Turning 18 may mean you want to start travelling to places by yourself. Some of the support available focuses on independent travel using public transport like buses or trains, while some focuses on organising your own transport or paying for the cost of travel and parking.
Preparing for adulthood - transport (SEND)
Home to school transport
You could be entitled to free home to school transport.
Public transport
Buses
You may be able to get our Diamond Travelcard which means you can get free transport on buses.
A local bus service, First Bus, covers most of the county. Lots of buses come with low floors, wheelchair spaces, and other things to make travel easy.
First Bus has a Journey Planner on their app – this can help you work out how to get to where you want to go before you get to the stop or station. Just put in where you are and where you want to go and it will tell you where you can get the bus or train.
The First Bus website has more information about their accessible buses and they have Extra Help Travelcards that can help you explain your needs to the bus driver when you get on.
Trains
Our local train service is Great Western Railway (GWR). All railways in the UK use Passenger Assist. This is a service which lets you plan for your travel in advance and get help at the station or on the train.
If you want extra assistance with your journey, you will need to let the railway know two hours before you travel.
You might be eligible for a railcard that makes train travel cheaper.
You can book train tickets on the GWR website or on websites and apps like The Trainline.
Taxis and private hire vehicles
You might want to use a taxi or private vehicle to get around. These are booked before you travel and you can tell them what you need so that they make sure they get the right vehicle for you. You can also get taxis to tell you how much the journey will cost before you travel.
Community transport
Community transport are local services that can help you get around. They should always tell you whether their vehicle is accessible before you travel and you may be able to get discounts with your Diamond Travelcard.