Who is eligible for free school transportation?

Students in primary and lower secondary school who belong to one of these groups:

• Students in 1st grade who live more than 2 kilometers from the school.
• Students in grades 2–10 who live more than 4 kilometers from school.
• Students in upper secondary who live at least 6 km from the school.
• Students who have particularly dangerous or difficult routes to school.
• Students with disabilities or temporary injury/illness.

In the event of an acute injury or illness, the student may need transportation on short notice. Such transportation will normally be implemented from the next school day as long as the application and doctor's certificate are registered through the school before 12 o'clock.

How do I apply for school transport?

It is the schools that apply for school transport for their students and ensure that the correct documentation is submitted. If it concerns shared residence or medical reasons, documentation is needed. Talk to their school to apply for transport.

The school reports to us at Ruter, and the decision is sent to the residential address before the start of school. Travel cards with school tickets are distributed at the school.

How does the school journey work?

Students who are approved for free school transport travel by regular public transport: train, subway, boat, or regular route and school buses. The student is given a travel card with a school ticket at the start of school. The ticket is valid for travel between home and school on school days.

Students who cannot use public transportation due to a lack of services or special needs are provided with transport by minibus or taxi for all or part of the journey. For primary school students, the ticket is valid for boarding until 4 p.m.

Students in the 1st grade may bring an accompanying person from the start of school until October 1st.

You must take care of this

To avoid delays, it is important to be aware that:

• The goods must be ready for pickup well before the agreed collection time
• Tours that you do not wish to use, for example due to illness or for other reasons, must be cancelled.
• If the student does not use the arranged transportation, without cancelling, the return trip must be reactivated for the student to receive transportation home.
• If you cancel a trip, but later find that transportation is still needed, reactivation of the trip must be done by 12 p.m. the day before pickup. In such cases, we cannot guarantee the same driver as initially arranged.
• Deviations may occur in connection with traffic accidents or extreme driving conditions. We hope for understanding that delays may therefore occur.

Lost travel card

Students who lose or damage their travel card can obtain a new ticket by contacting the school. Students entitled to free transportation who cannot present a valid ticket on their way to school should still be allowed to travel to school. Some municipalities charge a fee for ordering a new card.

The school must issue a temporary travel document to the student, as well as order a new ticket (replacement card) for the student in the application portal for school tickets. The temporary travel document should be valid until the student receives a new travel card, or for a maximum of one week.

Change or cancel travel

In the RuterBestilling app, you will find an overview of all trips and access to cancel transportation or reactivate previously cancelled transportation.

Download the app on App Store or Google Play.

School transport during the holiday

Transportation to and from the After-School Program during school holidays and on days off must be booked in addition to regular transportation. This is arranged by the school and is only available to students with special needs.

Contact, help and complaints

If you can't find the answer to what you're looking for here, you can contact us by phone at 24 20 20 33 on weekdays from 07:00 to 17:30.

You can also appeal a decision. Then we will reassess the case. If your appeal is not upheld, it will be forwarded to the County Governor of Østfold, Buskerud, Oslo, and Akershus.

What about me who has two addresses?

Students with two homes (shared custody) are entitled to school transportation from both homes under the same conditions as other students. A residence agreement physically signed by both guardians or a copy of the legal ruling on the distribution of residence must be attached to the transportation application.

Distance – measurement of school route

The school route should be measured from the door at home to the door the student uses at school, along the shortest navigable pedestrian route. Measurements can be done in Google Maps (remember to select the pedestrian option) and in our journey planner. Measurements on other online maps are done via driving routes. We conduct control measurements where there is doubt whether the distance between home and school is above or below the transport eligibility limit.

Private school and adult education

Students in private primary schools that fall under the provisions of the Private School Act are entitled to transportation within the municipality of residence on the same terms as students in public primary schools.

Students at private upper secondary schools are entitled to free transportation when the school is located in Akershus. Students from Akershus who choose to attend a private upper secondary school elsewhere are normally not entitled to transportation.

More about school transport