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2026 BOOKLISTS
IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR 2026:
From 1 January 2026, people aged under 18 will be able to travel for free on all Victorian public transport including school specials, public buses and on the country buses (application still required for country buses). Students must show a new Youth myki in order to access the free travel. As students will no longer need to purchase a bus pass from 1 January 2026, conveyance allowance claims for public bus travel are no longer needed. Please note that free travel does not apply to the Marist Chartered Services.
A Youth myki can be purchased from the Transport Victoria website or from staffed stations from 27 December 2025.
For more information please see: Youth myki information
All enquiries regarding bus travel to Marist College Bendigo can be directed to buses@marist.vic.edu.au or 5400 1252.
Some other useful contacts are:
Organs Bus Company – 03 5422 1788
Christian’s Bus Company – 03 5447 2222
School Bus Program (Country Bus) – 1800 338 663
School Town Specials (STS) - provided by PTV (Public Transport Victoria)
Bendigo School Town Specials (STS) – run by Christians Bus Company, School Town Specials operate within school times only, in areas where regular town services do not meet school time requirements. These buses have routes that cover Eaglehawk, Maiden Gully, Kangaroo Flat, Golden Square and into Bendigo (Tom Flood Sports Centre) and are only available to school students. These services are free as of 1 January 2026. To access these buses you will need to purchase a new Youth myki for a once off cost of $5.00. See information update above regarding free travel.
For the current timetable of school town specials that service Marist, please see below links.
Public Bus 54 – provided by PTV
Bus 54 (Maiden Gully) – run by Christians Bus Company and providing travel to the College and the Bendigo Railway station using the regular timetabled services. This bus may also have general public travelling. For the current timetable and route information, please click the BUS 54 link below. This bus arrives at Marist at 8.53am and departs Marist at 3.45pm. Note: this bus makes multiple stops each way.
To access these buses you will need a new Youth myki. See information update above regarding free travel.
Bus Pass Information
Please see update at the top of the page regarding free travel. PTV bus passes will only need to be purchased by students who are 18 years of age and over and using school specials or public transport to travel to and from school. See update at the top of the page regarding free travel for under 18-year-olds.
2026 bus pass applications will be available from mid January 2026.
Conveyance Allowance Claims & Eligibility
You may be eligible for conveyance allowance if:
Your child attends their nearest government or non-government school/campus appropriate to their year level at which admission is permissible
Reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from that school/campus attended
be of school age (5 to 18 years old at time of application) and reside in Victoria
Claim forms for Conveyance Allowance:
Private Car Travel: Form 1
Private Bus Travel: Form 2
All conveyance applications must be fully signed and returned to Marlhes in a hardcopy - scanned emailed versions will not be accepted for audit purposes.
For more information regarding Conveyance Allowance please visit:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy
Country Bus Travel
The School Bus Program (SBP) provides transport assistance for eligible families in rural and regional Victoria via the Student Travel Assistance Portal. All applications are made online. Categories of eligibility determine whether a student is able to access this free service. To find out if your child is eligible for the School Bus Program click the Country Bus Eligibility link below.
Please see Quick Reference Guide for instructions on how to apply.
New Country Bus travellers for 2026 apply via the Student Travel Assistance Portal. Existing travellers that change address or schools, need to lodge a new application via their existing account and accept a new offer.
Please contact 1800 338 663 or schoolbus@education.vic.gov.au with any enquiries.
2026 update: Families that have current travellers will be renewed automatically for travel in 2026, but you will need to accept the offer by logging into your account. If you are a term based traveller, an application must be made for each term. All travel allocations for 2026 will be sent from mid November 2025. Please ensure you log in to your account and accept the offer.
2026 applications are now open for new enrolments: to avoid being wait listed please apply as soon as possible. All travel allocations for 2026 will be advised to families from mid November 2025.
Marist Chartered Services
In conjunction with our bus provider, Organs Coaches, Marist provides several private bus services that cover Maiden Gully, Marong, Castlemaine, Harcourt, Maldon, Castlemaine, and Maryborough.
NOTE: these services are separate from the School Town Specials operated by Christians and the Country Bus services. Some country buses also cover these areas and this can be checked via the pre application address check at Student Travel Assistance Portal
Marist Chartered Bus Services are supported by RollCall, an automated system that uses state-of-the-art travel smartcard technology with tracking technology to give parents and schools full visibility of students traveling on the school buses.
Some of the key features of RollCall include:
§ Accurate recording of travel using “tap on/tap off” technology
§ Real-time travel information, accessible to parents via a smartphone
§ Detailed information available to the College for bus locations and passengers at all times
More information is available from the RollCall website - https://rollcall.com.au/
IMPORTANT: There is a fee to access the chartered services and the buses are subject to capacity. NOTE: a waitlist may apply. Please contact buses@marist.vic.edu.au if you require further information.
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