The School District of Philadelphia has launched a program to provide a monthly payment to eligible parents who choose to opt out of District bus, van or cab assignment and instead will 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 now 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 service in the afternoon.
*****For the 2022-23 school year, if you did not apply for the program prior to the September 30 deadline you are not eligible for a payment until the school submits a documented Transportation Action Request (TAR) requesting the program. If deemed qualified, you will be eligible for payments from the month the TAR was submitted.
***Please allow for 30 days from the conclusion of the month to receive your payment. Your initial payment may take up to 60 days
UPDATE – If a family applies for the Flat Rate Program but decides to be placed back on the bus, a Transportation Action Request (TAR) needs to be submitted by a school official for the request. The following should be entered in the TAR: Family was approved for Flat Rate but is requesting to be placed back on a rout
**Once you are registered for the Flat Rate Program you should please expect to participate for the duration of the school year. If at any point you wish to return to a District bus, cab or van assignment, it is based on availability and may take an extensive period of time to return.
**Submitting a Monthly Payment Form does NOT mean you are registered in the program. If you did not apply during the summer or September enrollment periods, and you were not placed in the program by a school official, you are not eligible to receive payments for either the 2021-22 or 2022-23 school years.
Enrollment
Please submit the Enrollment Form located at the sidebar to apply for the program. The application period to enroll for the 2023-24 school year is below:
- June 1 through October 1, 2023
**There were two application periods for the 2022-23 school year. An Enrollment Form was required during one of the two periods in order to be eligible for September. The Enrollment Form was considered an application and was evaluated to determine if your child was eligible for the program.
- May 15, 2022 – June 19, 2022 (Concluded)
- August 15, 2022 – September 30, 2022 (Concluded)
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 and the Enrollment Form. The ID can be found on your eligibility letter mailed out by the Department of Transportation Services. It can also be received by contacting your school 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.
Address Discrepancy
If your child’s address changes during the school year please submit the new residence on the “Change of Address,” line on the Monthly Payment Form. 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.
Eligibility
Eligibility varies by school and student. If the student is 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, cab or van services including but not limited to:
- Philadelphia Resident – The student must be a resident of the city of Philadelphia
- Distance to school – Students must reside 1.5 miles or greater from the school
- Grade Level – Generally, busing services are provided to students in grades 1st though 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
- Please Note – Families who utilize the school selection option, are generally NOT eligible for busing services
Guidelines
Please take note of the guidelines below in order to receive the monthly payment. Each month, the Monthly Payment Form will need to 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 an authorized school official, will also submit the Monthly Payment Form to confirm attendance for each student that is registered in the program.
- 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 school year there were two enrollment periods for the Flat Rate Program through Google forms. If no enrollment request was submitted, and no request was submitted by the school, the student did not participate in the Flat Rate Program. Submitting the Monthly Payment Form does not mean the student was in the program prior to applying.
- For the 2022-23 school year, in order to participate in the program an Enrollment Form was required during one of the two enrollment 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 mandated.
- 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 Student’s Transportation ID on the monthly form (This can be found on your eligibility letter mailed out by Transportation Services or by contacting your school’s main office). If the ID is not submitted correctly, 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.