Update/latest information: Thursday 25 May 2023
Our new travel pass widens the opportunities of students by offering transport from towns and villages not currently served by our existing bus offer. Many of the public bus service routes also offer multiple pick-up points where the college would have had only a single location.
The most significant enhancement will be to the number 90 service, which currently runs from Ripley, Jacksdale, Selston, Pinxton, Kirkby and Sutton. From 24 August 2023 this route will be extended to cover all college sites and will now terminate at Mansfield bus station.
The enhanced 90 service will connect our engineering centre (Sutton), construction centre (Kirkby), and Derby Road campus (Mansfield). It will also call at Mansfield bus station as part of its new, extended route to connect our Chesterfield Road campus (also in Mansfield).
In addition to the scheduled services, the college is tendering for additional buses that will travel from Mansfield bus station to our sites at busy times and, similarly, from Sutton bus station. These will run in both morning and afternoon slots.
Please return to this page for further updates.
What is the West Notts Travel Pass?
West Notts College has partnered with local bus operators to provide students, apprentices and staff with a flexible and great value bus travel pass.
Why get a West Notts College Travel Pass?
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UNLIMITED TRAVEL
It's one pass for unlimited bus travel across all of Nottinghamshire (and parts of Derbyshire). 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
GREAT VALUE
It has huge savings compared to pay-as-you-go travel. Students in receipt of a bursary can even travel for free*!
* Subject to eligibility.
FLEXIBLE PAYMENTS
It offers flexible payment options to suit your financial needs.
MULTI-USE
It can be used on all Stagecoach and Trentbarton buses in Nottinghamshire (and parts of Derbyshire). So you have the flexibility to use the pass for studying, working and socialising.
How much does it cost?
Whether it’s travelling to college, a trip to catch-up with friends or visiting family, a West Notts College Travel Pass can help save you money on your bus journeys.
| Criteria |
Cost |
| Studying a course for 2 or more days per week and in receipt of a bursary (any age) |
Free (see points (1) and (2)) |
| Learners aged 16-18 |
Subsidised price of £18 per month for 10 months - September to June (see point (2)) |
| T-Level students |
Free - this is to enable students to attend their mandatory placements with employers. |
| Adult learners aged 19+ |
£38 per month for 10 months - September to June |
| Apprentices (any age) |
£38 per month - all year round |
| West Notts College staff |
£38 per month - all year round |
(1) If your household income is less than £40,000 per annum, then you may be eligible for a bursary. Please contact the student finance team on studentfinance@wnc.ac.uk or call 01623 900455 for details.
(2) If you live within a walking distance of 2km (1.24 miles) or less from the college, you will still be able to purchase a West Notts College Travel Pass but will pay the standard price of £38 per month (irrespective of whether you qualify for a bursary). However, if there are legitimate reasons preventing you from walking to college, you may be eligible to pay the subsidised price of £18 per month. If you study at two campuses and one is more than 2km (1.24 miles) walking distance from your home, then you will pay £18 per month.
How do I get one?
All students will receive their travel pass (in the form of a smart card) when they come to college to enrol and secure a place on their course *. This will allow free travel from Thursday 24 August to Thursday 7 September 2023 only.
To continue using the travel pass after this period, you will need to visit a dedicated website (details coming soon) and enter your payment details, which will then activate your card.
If you qualify for a college bursary, you will be sent a unique code. Simply enter this code on the dedicated website and your travel pass will be activated.
Staff that wish to purchase a travel pass should contact the HR team, who will issue a code which can be entered into the travel website.
* All students will be required to make their own way to college for enrolment.
Plan your jouney
We recommend you plan your journey by using the Traveline Journey Planner . Postcodes for each of our campuses have been provided below:
- Derby Road campus - NG18 5BH
- Adult Learning Centre - NG19 7BB
- Construction Centre - NG17 7RB
- Engineering Innovation Centre - NG17 5FA
- Mansfield and Ashfield Sixth Form College - NG19 7BB
Alternately, you could plan your journey using Google Maps by simply selecting 'Public transport' as your mode of transportation:
You can also plan your journey using the bus companies' own websites:
Frequently asked questions
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What are the benefits of the travel pass?
- A single travel pass usable on Stagecoach and Trentbarton buses across all of Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire.
- Unlimited travel all day, seven days a week, for the duration of your course – allowing you to take a bus to work placements, work experience, part-time jobs, or meet up with friends outside of college.
- A flexible monthly payment scheme instead of a one-off cost.
- Get home more easily from evening events at college such as sport or restaurant activities, homework clubs, societies or evening study in the learning resource centres.
- Build your confidence, independence and life skills by using public transport.
- Dedicated journey-planning websites to help you plan your route to and from college.
- Electronic signage at bus stops, showing arrival times.
- Available to college staff, representing significant savings on standard fares.
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How much will the travel pass cost?
- Studying a course for 2 or more days per week and in receipt of a bursary (any age): free (see points (1) and (2))
- Learners aged 16-18: Subsidised price of £18 per month for 10 months - September to June (see point (2))
- T-Level students: free - this is to enable students to attend their mandatory placements with employers
- Adult learners aged 19+: £38 per month for 10 months - September to June
- Apprentices (any age) and college staff: £38 per month - all year round
- West Notts College staff: £38 per month - all year round
(1) If your household income is less than £40,000 per annum, then you may be eligible for a bursary. Please contact the student finance team on studentfinance@wnc.ac.uk or call 01623 900455 for details.
(2) If you live within a walking distance of 2km (1.24 miles) or less from the college, you will still be able to purchase a West Notts College Travel Pass but will pay the standard price of £38 per month (irrespective of whether you qualify for a bursary). However, if there are legitimate reasons preventing you from walking to college, you may be eligible to pay the subsidised price of £18 per month. If you study at two campuses and one is more than 2km (1.24 miles) walking distance from your home, then you will pay £18 per month.
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How can I purchase a travel pass?
All students will receive their travel pass (in the form of a smart card) when they come to college to enrol and secure a place on their course *. This will allow free travel from Thursday 24 August to Thursday 7 September 2023 only.
To continue using the travel pass after this period, you will need to visit a dedicated website (details coming soon) and enter your payment details, which will then activate your card.
If you qualify for a college bursary, you will be sent a unique code. Simply enter this code on the dedicated website and your travel pass will be activated.
Staff that wish to purchase a travel pass should contact the HR team, who will issue a code which can be entered into the travel website.
* All students will be required to make their own way to college for enrolment.
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When must I purchase a travel pass?
You can purchase your travel pass at any time during your studies and then pay monthly, either manually or by direct debit. However, the period of free travel is from Thursday 24 August to Thursday 7 September 2023 only. If you don’t activate your travel pass by this date, you will pay the bus operators’ standard fare.
You will only pay the discounted price, or qualify for free travel, once you have activated your travel pass.
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If I leave college part-way through the year, can I get a refund?
Because it’s a monthly payment scheme, you pay only for the months that you need the travel pass. This means you can cancel at any time and pay up to the end of the current month. However, you won’t be entitled to a refund covering the remaining part of the month in which you cancel.
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How will I know which bus to catch, from where, and at what times?
You will be able to plan your journey using the Traveline website or one currently being developed by Nottinghamshire County Council. Alternatively, you could use Google Maps. Stagecoach and Trentbarton also have maps, timetables and journey planners on their own websites. In addition, there will be a dedicated journey-planning website that you can use on your smartphone and the college will provide a route map.
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What if there isn't a direct bus to my college campus?
Unless your bus goes directly to the college campus you attend, you may need to change buses at Mansfield or Sutton bus stations and take a connecting service to your college site.
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Where will the buses drop us off?
Buses on college bus routes will pull into two dedicated bays at Mansfield bus station and a single bay at Sutton bus station.
The bus stop outside the Derby Road campus will be renamed ‘West Notts College’ to make it easier for people not familiar with Mansfield or the campus to recognise when they need to get off. Other bus stops will be refurbished as part of the support offered by Nottinghamshire County Council.
Sutton bus station is also making improvements to its signage to aid student travel.
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Do all bus stops display real-time information?
Nottinghamshire County Council is working towards providing real-time information at all bus stops. There will also be a website containing this information that you can use on your smartphone. We will announce when the new website will go live.
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I live in Derbyshire. Will I be able to use the travel pass?
Yes. Trentbarton covers routes in Derbyshire, so you will be able to catch one of its buses.
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Can I use my travel pass when I’m not at college?
Yes, absolutely! You will be able to use it all day, every day, including evenings and weekends, during the period the travel pass is valid for.
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Will members of the public be on these buses or just college students/staff?
These are public buses, which means other passengers will be on board using these services.
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What if the bus companies go on strike?
Although there would be disruption if some bus services didn’t operate, the college would implement contingency plans to minimise the impact. In the event of a strike, we would make alternative arrangements, such as allowing students who couldn’t get to college to attend their lessons online instead. However, we are not expecting this to happen.
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What happens if buses are cancelled due to bad weather?
In the event of bad weather, the college would contact Stagecoach and Trentbarton to determine whether services will be affected. We would then decide whether we need to close our campuses – either at an appropriate point in the day, once we are satisfied students/staff can get home safely, or early in the morning if the weather has deteriorated overnight. The college would communicate this by text message, Microsoft Teams, our website and social media pages.
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Does the travel pass include travel on local trains?
Unfortunately not at the moment. We are in discussions with the train company about whether train travel could be included but no firm decisions have been made. Therefore, it is not part of the current offer.
However, we will continue to talk to the train company about this and press our case.
Need more help?
Feel free to contact our customer enquiries team who will get back in touch as soon as possible.
Have a query about a specific bus or route? Then please contact the bus companies directly.
Contact Stagecoach
Contact Trentbarton