Apply for school bus passes online

Online applications can now be made by families of children who will be eligible for school bus passes when they start year seven in secondary school this September.

It’s the first time that Bridgend County Borough Council has provided the application process online as part of its move towards offering residents with more efficient, convenient ways of accessing council services.

The council recently wrote to the families of pupils who are eligible to receive bus passes. To apply for a pass, those parents and guardians firstly need to sign up to ‘My Account’ by supplying an email address.

Once registered, they’ll be able to complete an online form and upload an ID photo which will then appear on the bus pass. The council’s website also contains full details about school bus routes and bus stop locations.

To ensure that their child receives their bus pass in time for the start of the new school term, parents and guardians are advised to submit their applications by Friday 9 August.

Around 1,000 of the new pupils moving up to year seven this September will be eligible for bus passes, so introducing online applications for these pupils will significantly reduce the amount of paper involved. It will also speed up the process dramatically as we will be capturing all of the information we need electronically.

The ‘My Account’ feature was developed for our website following feedback from residents who said that they wanted the local authority to provide better, faster, more interactive online services.

My Account also lets residents manage their council tax accounts, check their housing benefit, apply for parking permits, and it was also used very effectively for this year’s school admission applications. More services will also be made available online soon.

Council Leader Huw David

Any eligible secondary school pupils who have been informed that they need to apply for replacement school bus passes can also do so online, while anyone without internet access can still request a school bus application form to be posted out to them by calling the council on 01656 643643.