Children Travelling Alone

Children under 7 years old must travel with a guardian aged 18 or over on all services.

Children aged 7-12 can travel without a parent or guardian aged 18+ on selected direct services only. We call this travelling as an Unaccompanied Minor.

If you’re booking travel for an unaccompanied minor, we need to know who is dropping them off and picking them up, and how to contact them. We collect this information from you in the Unaccompanied Minor Form. We also ask you to read our Unaccompanied Minor Policy below and sign the form to say you understand it.

Booking online?

  • If you’re booking a child fare online, fill out the online Unaccompanied Minor form on the passenger details page. This will give us all the information we need and you won’t have to fill out any other forms.
  • If you book a child fare together with another fare type but there is no 18+ guardian, you’ll need to fill out an Unaccompanied Minor form separately. Please return a copy to us before travel via fax or email, and print another copy for the child to carry with them on the day of travel.

Booking over the phone or at an agent?

  • If you book over the phone we will either email you a copy of the form, or tell you to download the form here on our website.
  • Your agent will either give you a physical copy of the form to fill out, or tell you to download the form here on our website.
  • Please return one copy to us before the date of travel via fax or email, and print another copy with the child to carry with them on the date of travel.

Download Form


Unaccompanied Minor Policy

InterCity cannot be held responsible for unaccompanied minors before, during or after bus journeys which means that:

  • The child will be dropped off at their destination when the bus arrives. It is the responsibility of the legal guardian to ensure that somebody is there to meet them.
  • The person collecting the unaccompanied minor needs to be at the bus stop at least 15 minutes before it is scheduled to arrive.
  • The bus will not wait and will leave as scheduled.
  • Drivers cannot supervise unaccompanied minors during rest stops. It is the unaccompanied minor’s responsibility to ensure that they get back on the bus on time.
  • Children can only travel as unaccompanied minors on selected direct services. Children travelling on routes requiring a transfer must travel with a guardian aged 18 or over.
  • Unaccompanied minors can travel on the following services:
    - InterCity (IC), InterCity Link (IL), except overnight services 6503 and 6504
    - GreatSights services 7627, 7629 and 7230 only
  • Unaccompanied minors are not permitted to travel on Hastings - Tauranga service IC6606, on any other GreatSights service or any services run by an operator not listed above.
  • We will not accept any changes to unaccompanied minor bookings unless they are confirmed by the parent/guardian.
  • Children aged 14 or under cannot travel on any tour service without a guardian aged 18+.


Preparing for the trip

Take a look at our unaccompanied minor stop info page for handy details about some of our most popular stops, to help make sure your child gets off at the right stop.

We've also put together an info sheet for children travelling alone (and their parents). It has helpful tips for preparing for a bus trip, including what to bring and what to do during the trip to stay safe and have fun. It also has some activities on the back! 

We recommend reading the info sheet with your child and giving them a copy to take on the bus.

Download info sheet


More Resources