School travel and school transportation
School transportation is primarily arranged by public modes of transport, in which case the student receives a free-of-charge schoolchild's travel card. The travelcard can be downloaded at Vantaa Infos.
In exceptional cases, however, taxi transportation can be arranged, if it is not possible for the student to walk or take public transportation. The student can also travel to one direction by taxi and to the other direction by public modes of transport.
Application schedule for school transportation benefit in the 2023-2024 school year
- students who begin grades 7-9 before March 31, 2023
- students who begin grades 1-6 before April 28, 2023
- students who need special support before May 31, 2023 (or as soon as you know which school the student will start in the fall)
Travel card for students
The Vantaa Info center can assist and give more information about acquiring a student travel card. The service is also available via telephone and email. You can find the transaction services from the transactions-tab.
- The card is loaded in a Vantaa info center. Other benefits regarding school transport subsidies are handled in the school transportation unit of the municipal social administration.
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You need a valid ID of the student. For students under 17, a KELA card without a profile picture is accepted.
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You do not need a school transportation decision to be able to load the student travel card.
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The student does not need to be in person at a Vantaa info.
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The first physical card is free of charge. If the student already has a card, the season will be loaded in to the old card.
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Studends under the age of 7 can travel using all public transportation systems free of charge.
We will inform you about benefits regarding school transportation through WILMA.
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The card is always loaded for one semester at a time. If there’s a decision for multiple years, the card needs to be loaded once a year.
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The card is valid and usable from monday to friday from 4.30am to 6.30pm (04.30 - 18.00).
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For school days that might occur on a Saturday, the student can have a travel tickets from the school.
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The card can be loaded with extra value, which allows the card to be used in the evenings, but also during the weekends and when there is no school during vacation time.
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If the students’ right for a free travel card comes to an end in the midst of a semester, the card should be returned to the school. If there’s is extra value loaded to the card, the value should be either used or moved to another card before it is returned. This can be done in a Vantaa info center.
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In case of losing a student travel card, the caretaker is required to pay for a new card (5 euros). If the student has a personal travel card, it can be used to re-load a school semester.
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There is no charge for the first lost student travel card, but for the second lost card there will be a 6 euro processing fee.
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Re-loading the card is done in a Vantaa info center. A valid ID of the student is needed.
Grounds for school transportation
A free-of-charge schoolchild's travel card is granted based on the length of school travel, if the school travel to the local school exceeds
- 5 kilometers in case of 1st-10th-graders
- 3 kilometers in case of 1st-6th-graders needing special support
- 3 kilometers in case of under-10-year-old students in preparatory instruction
- The school transportation will measure the length of school travel based on the shortest route by foot.
- Taxi transportation will not be granted on the basis of the length of school travel.
- 1st-6nd-graders needing special support will get a free-of-charge schoolchild's travel card, if the length of school travel exceeds 3 kilometers.
- 7th—9th-graders needing special support will get a free-of-charge schoolchild's travel card, if the length of school travel exceeds 5 kilometers.
- The schoolchild’s travel card may be granted for school travel shorter than the above on medical grounds, based on a doctor's, psychologist's or other health care professional's statement.
- When applying for taxi transportation, a medical or psychologist's report shall be attached as an appendix.
The school transportation will assess how difficult, strenuous and dangerous the school travel is. The road geometry, visibility and student’s age affect the assessment.
- A road or crossing of a road is not deemed to be dangerous, if the speed limit is at max. 50 km/h
- If the speed limit exceeds 50 km/h, the road is not deemed dangerous, if it has a separate pedestrian and bicycle way or a wide shoulder.
- If the speed limit exceeds 50 km/h, the road is not deemed dangerous, if there are marked crosswalks or traffic lights.
- As a general rule, the right to school transportation is only applied to the local school specified by the municipality.
- A student in weighted-curriculum education can, however, get a free-of-charge schoolchild's travel card, if the student were entitled to the school transportation benefit to his/her local school.
- If a student is entitled to taxi transportation due to health reasons, he/she can be granted taxi transportation also for the school providing weighted-curriculum education.
- The schoolchild’s travel card and taxi transportation may be granted on medical grounds, based on a doctor's, psychologist's or other health care professional's statement.
- The medical report shall be delivered as an appendix to the application.
- For justified reasons, a guardian can be paid the price of a schoolchild's travel card as accompanying benefit.
- If transporting the student requires use of one's own car, a mileage allowance can be paid as an accompanying benefit.
School transportation application
Apply for school transportation or accompanying benefit through Wilma. Log in Wilma and choose Uusi hakemus (new application) under the Hakemukset ja päätökset (applications and decisions) tab. When required, you can add appendices to the application. You cannot fill in Wilma applications by a mobile app (phone app).
Decisions on school transportation can be viewed on Wilma.
Instructions for filling in Wilma application (in Finnish).
Ohje Wilma koulukuljetushakemuksen täyttämiseen(pdf, 341.47 KB)
If you cannot submit an application through Wilma or if you do not yet have Wilma identifiers, you can make a transportation application on a printable form (in Finnish). When required, the school and Vantaa Infos will help you fill in the application.
Koulukuljetushakemus perusopetus (531006)(pdf, 138.61 KB)Return the paper form to the school, or to Vantaa Info, or mail it to: School transportation, PL 1500, 01030 Vantaan kaupunki
Student who moves or changes school
If a student's home address or school changes, the school transportation benefit must be reapplied for. Likewise, students transferring from elementary school to junior high school and students transferring from junior high school to the 10th grade must reapply for the school transportation benefit. If a student's right to free-of-charge schoolchild's travel card ends in the middle of the school year, the travel card must be returned to the school.
Application periods for the following year’s
Application periods for the following year’s school transportation take place every spring. Applications submitted by the deadline for applications as well as decisions will be published/sent by the beginning of the following school year.
Return the application as soon as possible after you know your child's school. You do not have to fill in a new application every year, if the decision on school transportation is valid and if the school or home address have not changed. If you apply for the school transportation benefit in the middle of the school year, compensations will not be paid for the processing period.