Bus passes:
The College will pay for a student’s bus pass if the student lives beyond 0.5 miles of the College campus and is studying a full time course (not including Higher Education courses), and either the student or the parent/carer is in receipt of an income-based benefit. There will be no additional cost to pay once we have seen and approved your application (unless you choose to upgrade the bus pass, then this additional cost must be paid by you). Bus passes are paid for by the College and each pass costs between £400 – £800, so it is important that students look after their pass.
Train passes:
Students who wish to use the train to travel to College and who would normally be entitled to a college-funded bus pass (in receipt of an income-based benefit), may have the equivalent value of the bus pass (for their area) deducted from the termly train pass. The remaining cost of the train pass (if necessary) would need to be paid by the student before collecting the pass. First-year students will need to supply a passport-style photo when collecting the pass. Continuing students can use their existing photocard.
The income-based benefits accepted for the College’s Travel and Financial Assistance Scheme are:
If the household is in receipt of an income-based benefit, you will need to complete an application form. You can complete an online application that is quick and easy, and this method also allows you to upload evidence of your proof of benefit either by scanning it in, uploading a PDF or taking a clear photograph on your mobile phone. We would strongly encourage you to use the online application form as it limits the amount of paperwork being handled:
For students studying at the South Downs Campus, please click here for the online application form – click here for the online form.
For students studying at the Havant Campus, please click here for the online application form – click here for the online form.
If you prefer to print and complete a paper version of the application form, you can do so here for South Downs Campus students and here for Havant Campus students.
The application form must be submitted or returned to the Student Travel & Support Office by the 7 August in order to guarantee that your travel pass will be ready for the start of term (we will continue to process application forms after this date, but we cannot guarantee when passes will be ready for collection).
You can submit/send your application form in even if you do not have your proof of benefit to hand, as this can be provided later. Please make sure the application form is completed fully and the form’s terms and conditions are agreed/signed by both the parent/carer and the student – we will have to return any paper applications that are not signed.
All First Bus and Stagecoach passes will be available to download to the student’s phone via the bus company’s app. The student will need to scan their mobile phone bus pass when they board the bus and show their College Student ID card (for new students, the College ID card will be issued on your enrolment day). Physical tickets will be available in some circumstances.
Once the application has been approved and the student has officially enrolled at HSDC near the end of August, the Student Travel & Support Office will email the student with the instructions on how to download the pass. Please check your emails nearer the time.
Train passes can be collected from the Student Travel & Support Office. First-year students must supply a passport-style photo for their SWR train photocard. Continuing students can use their existing photocard.
If your application form is submitted by the 7 August, your travel pass will be available to issue during/after Enrolment days. Application forms received after this date will still be processed but there may be a delay in receiving your pass. Students will need to pay for their own travel until their pass is ready.
Havant and South Downs campuses
The Student Travel & Support team will be available to assist with ordering passes during the summer. Feel free to email travelandsupport@hsdc.ac.uk or call us on 023 9279 7991 and select option 3.