The School District of Philadelphia will continue the program to provide a monthly payment to eligible parents who choose to opt out of District bus, van or cab assignments and instead drive their child to and from school. All registered families will receive $300 per month ($3,000 for the school year) for transporting their child to and from school. We also offer the option for families to receive $150 per month ($1,500 for the school year) to transport their child to school in the morning but still utilize bus, van or cab services in the afternoon. There is no option for utilizing busing services in the AM and the parent/guardian transports the student in the afternoon.
*** 2024-25 Program Policy Change
This policy change goes into effect for 2024-25, and does not influence payment eligibility for previous years.
In contrast to recent years, an application will not be required for students that were registered in the program at the conclusion of the 2023-24 school year. If still eligible, these students will automatically be rolled over into the program for the 2024-25 school year. Please note, if you were not registered in 2023-24, or you were removed during the school year and wish to participate once again, an Enrollment Form must be submitted. The Enrollment Form went live on the web page June 1, 2024.
- If your child will need to return to busing services for the upcoming school year, please reach out to your school and request they submit the proper documentation to be added to a bus, van or cab assignment.
- The student will be placed in whichever portion of the program they participated in at the close of the 2023-24 school year. If you wish to change the portion (i.e., $150/month AM busing services only), please contact your school and request they submit the proper documentation.
- Eligibility must be redetermined if the student has changed residences since the close of the 2023-24 school year, has transferred schools, or the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) has been adjusted.
Program Updates
***Registration for the 2023-24 school year has closed as of May 21, 2024. A Transportation Action Request (TAR) will not be approved moving forward through the conclusion of this school year.
– Please Note – Despite the school year ending mid-month, payment for June will not be issued until the calendar month has concluded. If eligible, the check for June will be received in July.
****** 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 were not 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 (Found to the right of the webpage) 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 does not apply to summer classes or ESY. Payments are not issued pertaining to July or August. The program is applicable from September through June only.
– If you are registered for the 2024-25 school year, but need to return to a bus route, please reach out to your school. A school official must submit a Transportation Action Request (TAR) requesting a bus route on your behalf. Please note – it is based on availability and may take an extensive period of time to return to a route.
– Pertaining to school years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 if you did not apply for the program prior to the October 1st deadline you were not eligible for a payment until the school submitted a documented Transportation Action Request (TAR) requesting the program. If you were deemed qualified, eligibility for payments began the month the TAR was submitted.
Enrollment
To apply for the 2024-25 school year please submit an Enrollment Form (Application) located below. The Application Period for 2024-25 is June 1 – October 1, 2024.
ENROLLMENT FORM – CLICK HERE
Registration through the application period has concluded for 2023-24. All families interested in participating in the program were required to apply to be eligible for a September payment. If you were registered for the program in previous years, an application was still mandatory.
The application period to enroll for the 2023-24 school year was below. If you missed the deadline registration was still available through May 21, 2024. To be registered after the application period, a Transportation Action Request (TAR) was required by the school, requesting that the student be placed in the program. If eligible, payments became effective the month the TAR was submitted. Back-pay for previous months does not apply.
- June 1 through October 1, 2023 – CONCLUDED
Monthly Process
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).
Eligibility
Eligibility varies by student and school. If the student, and attending school, are eligible for District-provided bus, van or cab 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.
Student Transportation ID
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 one or 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.
Address Discrepancy
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.
Guidelines
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, 2022-23, and 2023-24 school years, in order to participate from the start of that school year an Enrollment Form was required during the application period. 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. For more details please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the sidebar to the right of the webpage.