The Government, through the Ministry for Education and Sport, currently provides free transportation to students in compulsory schooling and kindergarten, attending State Schools. School transport for state schools currently services over 980 routes daily, providing transport to thousands of students.
All school transport vehicles which will be used for the scheme are compliant and approved to carry school children by the national competent authority, Transport Malta.
• Kindergarten and Primary Schools – Students residing more than one (1) kilometre away from the school of their locality of residence are eligible to apply for the school transport service.
• Middle and Secondary Schools – Students residing more than one (1) kilometre away from the middle school or secondary school of their respective College are eligible to apply for the school transport service.
• Schools Offering Specialised Programmes –
• Students attending the National Sports School (Pembroke),
• Malta Visual & Performing Arts School (Hamrun),
• Alternative Learning Programme (Paola),
• Learning Support Centres in (Gzira/Cospicua/Fortini/Naxxar/Hamrun /Zebbug),
• Resource Centres (Wardija/Hamrun/Qrendi/ Pembroke/ Sannat)
• Migrant Hubs are eligible to apply for the school transport service irrespective of their locality of residence.
• Exceptions are treated on a case by case basis. Kindly contact the School Transport Unit for more information.
• Students are Maltese residents. (Students in hold of a diplomatic ID need to contact school transport for further information)
• Student resides within the geographical catchment area of the school
• Student attends a school that is listed as a licensed school of Malta/ Gozo, as issued by MEYR
• The free state school transport adopts a ‘one address per child’ policy – hence the pick–up/ drop–off to a different address is not allowed.
• Out of Locality – Eligibility for free school transport for out-of-locality students depends on whether the student is enrolled in a Sports Career Development Programme (SCDP) or a Vocational and / or Applied Education Training subject option which is not offered at the Middle or Secondary school at the college covering their primary residence locality. For reasons not listed above, out of locality transport is to be requested through the school. The school will provide a report indicating why the said student should be treated as an exception, together with required documents that support the request. The application will be reviewed and vetted by the Head of School Transport on a case by case basis. The decision of the School Transport Unit is final.
• It is the responsibility of the parents to be with their child during pick-up and drop-off at their designated points.
“Parents holding Maltese nationality whose details are not presently linked to their child are invited to notify the Public Registry by emailing [email protected].”
Online Applications for the Free School Transport Scheme for students attending State Schools in scholastic year 2026/2027 will be open from 4th May 2026 up to and including 17th July 2026. After this date users are requested to come to the Ministry to apply at the one stop shop at Great Siege Road, Floriana :
Daily from Monday to Friday between 09:30am till 2:00pm
On Wednesdays between 09:30am till 6:00pm
On Saturdays between 08:00am till 12:00pm
Gozo College, Office of the College Principal Europe Street, Victoria, Gozo
Daily from Monday to Friday between 08:00am and 12:00pm
The Free School Transport Scheme gives state school students in Malta and Gozo a free daily bus service across 980+ routes, provided they live more than 1km from their school. This covers Kindergarten through to Secondary level, with no distance requirement for students attending specialist schools including the National Sports School in Pembroke, the Malta Visual and Performing Arts School in Ħamrun, the Alternative Learning Programme in Paola, Learning Support Centres across Malta, and Resource Centres in Wardija, Ħamrun, Qrendi, Pembroke, and Sannat. The scheme operates on a strict one address per child policy, meaning pick-up and drop-off at a secondary address is not permitted. Out-of-locality students only qualify automatically if they are enrolled in a Sports Career Development Programme or a vocational subject unavailable at their College's school all other out-of-locality cases require a school report and are assessed individually by the School Transport Unit, whose decision is final.
Online applications for 2026/27 closed on 17 July 2026. Late applicants can still apply in person at the Ministry's one-stop shop at Great Siege Road, Floriana, open Monday to Friday 09:30–14:00, Wednesday until 18:00, and Saturday 08:00–12:00. Gozo applicants can apply at the Gozo College Principal's Office, Europe Street, Victoria, Monday to Friday 08:00–12:00. Apply online at malta-transport.schoolbusnet.net or contact the School Transport Unit at MEYR, Great Siege Road, Floriana.
Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation
School transport section
Great Siege road,
FLORIANA [Il-Furjana]
VLT 2000
Malta
2598 1888
