1 Overview
You may be eligible to county council help with transport costs to school, sixth form college or college of further education if you:
- are a student of sixth form age with special educational needs or disabilities
- live in West Sussex
Normally this will mean that you will have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
The county council does not normally offer help with transport for Post-16 students who do not have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
For full information, read our Transport Policy.
The contribution for academic year 2024-2025 is £826. This can be paid by direct debit over 7 months from October. This is waived for families who are assessed as being on a low income.
2 Apply for support
So that we can decide whether or not you are eligible for financial support towards your transport costs to sixth form or college, you will need to complete our online form.
Post-16 and college transport form for students with SEND (external link)This form is for transport for the current academic year 2024-2025 only.
This form will be updated in May 2025 for applications for the next academic year, 2025-2026. If you have a specific query and need early advice as to whether your student may be eligible for transport assistance from September 2025, especially if they are moving to a new sixth form or college, email Post16Travel@westsussex.gov.uk.
You will not be guaranteed any form of transport assistance for September 2025 at this stage.
Please check your Spam inbox and add donotreply@westsussex.gov.uk and Post16Travel@westsussex.gov.uk to the Safe Senders list so you do not miss any emails.
Notes
- It can take up to 4 weeks for us to respond to your application.
- If we require further information in order to assess your application we will contact you to let you know.
- If your application is unsuccessful we will write to you explaining why.
- If your application is successful we will contact you with more information about what happens next.
- Please do not contact us about specific transport routes, passenger assistants or drivers, as we will not know the details at this stage. If there are going to be changes to your current transport, we will confirm them in writing.
3 If you aren't eligible for help
16-19 Bursary Fund
You may be able to apply for help through your establishment's 16-19 Bursary Fund if we cannot help. More details about this are available from your school or college.
Bus and rail discounts
For details, including the new 16 to 20 Bus Saver, see our Travel discounts page on Your Space. You can get discounts on most rail travel, including peak time journeys and season tickets with the 16-17 Saver, though if you travel on the south coast line - especially if a you have a longer journey - you may find the Unizone ticket cheaper.
4 Contact our team
5 Supporting documents
6 Complaints
If you are not happy with the decision made regarding your eligibility for assistance with transport, in the first instance you should email post16travel@westsussex.gov.uk. Any new information can then be taken into account or the decision reviewed.
If you are still not satisfied, an appeal may be made to:
Director of Education and Skills
County Hall
Chichester
PO19 1RF
Every effort will be made to resolve complaints but in some cases it may be necessary to refer the matter to a panel of elected members.