The school bus carries children, and the driver is responsible. Here are the rules: when the municipality must provide transport, what «special regular service» means, how children are counted in the passenger number, when children must use seat belts, and when the driver must have code 95.
Introduction
A school bus takes children to and from school. It sounds simple, but the passengers are children, and the driver is responsible for them from when they get on until they are safely off. The service is called a «special regular service», and it has its own rules on passenger numbers, seat belts and the driver's training.
Who is entitled to a school bus?
The municipality must provide transport between school and home for children whose way to school is longer than the limits in the table (Folkeskole Act, § 26(1)(1)):
| School year | The way to school must be longer than |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten class and grades 1-3 | 2½ kilometres |
| Grades 4-6 | 6 kilometres |
| Grades 7-9 | 7 kilometres |
| 10th grade | 9 kilometres |
- 01Children with a shorter way to school are also entitled if their safety in traffic makes it particularly necessary (§ 26(1)(2)).
- 02The municipality must also provide transport for sick and disabled pupils (§ 26(2)).
- 03The municipality can meet the duty by referring pupils to public transport or taxi or by paying their costs for their own transport (§ 26(5)). The school bus is therefore one of several options.
- 04The municipality can decide that other passengers may ride on a school bus route. The route must still be planned according to the school's needs, and the other passengers must not pay (Act on transport companies, § 5(2)).
Special regular services and the 50 km rule
When a bus carries specific groups, e.g. schoolchildren to and from school, on the terms of a regular service, it is called a «special regular service» and counts as a regular service (AETR Art. 1(i), in the annex to BEK no. 4 of 08/01/2025). If the route is at most 50 km, the service is exempt from the driving and rest time rules, and the tachograph is set to «OUT» (Regulation (EC) 561/2006, Art. 3(a)). It is the length of the route that decides.
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