Irish families with kids of school-going age are being warned that they have just days to avail of the free school transport announced by the Department of Education a couple of weeks back.
Thousands of families are entitled to the €500 saving ahead of the 2022/2023 school year, after the fees were cut due to the unprecedented rise in the cost of living in Ireland.
Bus Eireann issued the reminder to parents this week as their new application is due to close in just three days - on Friday, July 29 2022.
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The previously existing school transport fees will be waived temporarily for the next school year, giving families the chance to save up to €500.
It’s understood that the families of around 121,000 Irish children will benefit from the vital saving as this year is set to be one of he most expensive for parents.
The Department of Education confirmed these charges were being dropped for the school year ahead as part of a new package targeting the cost of living.
The school transport charge for this year was reduced significantly before being cut altogether and applies to families who live 3.2km or more away from their local school.
The maximum charge for a family with children in primary school was to be €150, while the top fee for a family with children in secondary school, was €500, down from €650 as of February this year.
Bus Eireann's Chief School Officer Miriam Flynn has urged parents to get their applications in before the deadline.
She said: "We have emailed all registered families this morning advising them of their next steps.
"The first thing they should do is to check their in-box. The email has a link to bring them directly to the new confirmation page on the website.
"It is fantastic to be able to offer free school transport for this coming school year.
"The system is a little different but very simple – it just requires people to click a button to request their ticket.
"We are urging them to log in to the portal as quickly as possible and get that confirmation in as tickets cannot issue without this request on the system."
People are also reminded that if they have already made a payment for school transport, they do not need to do anything else - they will be refunded at the start of the school year.
However, those who have applied but have not yet made a payment will still need to log in and request their ticket on the portal.
To qualify for school transport, a child must be aged between 4 and 12 years and living 3.2 km or more from the nearest suitable national school.
Children with special needs are also eligible for free transport to and from special schools and to special classes.
If there are spare seats available, children who are not eligible can be carried on school transport.
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