Nearly 11,000 Donegal students use School Transport Scheme

Donegal has the third most students in the country availing of the School Transport Scheme, according to a report released by the Parliamentary Budget Office.

The report stated that as of October 2024, 10,902 students were using the service at both primary and post-primary levels of education. Only Cork, with 18,927 students, and Galway, with 12,339 students, were counties with higher levels of usage of the School Transport Scheme than Donegal. 

In Donegal, 7,104 tickets were for students at post-primary level, and 3,798 tickets were at primary level.

During the 2024/25 school year, 172,500 students are estimated to have used the scheme nationally, possibly rising to 180,800 students for the next school year.

The School Transport Scheme, which was established in 1967 and is operated by Bus Éireann, aims to provide transport for students, subject to distance criteria, to their nearest school.

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Fees for the scheme were €50 for primary students, €75 for post-primary students, and €125 for a family ticket. Prices will remain the same for the 2025-26 school year. 

The growing demand for school transport services, with the inclusion of additional provisions, has meant that the scheme’s cost has almost doubled since 2019, from €219 million in 2019 to approximately €440 million in 2025.