Transportation

In Center City Philadelphia, we offer both door-to-door and corner-of-the-street private bus services, depending on the location, as well as a pay-as-you-go shuttle service, outlined below. 

For New Jersey students, we offer a shuttle service with one morning trip and two afternoon/evening trips.

Each bus operator carries a cell phone for emergencies and for communicating with parents and caregivers, who also have direct access to the operators’ phone numbers. All operators are fully trained and certified, and each bus is equipped with tracking apps for added safety.

Center City Shuttle

PC offers a Center City pay-as-you-go shuttle in the morning and afternoon for PC students in all grades. 

• The cost is $13 per trip; Penn Charter will bill families. 
   
• Interested families should email pctransportation@penncharter.com. 
   
• Registered students will meet at the designated Center City pick-up locations below in the morning and at the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center in the afternoon.

The Center City Shuttle schedule is approximate and varies according to traffic and weather conditions.

We currently have public school buses serving Penn Charter from Abington, Cheltenham, Colonial, Haverford, Lower Merion, Lower Moreland, Marple Newtown, Norristown, Radnor, Springfield (Montgomery County), Upper Darby, Upper Dublin, Upper Merion, Upper Moreland, William Penn and Wissahickon school districts. There is no public school service from New Jersey. 

All public school districts are required by law to provide free transportation services to private schools within 10 miles of their district. The level of service must be equivalent to that provided to public school students. 

The service usually covers all grades except that pre-K and kindergarten are treated differently in some districts. For students living in Philadelphia, service generally covers grades 1 through 8 by school bus; students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible for a free SEPTA student key card.

Note about Main Line buses: Lower Merion sends a bus directly to Penn Charter that leaves the Penn Valley Elementary School by 7:20 a.m. Parents are welcome to bring their children directly to the bus, rather than have them picked up at their home.

Bus

SEPTA operates several bus routes within a few blocks of PC. You can contact SEPTA at 215-580-7800, visit www.septa.org or download the SEPTA app for more details.

Train

SEPTA operates two Regional Rail lines within a 10-minute walk to PC.

• The Chestnut Hill West Line serves Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown and Center City. The nearest line station to the school is Queen Lane Station, at Wissahickon and Midvale Avenues. 
• The Norristown line serves Norristown, Conshohocken, Roxborough, Manayunk and Center City. The line station nearest to the school is the East Falls station near Midvale and Conrad Avenues.

Parents and caregivers have access to a dynamic online student/parent directory called the Hub, which enables them to search for and identify other PC families in their zip codes for carpooling. Carpooling is a terrific way to build community and friendships.