KIDS GO FREE! First Bus rolls out free travel for children as part of Great British Summer Savings Campaign
Children aged 5-15 across England can enjoy free bus travel across participating First Bus services from 1-31 August
Families and young people will be able to make their summer plans go the extra mile this August, as children aged 5 to 15 will travel free on First Bus services across England.
Running from Saturday 1 August until Monday 31 August 2026, as part of the Government's Great British Summer Savings scheme, the initiative will help families save money on getting around during the summer holidays and support young people in exploring attractions and activities across their region.
There is no need to register or apply in advance, eligible children under 16 can just hop on board and make unlimited free journeys throughout this period. For the areas where local child fares and ticket products currently apply to older age groups, they will remain unchanged.
Catherine De Marco, Director of Public Affairs and Public Relations, First Bus, said, “We’re proud to support the Department for Transport’s Great British Summer Savings campaign by offering free bus travel for children aged 5–15 on our services in England throughout August.
“This initiative will help families save money, encourage more people to experience the convenience of bus travel, and enable young people to access activities, opportunities and attractions across their local area.
“By making sustainable travel even more accessible, we hope to support communities while inspiring the next generation to choose greener ways to get around."
- The offer is valid on the majority of First Bus services. However, some special services, coach services and routes operated outside the scheme may not be included. See exclusions here
- For further information, journey planning and details of participating services, visit: KIDS GO FREE
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About First Bus
At First Bus, we’re on a mission to grow bus usage – so we’ll get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto the bus.
We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, transporting more than 1.5 million passengers a day. Our local bus services serve more than 25% of the population of Great Britain and over half of the UK’s top 15 most populated urban areas.
We are a leading operator in the majority of our local areas, including major urban centres such as Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds.
We have proudly launched our First Bus London operation and now operate 83 routes in west and central London from 10 garages serving 180 million passengers annually.
The combined operation now manages a fleet of over 5,750 buses across the UK.
Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re the UK’s largest national bus operator to achieve real Living Wage employer status, cementing our position as an employer of choice in the sector.
First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. We will have over 1000 zero-emission buses in operation across our UK fleet by the end of 2025.
We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses to progress their decarbonisation journeys – giving them access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company, Lakeside, Ensignbus, Anderson Travel - and the Aircoach network and Matthews in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
Find more information here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/