Bus Pass, for discounted or free travel, you must be:
You must also not have had the opportunity to complete the equivalent of two years post year 10 study due to circumstances beyond your control.
These circumstances could include
You are eligible for discounted travel if you meet the eligibility criteria but do not have a concession card.
You are eligible for free travel if you meet the eligibility criteria and hold, or are listed as a dependent, on a current concession card.
Accepted concession cards are:
All types of student bus passes expire at the end of:
You can reapply from 15 November of the year your pass expires. Your application will be approved if you still meet eligibility requirements.
You are in Grade 6 in 2023. Your card will expire at the end of 2023. From 15 November 2023 you can reapply for a new pass. If approved, your new pass will be valid until you complete Grade 10.
It is free to
It costs $11 to
If you travel on Metro or Tassielink services only, you can replace a damaged, lost or stolen card at Metro Tasmania for $5. To do this
Metro Tasmania cannot issue new cards, replace an expired pass or update details on a current pass.
When you provide personal information to the Department of State Growth, the Department of State Growth (we) manage that information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act 2004.
When you apply for a student bus pass we use your personal information to
If you provide incomplete or incorrect information, it may affect how we assess your application, or properly maintain your records.
We may also use the information for related purposes, or disclose it to third parties in circumstances allowed for by law such as Services Australia (Centrelink).
You have the right to access your personal information by request to the Department and you may be charged a fee for this service.