Student Transportation Services

We have two drop-off locations, one off School House Lane, and one off Fox Street. There is also visitor parking off the School House Lane entrance. Both drop-off areas are adjacent to the Lower School and are staffed by Penn Charter personnel at arrival and dismissal.

Pre-K, kindergarten and first grade students may be picked up in the car line. Students in grades 2 through 5 assemble in an area of the Lower School lobby for pick-up; parents may park, if parking is available, or may line up for pick-up.

There is parking available for seniors in the Strawbridge lot, near Palaia Field. Students may not park on the main campus at any time. Students may park on public streets, but they must be mindful to not block our neighbors' driveways. 

The student and parent directories in the Hub are searchable by zip code, so parents looking to carpool can reach out to families in close proximity. Carpooling is a terrific way to build community and friendships.

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

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 SEPTA student bus pass.

In suburban districts that are within the 10-mile range of Penn Charter, the service usually covers all grades except pre-K, although kindergarten is treated differently in some districts. We currently have 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 school districts and Wissahickon. There is no public school service from New Jersey. 

(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.)

All students are taken to school in the morning. This may involve a transfer between buses within the public school district with the exception of Philadelphia County. Students are dropped off on our bus lane on campus. All buses are met by a Penn Charter staff member. In the afternoon, Lower School students are escorted to the bus lane. Public school buses only pick students up at school dismissal, not after sports.

Penn Charter provides private bus service, which offers 3:15 and 5:30 p.m. departures, and 6 p.m. for New Jersey, as well as a Center City Shuttle, which departs at 3:15 and 4:45 p.m.

In the spring, Penn Charter will email a link for you to request public school busing service. The transportation office will process the information with your school district in June. We will notify you if there is a problem. You will be notified in August, either by Penn Charter or your school district, of your stop location and times for pickup and drop-off.

No.

In most cases, the transportation office will coordinate with your school district. 

All public school districts will only allow riders that are on that roster for their particular bus route. Guest riders are not permitted. 

If your child is registered as a rider on a district bus, he or she may exit the bus with a friend at the friend's stop, provided the friend is also registered on that same bus route. However, both students must bring a note, from their caregiver, to be given to their Division Office. The notes will then be given to Transportation with the daily attendance sheet and finally to the bus driver for the afternoon trip home. If your child is registered to ride a public school district township bus and would like to bring a friend home, the friend must live in the same township and be registered to ride that bus. Permission notes will not be accepted under any circumstances unless both students are residents of the township. 

In Center City Philadelphia, we offer both door-to-door bus service and a pay-as-you-go shuttle service, outlined below. 

PENN CHARTER PRIVATE BUS: Parents may contract for a Center City bus service provided by Penn Charter that offers a variety of options to meet their needs and student schedules, pre-K to 12. 

• Service is available for a full year, a full semester, for morning or afternoon only, or for both morning and afternoon round trips. 
• We provide two afternoon trips: one leaving Penn Charter at 3:15 p.m. and one departing at 5:30 p.m.
• The cost for the PC bus service is $5,875 for roundtrip transportation for a full year and $3,000 for one semester; $3,750 for one-way transportation for a full year, and $2,000 for one semester. A 10% discount is applied for siblings.

CENTER CITY PENN CHARTER SHUTTLE: Penn Charter offers a Center City pay-as-you-go shuttle in the morning and afternoon for PC students in all grades. 

• The cost of the shuttle service is $12.50 per trip; families will be billed by Penn Charter. 
• Should a family wish to utilize the PC shuttle service for their student(s) in any division at any time during the school year, the family should email pctransportation@penncharter.com and indicate that they wish for their student(s) to use the shuttle service. 
• Once a family has notified PC transportation of their intention to use the PC shuttle service, the registered students do not need to reserve space and should meet at the designated Center City pick-up locations below in the morning and at the Graham Athletics & Wellness Center in the afternoon in time for the 4:45 p.m. shuttle.

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

Center City Shuttle Times (approximate)

AM from Center City to Penn Charter

• 7:10 am departs from Head House Square, 2nd and Lombard
• 7:15 am 11th & Spruce
• 7:17 am Broad & Spruce
• 7:20 am 20th & Spruce
• 7:25 am 22nd & Market
• 7:30 am 22nd & Pennsylvania Ave., Parkway House

PM from Penn Charter to Center City

• 3:15 pm departs PC from the school’s bus lane
• 3:35 pm 21st & Hamilton
• 3:38 pm 21st and Market
• 3:42 pm 20th & Pine
• 3:45 pm Broad & Pine
• 3:47 pm 11th & Pine
• 3:48 pm 6th & Pine
• 3:55 pm 2nd & Pine, Head House Square
   
• 4:45 pm departs PC from the school’s bus lane
• 5:05 pm 21st & Hamilton
• 5:08 pm 21st & Market
• 5:12 pm 20th & Pine
• 5:15 pm Broad & Pine
• 5:18 pm 11th & Pine
• 5:19 pm 6th & Pine
• 5:30 pm 2nd & Pine, Head House Square

New Jersey

We offer one trip in the morning and two afternoon/evening trips. The schedule, which appears below, is subject to change.

The round-trip rate for one year is $4,375; one-way service in the morning only is $2,075 per year and the cost of one-way service in the afternoon only is $2,400 per year. A 10 percent discount is applied for siblings.

Arrival times at stops are estimated and dependent on traffic.

New Jersey Van Shuttle Schedule 2025-26

AM to Penn Charter
7:00 am Starbucks, Short Hills Shopping Center
7:10 am Ellisburg Shopping Center
7:55 am Penn Charter

PM (departure subject to change based on dismissal time)
3:15 pm Penn Charter 
3:50 pm Ponzio's Diner Parking Lot
4:00 pm Starbucks, Short Hills Shopping Center

PM (departure subject to change based on dismissal time)
6:00 pm Penn Charter 
6:50 pm Ponzio's Diner Parking Lot
7:00 pm Starbucks, Short Hills Shopping Center

Guest riders may ride a Penn Charter private bus for an additional fee of $25 per trip. Both the contract student and guest rider must each provide a written permission slip to the bus driver for each trip request. Penn Charter bus drivers are only permitted to provide transportation to stops for which there is a signed contract.

Yes. Each bus operator carries a cell phone for emergencies and important contact with parents. Parents have access to those bus operator phone numbers for emergencies. Students have the option, in the afternoon, of taking an early or late bus depending on their schedule. Our operators are all extensively trained and certified for operating school buses.

SEPTA operates several bus routes within a few blocks of the school. You may contact SEPTA at 215-580-7800 or at www.septa.org for details.

SEPTA operates two Regional Rail lines within a 10-minute walk to the school.
• The Chestnut Hill West Line serves Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown and Center City. The line station nearest 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.