You will find everything you need to know about school transport and school bus services for Troms.
School transport
We are responsible for organising the daily transport of all pupils at primary and secondary school level who, pursuant to the provisions of the Education Act, have the right to free school transport. Most of these pupils travel on ordinary bus services.
The pupil has the right to free school transport if the pupil lives over a certain distance from the school:
- 2 km for grade 1
- 4 km for grades 2-10
- 6 km for pupils at upper secondary school
The distance of the way to and from school is defined as the shortest (safe) walkable route between the pupil’s home and school that is ploughed during the winter.
Will you be guaranteed school transport for the start of the school year?
- For primary school pupils, the school reports transport needs to us.
- If you go to upper secondary school and apply by 1 August, you are guaranteed school transport at the start of the school year.
School transport for primary school
School transport for upper secondary school
Complaints, laws and guidelines
School routes
Information for schools (CERT and information material)
Information about departure times
The schools are responsible for school transport for all pupils in primary school.
School transport in primary and lower secondary school
Pupils at primary or lower secondary school in Troms have the right to free school transport if the distance between home and school is more than 2 km (grade 1) or 4 km (grades 2-10). The right to transport owing to a long distance to and from school is regulated in Sections 7-1 and 7-2 of the Education Act.
Alternatively, pupils can apply for adapted school transport or transport owing to a particularly dangerous or difficult way to and from school.
The minimum distance requirement does not apply for pupils who need transport due to disabilities. This is also the case for pupils who have a temporary need for transport due to illness or injury. An application for adapted school transport must be filled in and sent to the pupil’s school.
Pupils who need transport due to disabilities or temporary injury or illness have the right to this regardless of the distance between home and school.
Appendix to application for adapted transport (PDF, 642 kB)
Who applies?
For primary school pupils, the school reports transport needs to us.
If as a parent or guardian you are unsure about anything related to school transport for your child, please contact your child’s school.
Application tool
The school reports needs for school transport to the county administration using the computer system CERT.
Log in to CERT
The county administration makes decision about matters related to school transport pursuant to the provisions of the Education Act. If an application is rejected, a letter containing information about the right to challenge a decision.
Troms Fylkestrafikk issues a school card (bus card) to pupils entitled to free school transport.
The school cards are only to be used for school transport that has been granted. You will find information here about how to buy other tickets for travel by bus and express boat.
When and where do pupils get the cards?
For pupils in primary school, the school card will be issued at the school on one of the first days of school. Pupils who had a school card in the previous school year will receive an updated card. Remember to take good care of your school card.
Pupils receiving a new school card
- Pupils receiving a new school card will be issued their new school card on one of the first days of school. These will work from the first time they are used.
- When you use the school card for the first time, hold it against the validator for three seconds so the new data can be loaded on the card.
- The card MUST be scanned on the bus on every journey.
- The card is valid for travel between the pupil’s home and school, i.e. two journeys per day.
- If you need to transfer to another bus on the way to/from school, this will still be regarded as one journey (remember the transfer time).
- The school card is only valid on school days. As there are 190 school days and two journeys per day, the school card is valid for 380 bus journeys. It’s the pupil’s responsibility for ensuring that this number of bus journeys is not used up before the end of the school year.
- The school card is personal and may not be loaned or given to others.
Lost and damaged school cards
- Notify the school, which will order a new school card. In most cases, the pupil will be given a reserve school card.
- New school cards cost NOK 50 for pupils in grades 5-10. A valid receipt must be presented at the school before a new card is issued. The fee does not apply for pupils in grades 1-4.
- School cards with technical errors, or which cannot be scanned on the bus, should be delivered to the school, which will issue a reserve school card. The fee will not be charged.
Pupils with a school card from the previous year
- Keep the school card from the previous school year.
- On the first day of the new school year, hold the card against the validator for three seconds so the new data can be loaded on the card.
- The school card should be used every year you are entitled to school transport in Troms, including if you swap schools.
Misuse of school cards
- School cards that are misused will be confiscated and returned to the school.
- Forgery of school cards is regarded as forgery and may be reported to the Police.
- Misuse of school cards can lead to the right to transport being revoked for a shorter or longer period.
How long is the journey valid?
- The school card is valid for 75 minutes from the time of boarding/scanning the card until the transfer time expires.
- The school cards have two journeys programmed on the card per day.
- The primary/lower secondary school card is valid until 17:00 (5pm).
- The upper secondary school card is valid until 23:00 (11pm).
Pupils who change their place of residence or school are obliged to notify the school, as moving will generally change the transport conditions and may affect the pupil’s right to free transport.
For pupils who alternate between living with parents with different residential addresses, transport is granted to the address(es) that satisfies the distance requirement between residence and school (2 or 4 km).
A certain amount of predictability is required in the distribution of transport between the places of residence. However, equal or approximately equal distribution is not a condition.
A parental form signed by both parents is required as confirmation that the pupil has two places of residence, before a bus card is issued. The signed form must be delivered to the school to support the application.
Download form for confirmation of shared residence below:
Download PDF-form (PDF, 450 kB)
Download Word-form (DOC, 183 kB)
Although the schools are responsible for school transport in cases where upon application the pupil is granted the right to attend a school other than his/her local school, the municipality/school can apply to the county administration to carry out the transport on behalf of the municipality.
In such cases, an individual decision by the municipality concerning the right to attend the school, including the duration, must be attached to the application.
The pupil has the right to free transport when there is a minimum of 4 km between the pupil’s residence and the business concerned. The municipality arranges and funds this transport.
School transport in upper secondary school
If you are a pupil at one of the upper secondary schools in Troms county and you have a walking distance of more than 6 km to the school, you can apply for free school transport. For most pupils, such transport will be by bus. Use your school card as proof of entitlement to school transport.
After the offer of admission to upper secondary school has been sent, the pupil concerned should apply for the right to school transport.
Remember to confirm your school place before sending your application for school transport.
The distance of the way to and from school is defined as the shortest (safe) walkable route between the pupil’s home and school that is ploughed during the winter.
The deadline for applying for school transport from the start of the school year is 1 August. You cannot apply for school transport until your school place has been confirmed.
Pupils who apply by 1 August are assured of having their school card updated before the first day of school. A pupil who applies for a school card after 1 August will not be guaranteed free school transport from the first day of school. In such cases, expenses incurred in connection with transport to and from the school will not be reimbursed.
NB: You cannot apply for school transport until your school place is confirmed. Apply for school transport here. *
* If you experience problems with the application for, please send us an e-mail via postmottak@tffk.no
Apply for school transport here *
Troms Fylkestrafikk issues a school card (bus card) to pupils entitled to free school transport.
The school cards are only to be used for school transport that has been granted. You will find information here about how to buy other tickets for travel by bus and express boat.
When and where do pupils get the cards?
For pupils in primary school, the school card will be issued at the school on one of the first days of school. Pupils who had a school card in the previous school year will receive an updated card. Remember to take good care of your school card.
Pupils receiving a new school card
- Pupils receiving a new school card will be issued their new school card on one of the first days of school. These will work from the first time they are used.
- When you use the school card for the first time, hold it against the validator for three seconds so the new data can be loaded on the card.
- The card MUST be scanned on the bus on every journey.
- The card is valid for travel between the pupil’s home and school, i.e. two journeys per day.
- If you need to transfer to another bus on the way to/from school, this will still be regarded as one journey (remember the transfer time).
- The school card is only valid on school days. As there are 190 school days and two journeys per day, the school card is valid for 380 bus journeys. It’s the pupil’s responsibility for ensuring that this number of bus journeys is not used up before the end of the school year.
- The school card is personal and may not be loaned or given to others.
Lost and damaged school cards
- Notify the school, which will order a new school card. In most cases, the pupil will be given a reserve school card.
- New school cards cost NOK 50 for pupils in grades 5-10. A valid receipt must be presented at the school before a new card is issued. The fee does not apply for pupils in grades 1-4.
- School cards with technical errors, or which cannot be scanned on the bus, should be delivered to the school, which will issue a reserve school card. The fee will not be charged.
Pupils with a school card from the previous year
- Keep the school card from the previous school year.
- On the first day of the new school year, hold the card against the validator for three seconds so the new data can be loaded on the card.
- The school card should be used every year you are entitled to school transport in Troms, including if you swap schools.
Misuse of school cards
- School cards that are misused will be confiscated and returned to the school.
- Forgery of school cards is regarded as forgery and may be reported to the Police.
- Misuse of school cards can lead to the right to transport being revoked for a shorter or longer period.
How long is the journey valid?
- The school card is valid for 75 minutes from the time of boarding/scanning the card until the transfer time expires.
- The school cards have two journeys programmed on the card per day.
- The primary/lower secondary school card is valid until 17:00 (5pm).
- The upper secondary school card is valid until 23:00 (11pm).
The minimum distance requirement does not apply for pupils who need transport due to disabilities. This is also the case for pupils who have a temporary need for transport due to illness or injury. An application for adapted school transport must be filled in and sent to the pupil’s school. The Education Act sets as a condition for the transport that the disability, injury or illness indicates that the pupil has a genuine need for transport. This must be documented by a certificate from a doctor, specialist, etc.
Appendix to application for adapted transport (PDF, 642 kB)
Homeward journeys for disabled pupils staying at boarding facilities:
In addition to homeward journeys covered by the State, the county administration covers up to six return journeys per pupil per school year.
For pupils who must travel home in the weekends because the boarding facility closes, the county administration covers on application the travel expenses incurred by the pupil that exceed the normal ticket fare for the journey as well as the normal ticket fare for travel companions. Applications for the coverage of homeward journeys in accordance with this provision shall be submitted to the county administration no later than one month after the start of the school year.
Transport is granted to the parental address(es) that satisfies the distance requirement between residence and school (6 km).
A certain amount of predictability is required in the distribution of transport between the places of residence. However, equal or approximately equal distribution is not a condition.
A parental form signed by both parents is required as confirmation that the pupil has two places of residence, before a bus card is issued. The signed form must be delivered to the school to support the application.
Download form for confirmation of shared residence below:
Download PDF-form (PDF, 450 kB)
Download Word-form (DOC, 183 kB)
The pupil has the right to free transport when there is a more than 6 km between the pupil’s residence and the business concerned.
The pupil’s school arranges and funds this transport.
Pupils who are residents of Troms per the National Population Register and who go to upper secondary school in another county to fulfil their right to upper secondary education, e.g. due to a lack of capacity at the schools in Troms, there is no equivalent programme in Troms, or the school place has been bought by the Troms county administration, have the right to transport if the ordinary conditions for the right to transport are met.
The county administration is responsible for school transport for the pupils who reside in the county or who are admitted as guest pupils in another county.
You will find the digital reimbursement form for school transport here.
The reimbursement form is now digital. You will find the form by clicking on the link.
If you have any questions concerning filling in the form, please send an e-mail to postmottak@tffk.no
Digital reimbusement form for travel expenses
As a pupil or parent/guardian, you may apply for reimbursement of ticket purchases or use of private means of transport in connection with school transport.
A prerequisite for such reimbursement is that your application for school transport has been approved by the county administration.
Transport expenses are reimbursed pursuant to Section 10-2 (Full reimbursement of travel expenses) of the Regulations appurtenant to the Education Act
The county administration contacts the applicant’s school for control and approval. Forms containing errors or omissions will be rejected and sent back.
If you have any questions concerning filling in the form, please send an e-mail to SkoleskyssrefusjonTroms@tffk.no
- You apply for school transport on here
- The pupil must apply for school transport himself/herself after the offer of admission to upper secondary schools has been sent out.
- Remember to confirm your school place before applying for school transport.
- Remember to apply by 1 August, so you are guaranteed school transport at the start of the school year.
- When you use the school card for the first time, hold it against the validator on the bus for three seconds.
- Retain your school card from the previous year (if you have one).
- The card must be scanned on the bus on every journey.
- The school card is only valid on school days.
- The school card is valid for 75 minutes from the time of boarding/scanning the card until the transfer time expires.
Complaints, laws and guidelines
Pursuant to the provisions of the Public Administration Act, all public decisions may be appealed if the person(s) covered by the decision disagrees with the decision or the content of the right that has been granted.
The right of appeal also applies in cases where the holder of rights believes that the right is not implemented with satisfactory quality.
Complaints/appeals about transport provisions or implementation of transport should be sent to:
Troms og Finnmark County Administration
Transport Division
PO Box 701
9815 Vadsø
or via e-mail.
The county administration considers complaints received and determines whether to comply with the complaint or not. If the county administration complies with the complaint, information about the new decision will issued to those affected.
However, if the county administration does not find grounds to comply with the complaint, an explanation of this will be forwarded the appellate authority for a final decision. For cases involving primary/lower secondary school, the appellate authority is the County Governor, while for cases involving pupils in upper secondary school it is the county administration’s internal appeals board.
The Troms County administration are in charge of school transport for pupils in both primary and secondary school pupils.
It's the Transport divison /Troms fylkestrafikk who plans and organize the public school transport.
Det er samferdselsdivisjonen v/Troms fylkestrafikk som planlegger og organiserer skoletransporten.
When possible, the school transport is coordinated with the public transport service.
Fare overview for school transport – for municipalities
The rates stated in this table are per way/journey.
For schools
Log in to CERT
Handbook CERT (PDF, 3 MB)
See properties - The Norwegian Mapping Authority
Information about school transport for meetings (PDF, 2 MB)
Information poster (upper secondary school) (PDF, 101 kB)