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The introduction of diplomas for 14 to 19-year-olds will present a particular challenge for school travel, a committee of MPs has warned.
The Commons transport committee cautioned that the diplomas will require pupils to travel to multiple sites.
In a report examining school travel, the MPs said it was "disappointing" that the government had not put better planning in place before rolling out diplomas.
And the report urged ministers to consider more sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternatives to car travel for school runs, including better promotion of walking and cycling to school.
Transport committee chairman Louise Ellman said the journeys that young people make will influence "preferences and habits" when they become adults.
"Both the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Transport urgently need to identify how they are going to ensure children and young adults are not denied opportunities because public transport is either inadequate or too costly," she warned.
"In particular, travel should not present a barrier to access the new diploma courses.
"For similar reasons, much more should be done to identify children eligible for free school transport."
The committee also said that the Educational Maintenance Allowance for students on low incomes needs topping up, and it said similar support might be needed for diploma students.
The MPs suggested that the government consider a concessionary scheme to offer reduced fares to young people.
Local authorities should also make more effort to identify pupils from low income families to benefit from free transport.
But the report recognised that there was a "tension" between promoting choice of school and promoting sustainable school travel.
"The government has, to date, done little to address the tension between choice and sustainability when it comes to schools," it added.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd