Student free travel

To be eligible for a student free travel bus pass, the student must be:

• under 18, or turning 18 in the year of study; and
• a full-time student (600+ hours per year), enrolled at an education facility recognised by the Department of Education.

AND meet one or more of the following eligibility criteria:

Concession eligibility

The student is the holder of a current Concession Card or is listed as a dependant on a current Concession Card.  
Accepted Concession Cards are:

• Health Care Card (HCC)
• Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)
• Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Pension Concession Card

Home area school (School Intake Area) eligibility

If you live in a rural area outside the town boundary and are attending your rural home area school, and there is only a fare charging bus service available, you may be eligible to obtain a pass to allow you to travel on the bus for free, to and from school.

Care and Protection Order eligibility

The student is under a Care and Protection Order. When applying for a student bus pass for free travel, the application form must be supported by a letter from the Case Manager on official letterhead. If applying online you will need to attach a copy of the letter.

To be eligible for a student free transfer bus pass the student is required to travel on more than one fare charging bus service (operated by different bus service providers), between home and school.  A free transfer is provided so the student will only pay a fare on the first fare charging bus service.

The fastest way to apply for a Student bus pass for free travel is online. The online form can be found on the apply for a free bus pass page. Alternatively you can download a Student bus pass for free travel application form or pick up a paper application from any Service Tasmania shop.

After you have applied:

• applications can take up to four weeks to process
• the applicant will receive a letter from Passenger Transport to advise them of the outcome of the application
• until a letter is received to advise if free travel eligibility has been approved, the student will be required to pay a fare when travelling on the bus.

Your free travel entitlement will expire at the end of grade 2, grade 6, grade 10, grade 11 and grade 12.

If your free travel entitlement expires this year, and you still meet the eligibility criteria, you will need to renew your eligibility for next year by reapplying for free travel.

To renew your free travel eligibility, complete an online application or download the Student bus pass for free travel application form.

Applications for the 2021 school year can be submitted from 15 November 2020.  If approved, you will receive notification of your free travel eligibility from 8 January 2021.

There is no cost when you apply for a new, or renew your expired, Student bus pass for free travel.

If your Student bus pass for free travel has been lost, stolen or damaged you can

• apply online for a replacement card and pay a fee of $11.00 by Visa or Mastercard, or
• download the Replacement student bus pass for free travel application form, and visit a Service Tasmania shop to pay the $11.00 fee by cash, or debit/credit card.

If your card has stopped working through no fault of your own, you will need to visit a Service Tasmania shop to complete the form and surrender your card. No fee will be charged under these circumstances.

Please note:

If you travel on Metro or Tassielink only:

• you will need to apply directly through Metro for a replacement student Greencard. Visit www.metrotas.com.au for more information.