Apply for your Tees Pass today
If you’re a care leaver aged 18-25 living in the Tees Valley region, you can currently claim free bus travel across local services.
To apply for your Tees Pass, please make sure you have the following information:
Once your application is approved, your bus pass will be posted out to you, ready to scan as you board. We aim to get your pass to you within 10 working days of your application being approved.
If you have any problems during your application, you can speak to your relevant local authority or alternatively contact us at [email protected] where a member of the team will be happy to help.
A care leaver is someone who has been in the care of a Local Authority. This includes young people who have been in foster care, residential care, or other forms of government-provided support.
The Tees Pass provides free bus travel across local Tees Valley bus services.
Currently, Tees Pass is available to care leavers who are aged 18 – 25, providing they are registered under a Tees Valley local authority (Darlington Borough Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council).
You can use your Tees Pass across Tees Valley bus services, with participating operators including:
All you need to do is scan your pass on the ticketing machine as you board, then you’re good to go!
If you have any issues using your Tees Pass, then the bus driver will be happy to help, alternatively you can contact the relevant bus operator directly, or email ourselves at [email protected], where our team will be happy to help.
The Tees Pass is valid all day on eligible local bus services within the Tees Valley area
Journeys must typically start and finish within the Tees Valley area, however, there are some cross boundary service exceptions. These are identified below:
All services operating wholly within the Tees Valley region.
Direct journeys on North East Combined Authority cross boundary services 1, 5, 7, 8, X12, X22, X75, X76, 23, 24 and 58, providing the journey starts or ends in Tees Valley.
Direct journeys on North Yorkshire Council cross boundary services X26/X27 as far as Blackwell House, X4/X4A as far as Runswick Bay, 28A within Great Ayton and Stokesley and service X93/X94 as far as Scaling Dam providing the journey starts in Tees Valley.
All services operating wholly within the Tees Valley region, excluding Tees Flex.
Direct journeys on North East Combined Authority cross boundary service 59, providing the journey starts or ends within Tees Valley.
Direct journeys on North East Combined Authority cross boundary service X10, providing the journey starts or ends within Tees Valley.
Direct journeys on North East Combined Authority cross boundary service 84/84a, providing the journey starts or ends within Tees Valley.
All journeys on service 65.
All journeys on services 29, 34, 72 and 18.
Your Tees Pass can be used for free travel across eligible local Tees Valley bus services. Whether it is for commuting to work or education, visiting friends, going to appointments, or exploring our wonderful region.
If you are travelling outside of the area to Durham, North Yorkshire or further afield then additional fares will be incurred, please see our ‘What area does the free travel cover?’ FAQ for additional information on cross-boundary service limitations.
Currently, Tees Pass has funding allocated for 1 year (from November 2025 – November 2026). However, the Tees Pass may continue beyond November 2026 if the funding is extended.
To avoid any disruption, passes will automatically expire on each applicant’s 26th birthday, even if this date falls after November 2026. This means there wouldn’t be a need to reapply should the scheme be extended. Any information regarding the continuation of Tees Pass will be communicated to pass holders directly via their local authority.
In addition, if you are a care leaver born between 1 April 1999 to 16 November 2000, you can apply for a pass to expire on your 27th Birthday. Please contact your relevant local authority for further information.
Once you've filled in your application, providing everything is in order, your Tees Pass will be made and sent to your chosen postal address. We aim to get your Tees Pass to you within 10 working days, and you will receive email confirmations to keep you up to date on the application progress.
If you have any problems in receiving your pass, you can speak to your relevant local authority or alternatively contact us at [email protected] where a member of the team will be happy to help.
As the Tees Pass is part of a smartcard system, your information needs to be entered online. Your local authority will be in touch to help you though the application process.
If you are having problems completing the online application or have problems using your Tees Pass, please contact our third-party technical support team on 0300 300 0032. Alternatively, you can email them directly at [email protected].
If you lose your card, call 0300 300 0032 or email [email protected] and a new card will be sent out as quickly as possible. Of course, without your Tees Pass, you lose free travel days, so keep it safe!
If you have any additional questions not answered above, then you can direct your query to TVCA directly using the details below:
Tees Valley Combined Authority
Please note that response times may differ if we need to contact an alternative authority to assist with your query.
This guidance has been provided from the UK Government standard for passport photos.
The digital photo must:
In your photo you must:
Do not wear glasses in your photo unless you must do so. If you must wear glasses, they cannot be sunglasses or tinted glasses, and you must make sure your eyes are not covered by the frames or any glare, reflection or shadow.
Please note that the Tees Pass application system is managed by third party supplier. For further guidance and information on this, please see our Privacy Notice.
Join us on social media for the latest news