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Any kid can claim free travel, no need to be a West of England resident. From Sat 18th July to Sun 6th Sep on all registered commercial and supported bus services starting in Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with limited exemptions.
Bus info: travelwest.info/bus/ .
Announcement: westofengland-ca.gov.uk/newst/ .
Announcement – extension for next 3 years of holidays: westofengland-ca.gov.uk/newds/ .
Article: bbc.co.uk/new14o .
ABRIDGED ANNOUNCEMENT
The return of the hugely popular Kids Go Free scheme, bringing back free bus travel for children and young people across the West of England during the school holidays, has been confirmed.
Running from Saturday 18 July until Sunday 6 September (inclusive), the West of England will remain unique as a place that children and young people can travel for free for the whole seven weeks of the school holidays. Theres no need to register under 16s can just hop on board.
Since launching in summer 2025 and returning for the Christmas and Easter school holidays, Kids Go Free has saved families more than £1.4 million, with over 150,000 children aged 5-15 years old eligible to take part. It has been so successful that the Government announced £100 million of investment for the scheme to go national for the whole of August, allowing families to save money as they travel across England.
During previous school holidays, Kids Go Free has helped more children and young people travel by bus, with the biggest increases seen in lower-income communities. The data shows that journeys rose by an average of 98% in areas where family incomes are among the lowest 10% nationally, while areas within the lowest 30% income bracket saw an 89% increase during the scheme last summer.
Outside of the offer period, child fares in the West remain among the cheapest in country, with the £1 cap recently frozen until 2029. Children under five years of age already travel for free on the majority of services in the West of England.
Hundreds more young people in care, and care leavers, are also set to benefit from up to ten years of free bus travel across the West of England: one of the UKs most generous schemes, and saving them up to £10,000 each. The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority has extended the scheme to include young people aged 16 and 17 who are currently in care.
