Dene Magna School

Firstly, we would like to apologise for the delay in releasing information regarding the ticket sales for GR4/GR5 - Dene Magna School. There are a few factors that have contributed to this, however, we are now happy to inform you all.

We are glad to inform you that within the last week we have managed to secure the purchase of a higher capacity Double Decker to facilitate the operation of GR4. This new bus has 90 seats, an increase of 13 available seats in comparison to our current vehicle. As much as we are aware that 13 may not appear to be a massive increase, we have purchased a vehicle with the highest maximum capacity available to us and have been searching for the most suitable, viable vehicle during the previous 12 months. We hope that this will help address some of the disappointment that was felt last year and that we can welcome more students onto our service.

We will be offering an annual ticket, which can either be paid for in one payment, or in monthly instalments. The total cost of using either of our services will be £790.00 per school year (September to July). This equates to just £4.20 per return journey, per day.

Below we will detail the processes for purchasing tickets for the 2023/24 academic year. If you have been a customer during the 2022/23 academic year, please skip to the renewals section.

New Ticket Sales

Tickets will only be able to be purchased from our website, www.grindlescoaches.co.uk. The portal will open from Monday 1st August 2023 and spaces will be available on a first come, first served basis. We will offer an annual ticket. The annual ticket can either be paid for in one payment, or by monthly instalments using Direct Debit.

We fully appreciate the financial pressures that the country is currently facing and the burden that the cost of school transport is. We recommend that you check with Gloucestershire County Council if you think you may be eligible for free transport before purchasing a ticket

Renewals

If you are a current customer, having purchased a ticket for the 2022/23 academic year, you will be given a chance to renew your ticket. A link will be emailed to the email address on file, with a link to purchase a ticket for the 2023/24 academic year. If you have not received this link by the afternoon of Tuesday 25th July 2023 please contact us on hometoschool@grindlescoaches.co.uk.

Direct Debit Payments

We have ensured to implement a system which facilitates the option to pay in instalments. The first payment (£61.25) will be taken shortly after you sign up. This is for the first month's travel in September. A further 11 monthly payments of £66.25 will commence in September. Your last payment will be in July.

If you sign up late, i.e end of August/beginning of September, the first payment will be very close to the first Direct Debit payment so we advise that tickets are purchased as early as possible.

Tickets

Tickets will be issued immediately after purchase, in the form of a QR code, which the student will use to scan upon boarding the bus for each journey. It is recommended that this QR code is also printed and kept in their bag/wallet, should the phone not work, or run out of battery. A printed ticket can also be used as a permanent solution for any child that does not have a mobile phone. It is possible to retrieve your QR Code/Ticket at any time from the Shuttle ID Passenger Portal in case of being lost/misplaced.

The scanner will only scan the code once for that journey, it cannot be shared. No ticket = No travel.

Vouchers

The vouchers capability allows anybody to purchase a voucher for either the full or partial amount, and then be used to purchase a ticket. This is ideal if you wish to split the cost between multiple parties. Simply purchase a voucher, pass it onto the person buying the ticket, who will then only pay the difference.

Moving Schools During Academic Year

Should your child stop attending Dene Magna School please email us at admin@grindlescoaches.co.uk. We may, at our sole discretion, consider a refund where there are exceptional circumstances, such as; moving house, changing schools etc. It will be necessary to provide documentary evidence of such circumstances to our satisfaction.

Waiting List

If you are unsuccessful at purchasing a ticket, please register on our waiting list. By registering and gauging your interest, it will help us to be able to make an informed decision as to whether there are viable possibilities of meeting demand. 

Terms and Conditions of Travel

We strongly recommend and advise that before purchasing a ticket you read and understand our terms and conditions of travel. These can be found on our website.

We fully understand that implementing this system will not be an ideal solution for everybody, however, it is of our utmost priority that students are able and guaranteed to travel safely to school everyday. 

Please email us at hometoschool@grindlescoaches.co.uk if you have any questions or queries.

Benefits of ShuttleID

The benefits of this new system include;

Improved communication - Be the first to know when a bus is running late with our SMS based service alerts.

Effortless payments - Payments that manage themselves without the stress of having to find the right change every week.

Safety first - No physical cash to touch and tickets are scanned up to a foot away from the device, helping distance your child and our staff.

Never lose your ticket - With 24/7 access to your ticket in the Passenger Portal, you’ll always be able to access your ticket on your phone or printed out, putting a stop to replacement ticket fees.

Safeguarding - Rest assured that we know if your child has boarded our bus and when.

A fairer system - Technology helps ensure every passenger is a valid paying customer which ensures everyone gets a fair price.

Convenient ticket purchasing - No longer restricted to just office hours, you can now buy your tickets 24/7.

Simple renewals - Renewing your ticket is as easy as a single button press.

The purchase of a ticket is a simple process, however, there are links to tutorials and help pages on our website, should you have an issue.

Please view our terms and conditions of travel here.

It is important that you read, and agree to these terms and conditions, before purchasing a ticket.

Please view our Student Code of Conduct here.

Students are expected to behave in a reasonable manner when travelling on the bus. We ask parents to make students aware of our Student Code of Conduct. By purchasing and using a ticket to travel students agree to the terms set out in our Code of Conduct.

Shuttle ID Help Centre

Video Tutorial - Buying Ticket (Direct Debit)

How to apply a voucher code