Renfrewshire Council

Free bus travel for young people aged between 5 and 21

Who can get free bus travel, how to get a free bus travel card, information about the scheme and privacy policy.

Young people in Renfrewshire can now travel for free on buses throughout Scotland. 

To travel for free on the bus, you'll need a National Entitlement Card (NEC) or a Young Scot Card (NEC):


How to get a National Entitlement Card (NEC)

If your child is aged between 5 and 10, you will need to apply for their National Entitlement Card (NEC).

You can apply online on the parentsportal.scot website

If you need help with applying for your child's NEC card, contact us at nec@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 0300.


How to get a Young Scot Card (NEC)

If your child is aged between 11 and 15, you will need to apply for their National Entitlement Card, called a Young Scot Card (NEC).

If you are between 16 and 21 years of age, you can apply for your own Young Scot Card (NEC).

Find out more about how to apply for a Young Scot Card (NEC) and what information you need when you apply. 


If you already have a card

If you are aged 16 or over, you can download free bus travel onto your existing card using the Transport Scot Pass Collect app.

You can download the Transport Scot Pass Collect app:

Watch this YouTube video to learn how to use the app:

If you already have a National Entitlement Card (NEC) or a Young Scot Card, and you can't download or use the Transport Scot Pass Collect app, you will need to get a replacement card to travel by bus for free.

You can also apply for a replacement card if your card is lost, damaged or stolen.


Children under 5

Children under 5 years old already travel for free on commercial bus services and don't need a card. 

If your child is nearly 5 years old, you can apply for their card up to two weeks before their fifth birthday.


More information about the scheme

The Young Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme for Under 22s is part of the Scottish Government's National Transport Strategy which aims to build a fairer, greener society.

You can find out more about children and young people's free bus travel on the freebus.scot website.


Privacy policy

Your application for a card uses personal data held by your child's school.

To process your child's card, we need:: 

  • your child's name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • gender 
  • contact details

Photographs are included on cards for young people aged 11 and over. They are not used on cards for children between 5 and 10 years old.

Renfrewshire Council uses your personal information solely to process card applications. The data is shared with our contractors, suppliers, and service providers, to allow us to administer, manage and maintain the travel concession schemes.

You can see more details about how your child's data is managed in the privacy policy for concessionary travel and smart ticketing, including the National Entitlement Card (NEC), on the Transport for Scotland website.