Councils in England are being urged to reduce their reliance on single-passenger school taxis, under refreshed government guidance published on Friday 30 October. The Department for Education's updated guidance says most children and young people receiving travel assistance should be able to share vehicles with other passengers, and encourages councils to consider larger vehicles, including minibuses and coaches, where enough pupils travel along similar routes.

When solo travel still applies

The guidance sets out three circumstances where single-occupancy transport may still be necessary: where a child's individual needs prevent shared travel, where no other children use a similar route, or where sharing would result in an unreasonably long journey. It also covers independent travel training, which requires parental consent for eligible children of compulsory school age, and asks councils to consider journey costs earlier when deciding which schools are named in education, health and care plans.

The document is non-statutory guidance rather than new legislation, and the department has not announced mandatory changes to existing taxi contracts. Local authorities keep responsibility for deciding suitable travel assistance in line with their existing legal duties, and the guidance says education and transport teams should work with schools and families to deliver journeys that meet children's needs while making effective use of public resources. Operators providing home-to-school transport under council contracts are likely to see route designs and commissioning decisions change gradually as councils apply the new advice. Families who disagree with a transport decision can still use their council's appeals process and complain to the Ombudsman if they believe the rules were not followed.