We received the following guidance from Arriva on bus travel for 2019-2020 and wanted to share it with you before you plan to buy your saver tickets for the next school year:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Does your child travel to school by bus? If so, we’ve got the perfect solution!

  •  Arriva Child Saver Tickets are available for children up to & including Year 11.
  •  Arriva Student Saver Tickets are valid for anyone 16+ in full time education.

Those of you disappointed by Staffordshire County Council’s decision to phase the ‘Your Staffordshire Card’ will be pleased to learn that Arriva saver tickets offer much better value. For around £1.50 a day your child will get unlimited access to travel on any Arriva bus across all our routes in Staffordshire and the West Midlands Saver tickets will not only cover their travel to and from school, but can also be used to travel at evenings, weekends and throughout school holidays too.

Arriva’s Direct Debit scheme allows parents or guardians to spread the cost of their child’s ticket over affordable monthly payments. It’s an easy way to pay for travel and there’s no contract involved, making it an ideal way to get reduced bus travel for the whole school year, without paying upfront.

It’s a simple process to apply, to arrange your Direct Debit please visit: www.arrivabus.co.uk/ss-midlands

To ensure delivery of tickets in time for the start of the new school year, we recommend registering by the end of July.
Once registered you can select either to receive your monthly pass by post or sent to your child’s mobile phone. This ticket will rollover every month for as long as the direct debit remains active.

For any queries regarding the scheme, please email: studenttickets.ams@arriva.co.uk

Matt Allman, Headteacher, said: “All staff, particularly those who are parents and rely on the bus services, are very disappointed with Staffordshire County Council’s decision to scrap the Your Staffordshire Card. Our advice remains what it has been in all of our communication with you on this topic. Check out your bus companies website, r give them a call, and get one of the saver options at monthly, termly or annual levels as though there is an initial outlay, the long-term benefit can be significant.”