Office of
Transportation

• For ease of use, please use “CTRL-F” to search by your run number, or school name directly.
• For mobile users, please use this alternative link

• For ease of use, please use “CTRL-F” to search by your run number, or school name directly.
• For mobile users, please use this alternative link

The eligibility requirements for students in the District are based on mileage, grade level of student, location and residency.

• Yellow Bus Transportation is typically provided for students in grades 1 through 6 who live 1.5 miles or more from the assigned school.
  • However, if you elect to send your child to an out-of-catchment public school, they will be ineligible for transportation
• Students in grades 7 through 12 who live 1.5 miles or farther from school are eligible for free Student Fare Card.

There may be additional special exceptions around a student’s transportation. For more information contact your school.

COMPASS
The Department of Transportation Services uses a web-based routing application called COMPASS. The Scheduling Department will use COMPASS to map routes based on eligibility information in the system and is responsible for determining final transportation assignments for Philadelphia resident students. We do not utilize any other geographic mapping or data from other programs in our routing process.

What type of bus stop will my student be assigned?
All regular education students will be placed at a neighborhood stop. Most neighborhood stops are within 1.5 miles from the student’s home.

Students With Disabilities will be assigned to a stop based on their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). In most cases, the stop will be a curb-to-curb pick-up at the home which means the bus will meet the student at the curb/sidewalk in front of the stop. It does not mean that the driver or attendant will meet the student at their door.

In the event that the driver is not able to make it down the street due to weather or obstructions, the driver or bus attendant for the route will come down the block to meet the child and bring him or her to the bus.

For the Department of Transportation Services to provide special transportation or additional support, the need must be documented in a student’s most recent finalized Individualized Education Plan (IEP). If no specialized transportation is noted, a child’s transportation eligibility will be determined based on the general eligibility rules outlined in the Eligibility Guidelines.

Determining eligibility is an IEP team decision. If you think your child requires additional support on the bus, please talk to your school about having an IEP meeting to discuss options.

Extended School Year (ESY) services are free special education services provided to students with disabilities beyond the regular 180-day school year. The primary purpose of ESY is to maintain the progress the student made on his or her most critical goals and objectives during the regular school year. ESY eligibility is determined by a child’s IEP team.

• ESY Parent Notification Letters will be sent out to the home address on file starting in late May with preliminary routing information.
• If the pick-up or drop-off address needs to be changed, a student will not be attending ESY, or you will transport your student for ESY, please contact your school.

For more information regarding the ESY program, click here.

• ***** Submitting a Monthly Payment Form does not mean you are registered in the program. If you did not apply during the four month application period, and were not placed in the program by a school official, you are not yet eligible to receive payments.
• Please allow for 30 days from the conclusion of the month to receive your payment. Payments are not issued until the calendar month has concluded, your form is verified, and attendance is confirmed by your child’s school.
• The $150/month option is only applicable to families who choose to transport their child in the AM and utilize busing in the afternoon. There is no option for utilizing busing in the morning and transporting the student in the afternoon.
• For Income Tax Purposes – The School District of Philadelphia does not issue 1099 Tax Forms. However, it is recommended you report the income to your tax expert when reporting your quarterly or annual income taxes.
• If you have been approved for the program to receive monthly payments please submit the Monthly Payment Form toward the end of each month.
• Please Note – Payments are not issued until the month has concluded and attendance can be verified. Payments are mailed to the address the school has on file. If there is a discrepancy with the address on file and the address submitted on the Monthly Payment Form, payment will be delayed.
• The program is applicable from September through June only. The program does not apply to summer classes or ESY. Payments are not issued pertaining to July or August.

Missed the application deadline?

You can still enroll in the program! Ask your school to submit a Transportation Action Request (TAR) on your behalf.

Note that eligibility for payments begins the month the TAR is submitted.

Each month, the Monthly Payment Form will be submitted by the parent/guardian. A link to the form can be found on the sidebar to the right side of the webpage. A principal or authorized school official will also submit the Monthly Payment Form to confirm attendance (students must attend 70% of in-person days for the month to qualify for a payment).

Monthly Payment Form

This form is NOT an application.

Your child must be registered for the program prior to submitting this form. Parents/Guardians registered in either the Flat Rate Program or the Mileage Reimbursement Program must submit this form at the end of each month to qualify for payment.

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Eligibility varies by school and student. If the student, and attending school, are eligible for District-provided bus, cab, or van services, then the student is eligible for the Flat Rate Program. Several factors influence whether the child is eligible for bus, van, or cab services including but not limited to:

• • Philadelphia Resident – The student must be a resident of the city of Philadelphia.
  • Distance to school – Students generally must reside 1.5 miles or greater from the school.
  • Grade Level – Generally, busing services are provided to students in grades 1st through 5th (Grade level eligibility varies by school).
  • Hazardous Route – Designated schools have eligible students whose route to school is determined to be hazardous by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
  • Individualized Education Plan – A student has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) specific to transportation.
  • School Participation – Your school receives District-provided busing services.

• Please Note – Families who utilize the school selection option, are generally NOT eligible for busing services.

In order to receive the monthly payment in a timely manner, it is imperative to enter the correct Student Transportation ID on the Monthly Payment Form.

• The ID can be obtained by contacting your school or by emailing Parentrans@Philasd.org and requesting your child’s Transportation ID.

Please see below for important details when submitting the ID:

• The Transportation ID may differ from your child’s school ID.
• Please do not enter any characters when submitting the ID other than numbers or letters. For example, please do not enter symbols such as: (/), (@), or (-).
• If your child’s ID begins with a C or an S the next two digits will always be a zero. Please do not follow these letters with the letter, “O.”
• If your child does not have a Transportation ID, in order to receive payments, one will need to be generated by a school official.

If your child’s address changes during the school year, please follow the procedure below. This is how the information must be entered on the initial Monthly Payment Form when the residence was first updated:

• Enter the previous address on the “Address Line.”
• Enter the updated address on the “Change of Address Line.”
• You will also need to contact your school and have a school official update the address in the Transportation System. If the address is not updated in the system by a school official, payments cannot be processed.

Please take note of the guidelines below in order to receive the monthly payment.

• The monthly payment is per household, not per child.
• The program is for students that are eligible for District-provided busing. Students that are only eligible to receive a SEPTA Fare Card are not eligible.
• In order to participate in the Flat Rate Program a Vehicle Information Number (VIN) must be entered on the Monthly Payment Form. If the individual VIN cannot be verified for each household, payment will not be issued. One VIN for multiple households will not be accepted.
• Students are required to attend 70% of their school’s in-person days in order to qualify for that month’s payment.
• For the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, in order to participate from the start of that school year an Enrollment Form was required during one of the two application periods. All families were required to apply in order to participate. If you were registered for the program in previous years an Enrollment Form was still mandatory. Submitting the Monthly Payment Form did not mean the student was in the program prior to applying.
• The program is only applicable for September through June.
• Each month an authorized school official must verify the days attended for that specific month through the Monthly Payment Form.
• One Monthly Payment Form will be filled out per household. If more than one child in the household is being transported, please enter the same child’s information each month.
• The parent/guardian and the school official must include the correct Transportation ID on the Monthly Payment Form. If the ID is entered incorrectly, payments may be delayed.

Please contact your child’s school for any additional information. You may also email Parentrans@Philasd.org with any questions or concerns.

By signing up for the Parent Flat Rate Program, you agree to the following policy:
“In consideration of and in exchange for the monthly transportation reimbursement I will receive, I, for myself, my child, my executors and assigns, agree to undertake and provide for the school transportation needs of my child and agree that The School District of Philadelphia shall not be responsible for or liable in any way for school transportation of my child. I further agree to release and forever discharge The School District of Philadelphia and its agents, officers, employees and volunteers from any claim that I might have myself or that I could bring on my child’s behalf with regard to any claim or claims, damages, demands or actions whatsoever, including those based on negligence, in any manner arising out of this transportation.”