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What do I need to travel on Southern Cross Transit bus services?

All passengers wanting to use any of Southern Cross Transit services must pay a fare OR tender a valid PASS for the for the journey they are undertaking.

Acceptable Payment - All Fare Payments must be made using our prepaid SMARTCARD system, however, a CASH FARE can be paid to our drivers until a prepaid SmartCard is obtained. Regular CASH PAYMENTS to our drivers will not ll no longer be accepted.
NOTE: to view the SmartCard Terms & Conditions click here
STUDENT TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE SCHEME (STAS) - students may be eligible for Fare Assistance from the Queensland Government, please scroll down for more information.

SMARTCARDS - transportme

as from first term 2018 we introduced a CASH LESS system so ALL STUDENTS wishing to use our services should have one of our transportme SmartCards. This card will be valid for the whole of students school life and there will be no need to replace it unless you lose it.

NOTE: You do note have to re-apply if you already have been issued a card, you just have to advise us of any change in circumstances, such as a change of school or home address etc.

  • To apply for a SmartCard, please click here.

  • To find out how to use SmartCard's click here.

  • Lost or damaged SmartCard, please click here.

  • To view the SmartCard Terms & Conditions click here

  • Understanding Incomplete Transactions - click here

PLEASE NOTE: If applying for a NEW card and you meet the criteria below for FREE or SUBSIDISED travel assistance, a SmartCard application form is not required.

Free & Subsidised Qld Government STUDENT TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE SCHEME (STAS).

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General eligibility criteria - Students may be eligible for assistance under STAS if they:

  1. have parents/guardians who are residents of Queensland

  2. attend an approved school on a full-time basis

  3. are younger than 19 years of age

  4. are seeking transport assistance to and from one address only

  5. are travelling more than 1 trip per week

Below is an instructional video on how to apply online for Travel Assistance

If you are a NEW STUDENT entering PREP or YEAR 7 in 2024 you ...

  • should apply for FREE OR SUBSIDISED bus travel
    NOTE: ALL Year 7 students MUST re-apply to continue FREE OR SUBSIDISED bus travel under STAS, you must do this even if you are attending the same school/college.

  • STAS Eligible students for Free OR Subsidised Travel Assistance will be issued with one of our transportme SmartCard Passe

  • STAS INELIGIBLE students for Free OR Subsidised Travel Assistance will have to pay the FULL CASH FARE to travel on our services. To take advantage of considerable discounts on the applicable far, you need use our transportme SmartCard payment system Please see below for more details about this.

If you are a RETURNING STUDENT in 2024 and you ..

  • were a STUDENT WHO TRAVELLED FREE IN 2023 and you held a Southern Cross Transit transportme SmartCard Pass in 2023 and your circumstances have NOT changed e.g. you have NOT moved, or NOT changed schools etc, you can continue to use you pass in 2024.

  • were a STUDENT WHO PAID A TOP-UP FARE 2023 and you held a Southern Cross Transit transportme TOP-UP SmartCard Pass in 2023 and your circumstances have NOT changed e.g. you have NOT moved, or NOT changed schools etc, you can continue to use you pass in 2024.

  • HAVE changed your circumstances e.g. you HAVE moved, or HAVE changed schools etc, you MUST re-apply for FREE OR SUBSIDISED bus travel. If you previously held a transportme SmartCard Pass, it will NOT be valid for travel until you have completed and sucessfully been asseesed to recieve STAS assistance.

  • were a STUDENT WHO PAID A FULL CASH FARE IN 2023 and you DID hold a Southern Cross Transit transportme Pass in 2023 and used this when boarding the bus, you can continue to use you pass in 2024.

  • were a STUDENT WHO PAID A FULL CASH FARE IN 2023 and you DID NOT hold a Southern Cross Transit transportme Pass in 2023 and paid the bus driver a CASH FARE, you will need to apply for a transportme SmartCard

NOTE: Qld Government FREE or SUBSIDISED travel is only available to eligible students travelling to and from school under the School Transport Assistance Scheme (STAS)

There are two types of Transport Assistance avaliable, please see below for details.

Type 1 - Distance Based Bus Transport Assistance - Students who satisfy the above STAS general eligibility criteria may also be eligible for distance based assistance. To be eligible for distance based assistance:

  • students attending a State Primary school who live more than 3.2 km from the school are eligible for FREE TRAVEL

  • students attending a State High school who live more than 4.8 km from the school are eligible for FREE TRAVEL

  • non-state school students must live more than the required distances (shown above) from both the nearest state and non-state school of the type attended to recieve any STAS assistance. Please note that a TOP UP CASH FARE may be payable to the bus driver when traveling to a non-state school under these circumstances

  • All measurements are by the shortest trafficable route and are based on the nearest school which offers the required year level

Please note the following;

Distance Based FREE BUS TRAVEL - is ONLY applicable if you are eligible for STAS travel assistance and you are attending your nearest State School

Distance Based TOP-UP FARE BUS TRAVEL - if you are eligible for STAS travel assistance and you are NOT attending your nearest State School students, you must pay the Top-Up Fare which will printed on the BUS PASS we will issue to you.

(Click Here) to find out more information on the Top-Up Fares 

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If you are NOT distance eligible you may be entitled to Safety-Net based transport assistance ... see below for more information 

Type 2  - Safety-Net Based Bus transport assistance - Safety-net travel assistance is available for students who are financially disadvantaged and live close to their nearest state school. To be eligible for safety-net assistance, students must live under the distances stated for distance based assistance, and be listed as a dependent on the applicant's -

  1. Health Care Card issued by the Department of Human Services (or hold their own Health Care Card)

  2. Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Department of Human Services

  3. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner Concession Card; or

  4. be a student placed under a Child Protection Order by the Department of Communities,  Child Safety and Disability Services

  5. Please note that a TOP UP CASH FARE may be payable to the bus driver when traveling under these circumstances

Students must also NOT be in receipt of any other STAS assistance. Applications must be in the name of the cardholder and require evidence of eligibility to meet the above safety-net criteria. The cardholder must sign a certification allowing data matching to occur under Centrelink. Applicants who do not agree to this condition will not be eligible to receive safety-net assistance.

Please note the following;
Safety Net FREE BUS TRAVEL - is ONLY applicable if you are eligible for STAS travel assistance and you are attending your nearest State School in some suburbs. Please call our office on 38122520 to find out more iformation.
Safety Net Top-Up FARE BUS TRAVEL - if you are eligible for STAS travel assistance and you are are attending a school in a suburb which is not eligible for Free Travel, you must pay the Top-Up Fare which will printed on the BUS PASS we will issue to you. (Click Here) to find out more information on the Top-Up Fares

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