Home to school transport: LA data collection
Annual numbers of pupils and learners using home to school transport split by school type, eligibility and mode of transport, collected from local authorities.
- Published
Headline facts and figures
Pre-16 SEND HTST pupils using single occupancy vehicles
9%
Based on responses from 144 local authorities
It is estimated 558,000 pupils and learners are in receipt of local authority funded transport to their education provider/training
Using data from responding local authorities (97% of all authorities) we have extrapolated the number of pupils/learners using local authority transport to estimate the number of users nationally. We calculated the average proportion of pupils in schools (for pre-16 HTST) and the population aged 16-25 (for post-16) receiving transport in responding London, urban and rural authorities. We used this information to estimate the numbers of users in local authorities that did not respond, based on their total pupil/learner populations.
9% of pre-16 pupils receiving HTST because of SEND travelled in single occupancy vehicles
Based on responses from 144 local authorities, nine percent of pre-16 pupils receiving HTST because of their special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) travelled in single occupancy vehicles.
Background information
This publication presents data reported by local authorities in England on children of compulsory school age (opens in new tab) who are receiving home to school transport (HTST) as well as post-16 learners who are receiving transport to education or training funded by their local authority.
You can find out who is eligible for funded HTST during compulsory school years from the (pre-16) HTST statutory guidance (opens in new tab), and there is additional guidance for post-16 transport to education and training (opens in new tab).
The information in this release is based on the second HTST data collection. This was a voluntary collection and took place in February to March 2026. 97% of local authorities responded. As this is the second year of the collection, we expect the quality of the data returns to improve further over time as it becomes more established.
Response rates varied by question and results should therefore be treated with caution as the sample may not be representative in all cases. The number of authorities included in each question response is labelled as “base”. With the exception of overall numbers of pupils/learners eligible for transport, national estimates have not been derived from the data due to the varying numbers and types of local authorities responding to each question.
A benchmarking tool is available to download from the Supporting files section. Users can select the local authority of interest and up to six other authorities to compare their data. A subset of the data has been included: spend per user by mode of transport; the percentage of users by mode of transport; and the percentage of users travelling in single occupancy vehicles. This tool is a prototype and feedback is welcome.
This publication is updated annually.
National estimate of users
Approximately 503,000 pre-16 pupils are eligible for HTST (6% of all pre-16 pupils); around 195,000 of those pupils receive HTST because of their special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) (around 40% of pre-16 pupils using HTST) and around 308,000 (60% of pre-16 pupils using HTST) are eligible for reasons other than SEND (referred to as mainstream HTST). These estimates are based on responses from 148 local authorities (97%).
We estimate there are 55,000 learners using post-16 transport based on responses from 147 local authorities. Of the post-16 learners using transport, we estimate 31,000 are entitled to SEN transport under the sixth-form duty, aged 16 to 18 (base: 118 local authorities); 12,000 are entitled to SEN transport under the adult duty, aged 19 to 25 (base: 114 local authorities); and 13,000 are entitled to mainstream transport (aged 16-18) (base: 112 local authorities).
See the Methodology section for details on how these national estimates were calculated.
The national estimate suggests an increase in the use of local authority funded transport compared to the estimate made from last year’s data collection of 520,000 users based on 115 responses. A comparison of the data from the 112 LAs who responded to both the 2025 and 2026 data collections shows a 9% increase in pupils using pre-16 SEND HTST, no change in the number of pupils using pre-16 mainstream HTST and a 7% decrease in users of post-16 transport. The increase in pre-16 SEND HTST is in line with increases in Education, health and care plans (EHCP), which suggests the increase in the national estimate for pre-16 SEND HTST reflects an underlying increase, although some of the rise is likely due to improved data quality and the increased response rate since the first collection in 2025.
Pupils and learners using transport who are travelling in single occupancy vehicles
1% of pre-16 pupils receiving HTST for reasons other than SEND travelled in single occupancy vehicles (base: 138 local authorities).
9% of pre-16 pupils receiving HTST because of their special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) travelled in single occupancy vehicles (base: 144 local authorities).
9% of post-16 learners travelled in single occupancy vehicles (base: 139 local authorities).
The percentages of pre-16 users who travelled in single occupancy vehicles are unchanged from the 2025 data collection. For post-16, the question was changed for the 2026 collection but is broadly consistent with the previous year.
Average spend per user
This year we asked local authorities for the number of pupils and learners receiving funded transport on 2nd February 2026 and for their most recent forecast spend for the 2025-26 financial year. Using this data, we can estimate the average spend per user.
The average spend per pupil aged under 16 using SEND HTST is £8,800 per year (based on responses from 145 local authorities). The average spend per pupil varies by mode of transport, the most expensive mode is taxi/private hire vehicle with up to 8 seats at £10,700 per pupil per year (base: 109 local authorities).
The average spend per pupil aged under 16 using mainstream HTST is £1,700 per year (based on responses from 138 local authorities). The most expensive pre-16 mainstream HTST mode is taxi/private hire vehicle with up to 8 seats, £4,500 per pupil per year (base: 106 local authorities).
The average spend per learner using post-16 transport is £5,800 per year (based on responses from 132 local authorities). The most expensive mode is taxi/private hire vehicle with up to 8 seats, £9,100 per learner per year (base: 103 local authorities). Note, the average spend for post-16 transport includes both the SEN and mainstream transport groups.
Percentage of pupils with an Education, health and care plan using pre-16 SEND HTST
In January 2026, over 500,000 pupils aged 5 to 15 at the start of the academic year had EHCPs (source: Education, health and care plans: England 2026 (opens in new tab)), we estimate around 40% of these pupils use pre-16 SEND HTST. This estimate uses the national estimate of pupils using pre-16 SEND HTST based on data from 148 local authorities.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Home to school transport: LA data collection statistics and data:
School Systems and Organisation Analysis
Email: school.travel@education.gov.ukContact name: Richard Allison
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