What about buses?
Many safeguarding incidents linked to smartphones happen on buses. Smartphone use
during bus journeys also deprive children of valuable social interaction and the chance
to let their brains rest.
Yet many bus companies require children to have a smartphone device for ticketing
making this a hurdle schools must overcome to go genuinely smartphone free.
For some bus routes / companies, there may be a simple solution, for others it requires new
systems so engaging with your bus provider as early as possible is essential
The three types of school bus routes - this will determine the solution.
Only pupils from a specific school can use them
Often organised by the council or school with a private bus company
Common where councils provide free transport for pupils living over a certain distance away
Provided by commercial bus companies
Timed and routed specifically for a specific school
But technically open to the public
Normal public buses used by pupils alongside the general public
Tickets may be councilissued passes or privately purchased
Solutions
Any solution needs to be compatible with council-funded bus passes for children.
Where bus companies use a static QR code for ticketing, the QR code can be printed. This
often works for closed-door bus routes.
There are also companies offering innovative tech solutions for this issue. One such company is
called Shuttle ID . They offer both paper tickets and brickphone compatible options (which they
call “Brickets”.) This won’t always be compatible with existing onboard bus machines so you’ll
need to check with your provider.
For all other scenarios, the bus company will need
Case study 1 - MoreBus
Recently in Dorset, the first secondary school to move to a brick phone-only policy for its Year
7 students in September 2025 had to work with the local bus company to provide an interim
solution to enable its Year 7 students to travel to school without using the bus app on a
smartphone.
MoreBus, which is part of Go South Coast and serves many schools across Dorset, Wiltshire,
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, operates school-specific open-door bus routes for sixteen
different schools, as well as commercial bus routes and a number of closed-door school bus
routes.
MoreBus was an early adopter of app technology and had already withdrawn its physical
smartcard ticket option for most customers. This saved operating costs, which were passed on
to customers via cheaper travel using the app.
A local parent asked MoreBus to change their pricing and policies to ensure that smartphone-
free travel was available for children across the area, at the same price as the app. MoreBus
engaged positively and, after exploring various options, announced in February 2026 that it
will be reintroducing physical smartcards for under 19s and price matching app travel across
its entire network, to be in place in time for the new school year in September 2026.
Case study 2 - Stagecoach
Stagecoach is the bus provider for opendoor, closeddoor and commercial routes for a
secondary school in central England which recently announced a year 7-11 brick-phone-only
policy.
The school is directing parents to the Stagecoach smartcard as an easy way of buying bus
tickets. It stores tickets and is reusable, so students can top it up to travel again and again.
Students can buy a 7 day bus ticket from the bus driver by handing them their smartcard and
payment on the bus, or they can top up their smartcard online with a 7 day, 28 day or recurring
monthly payment ticket.
A Stagecoach smartcard can be purchased in two ways.
1. On the bus. When the student first journeys on the bus, the student purchases a pass from
the driver (cost is £1) who issues them with a smartcard. Smartcards that are purchased on
the bus need to be registered on the Stagecoach website.
2. Via the Stagecoach website. A smartcard can be requested for free, and delivered by post,
when students make their first online ticket purchase.