Poorer pupils are set to benefit from proposals which will extend the free school bus travel scheme, giving parents "real choice" when applying for schools.
The move, being unveiled by the Department for Education, will help up to 135,000 secondary school pupils and up to 14,000 faith school pupils from low-income families by cutting the qualifying distance for free travel.
Average travel costs ring in at £7.29 per pupil, and two-fifths of families say they are a major factor when choosing a school.
But under the Education Act - which comes into force on April 1 to be implemented for secondary school kids from September 2008 - disadvantaged kids travelling two miles or more will be offered free travel.
The scheme is open to pupils who are entitled to free meals or whose parents receive maximum working tax credits.
Ministers have expressed hope that the new system will cut the number of cars on the school run, reducing carbon emissions and providing a sustainable way of travel.
Schools minister Andrew Adonis said: "We want to remove transport as a barrier to parental choice.
"No young person should be prevented from going to the school of their choice simply because of travel costs.
"That's why it is vital to expand the right to free school travel for young people from low-income families to give them real choice in applying for schools."
There will be 20 pilot bus schemes to help promote "sustainable and safe travel", such as staggering school hours, use of seat belts and good behaviour pacts.
"It is crucial to look at how local authorities might offer transport for every secondary school pupil," Adonis added.
"It shows our determination to give every child, regardless of their background, fair and equal access to the schools they want to go to."
Shadow education secretary David Willetts said: "School transport must not be a barrier to children getting to the school of their choice."
Calling for flexible, local arrangements for shared community use, he added: "One reason we supported last year's Education Act was because it included powers to improve school transport."
Sir Peter Lampl, the chairman of the educational charity Sutton Trust, told The Times newspaper the issue was "huge" and "one that the government will have to grasp sooner or later".
"It does require a lot of money to buy a fleet of buses, but the cost-benefits analysis will show that everyone wins," he said.
