Kids under 16 travel free on buses in England from today – here’s how the offer works
Key Points
- Children aged 5 to 15 travel free on most local buses in England from 1 August to 31 August 2026.
- No registration or sign-up is needed - children ask the driver for a ticket, with unlimited journeys and no requirement to travel with an adult.
- Child fares normally cost between £1 and £2 per journey; the Treasury is funding the scheme with more than £100 million.
- Some school buses, long-distance coaches and non-concessionary routes are excluded, and the offer does not cover Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
- A temporary VAT cut also applies to children's meals, cinema and theatre tickets and attraction entry, ahead of a £2 single bus fare cap from January.
Children aged 5 to 15 can travel free on most local buses in England from Saturday (1 August) until 31 August under the government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme.
There is no registration, no sign-up and no cap on the number of journeys. Eligible children ask the driver for a ticket as they board, and they do not need to travel with a fare-paying adult.
Child fares typically cost between £1 and £2 a journey, so a family making several trips a week over the school holidays stands to save a meaningful amount across the month. The Treasury is putting more than £100 million into funding the scheme.
The offer covers thousands of routes and includes major operators such as First Bus, Stagecoach and Go-Ahead. It applies to local bus services in England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own devolved travel support, so children travelling there fall outside the offer.
Operators have excluded certain longer-distance coach services, dedicated school buses and routes where older and disabled persons’ concessionary travel does not apply.
Normal child fares apply on those services throughout August, and operators have published their own exclusion lists. Children under 5 already travel free year-round across the main operators.
Where the free travel gets you
The government has flagged a set of example journeys, including:
- The X46 from Hull to York for the York Dungeon;
- The Carousel 37 from High Wycombe to Windsor Great Park and Windsor Castle;
- The 54 from Leicester to the National Space Centre;
- The X1 and X11 from Norwich to Great Yarmouth for the Merrivale Model Village;
- The Coaster 12, Regency 28 and Breeze 77 all run to Brighton’s seafront;
- The 23 and 24 from Birmingham reach Woodgate Valley Country Park and its urban farm.
Europe’s longest bus route also falls within the offer. Birmingham’s 11 service has circled the city’s outer ring for a century across a 43km route, and connects to Cadbury World in Bournville, which is running discounted entry this summer.
What else is discounted?
Free bus travel sits alongside a temporary VAT cut covering children’s menu meals in restaurants, children’s tickets for theatres and cinemas, and tickets for everyone at attractions including adventure centres, theme parks and soft play.
The government has published an interactive tool that lists the deals available by postcode, covering restaurants, theatres, museums and other attractions.
The measures land days after the government confirmed it will cap single bus fares at £2 from January, which it says will cut costs by up to a third on the most popular form of public transport.
“We’re giving families room to breathe from the cost-of-living squeeze,” said Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary. “With free bus travel for 5 to 15-year olds and discounts on kids’ meals at restaurants, cinema tickets and theme parks, we’re helping people make the most of the time they have together for the school holidays.”
“To provide families with some breathing space, getting the kids there by bus will be completely free from today for the rest of the month, and we’ve cut VAT on kids’ meals in restaurants and tickets to attractions, so this summer holiday is one to remember,” said James Murray, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General.
