School transport subsidy for students who do not have the right to a free education (applicable until 31 July 2025)
As a general rule, students do not have the right to a free education if they
- were born before 2004 and finished comprehensive school before 2021
- have graduated from upper secondary education.
Education is free until the end of the calendar year in which you turn 20.
You can ask your school if you have the right to a free education.
From 1 August 2025 onwards, school transport subsidy will only be available to students who have the right to a free education
Parliament has decided to restrict the entitlement to school transport subsidy to include only students who have the right to a free education. This means that students who do not have the right to a free education can no longer be granted school transport subsidy starting 1 August 2025. More information is available in this press release.
Can you get school transport subsidy?
You can get school transport subsidy until 31 July 2025 if
- you live and study in Finland
- your travel distance to school is at least 10 kilometres one way
- you are in upper secondary education (enrolled for instance in upper secondary school, in an institute of vocational education or in basic education for adults)
- you travel to school on at least 10 days per calendar month
Your studies qualify for school subsidy if
- you attend a general upper secondary school
- you complete a basic vocational qualification or a part of such a qualification
- you attend a folk high school and you are completing upper secondary school studies or a basic vocational qualification or a part of such a qualification
- you are completing a dual degree, i.e. studying for an upper secondary school diploma in an adult student or night programme, and completing a vocational qualification at the same time.
- you attend the Emergency Services College (Pelastusopisto/Räddningsinstitutet) or the Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services (Rikosseuraamusalan koulutuskeskus/Brottspåföljdsområdets utbildningscentral), completing a course of basic vocational qualifications
- you attend preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification (TUVA)
- you attend a course of education preparing you for employment or for independent living (TELMA)
- you attend basic education for adults.
You cannot get school transport subsidy in the following situations:
- You pursue studies leading to or preparing for a basic vocational qualification at a private educational institution that does not have accreditation from the Ministry of Education and Culture (e.g. schools for massage therapists or barbers/hairdressers).
- You are studying for a vocational qualification or a specialist vocational qualification.
- There are other forms of financial assistance available for you to support your daily trips to and from school (e.g. compensation for expenses as an unemployment benefit for immigrants or compensation for travel expenses under the Act on Services for Persons with Disabilities).
- You have the possibility to live free of charge in a school dormitory. However, you can receive school transport subsidy, if you travel daily from the dormitory at least 10 kilometres (one-way) to the school or workplace.
You can also not get school transport subsidy for a period of paid on-the-job training that constitutes apprenticeship training.
What modes of transport does the school transport subsidy cover?
You can get school transport subsidy mainly for public transport or school transport arranged by your school or municipality. Public transport includes buses, trains, trams and the metro. School transport means taxi or bus transport arranged by a school or municipality. Contact your school to find out if it arranges school transport.
If you have no public transport or school transport options available to you, you can receive school transport subsidy for e.g. commuting in your own car. Check our route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi) to see whether public transport is available for your trip.
If public transport or dedicated school transport is available for your trip to school, you can arrange the transport yourself. You can for example use your own car or ride with a friend. You can also use self-arranged transport for part of the trip, for example to reach the nearest train station, which cannot be reached by public transport or school transport.
School transport subsidy for self-arranged transport is available in the following situations:
- Self-arranged transport is your only option for all or part of the trip. Your one-way trip to school includes a length of at least 5 kilometres for which public transport or dedicated school transport is not available. The total length of the one-way trip to school is at least 7 kilometres. You can get school transport subsidy for self-arranged transport also if you have to use it for only certain days but on a weekly basis.
- Your two-way trip would take longer than 3 hours a day when you take public transport or dedicated school transport. This includes both the waiting time and the actual travel time.
- If using public transport, the trip to school would be difficult for you for example because of illness, injury or daily childcare arrangements.
How is the travel distance between and home school calculated?
You can get school transport subsidy if your one-way trip to school is at least 10 kilometres.
The travel distance is the shortest trip by car between home and school. If you are doing a period of unpaid on-the-job training, your trip to school is equivalent to the shortest distance by car between your home and your workplace. If you for example travel by bus that takes a longer route than the shortest distance by car, the bus route does not qualify as the trip to school for purposes of the school transport subsidy.
Be sure to use Kela’s route planner at kelareitit.digitransit.fi when calculating the length of your trip. The decision you will get from Kela will be based on the route planner. Route planners may plot distances differently.
Report the distance you travel to school as exactly as possible in your application, and do not round up the kilometres.
How much is the school transport subsidy?
The amount of school transport subsidy you get depends on the number of travel days and the mode of transport used.
You can get
- the full amount of school transport subsidy if you travel to school on at least 15 days per calendar month
- half of the full school transport subsidy if you travel to school on 10–14 days per calendar month.
A travel day may also fall on a weekend or an official holiday, if you travel to school on such a day.
If you have fewer than 10 travel days per calendar month, you do not have a right to school transport subsidy.
Matkahuolto and Waltti-affiliated transport (e.g. HSL, Nysse and Föli)
If you apply for school transport subsidy in OmaKela, Kela can grant you the right to buy a subsidised ticket as soon as you submit the application. That way, you can immediately buy subsidised tickets for instance from the ticket vendor’s online store.
If you travel to school on Waltti-affiliated public transport (e.g. Helsinki Region Transport (HSL - HRT, Tampere Regional Transport Nysse or Turku Region Traffic Föli) or if you take a Matkahuolto bus, you pay a maximum of EUR 21.50 per month for half a month's ticket and a maximum of EUR 43 per month for a full month’s ticket. We will pay the exceeding part in the form of school transport subsidy either to the transport operator or to yourself.
If you use Matkahuolto bus services, the price of a half-month ticket must be over EUR 27, and the price of a one-month ticket must be over EUR 54 for you to qualify for school transport subsidy. If the ticket costs EUR 27/EUR 54 or less, you do not qualify.
If your travel distance on Waltti-affiliated public transport is at least 10 kilometres, there is no minimum price requirement for the monthly ticket.
Other public transport (for example VR)
If you use other public transport than Matkahuolto or Waltti-affiliated transport, you can get school transport subsidy if your ticket for half a month costs more than EUR 27 and your ticket for a full month costs more than EUR 54. If the ticket costs EUR 27/EUR 54 or less, you cannot get school transport subsidy.
The amount of the subsidy is calculated by deducting a copayment of EUR 21.50 from the price of the cheapest half-month ticket available to students, and a copayment of EUR 43 from the price of a one-month ticket.
We will pay the subsidy into your bank account after you have bought your tickets. The subsidy is paid once a month.
Your school or municipal government can arrange transportation to and from school or buy tickets for you. If you use dedicated school transport, you will have to pay a maximum of EUR 21.50 per month to the transport operator if you have 10 to 14 travel days per calendar month, and a maximum of EUR 43 per month if you have 15 or more travel days per calendar month.
If you have to use self-arranged transport, the amount of the school transport subsidy depends on the length of your trip. The subsidy is not based on your actual travel costs. If you use self-arranged transport, the maximum one-way distance for which school transport subsidy is available is 100 kilometres. If your one-way trip is longer than 100 kilometres, you will have to cover the exceeding costs yourself.
Use the relevant calculator (in Finnish) to estimate the amount of school transport subsidy you can get. Select self-arranged transport in the calculator.
We will pay the school transport subsidy into your bank account monthly. The decision letter tells you how much you will get. You can view the decision letter in the OmaKela e-service.
If you have to use several means of transport for your daily one-way trip to school, the school transport subsidy is determined and paid out for each part of the journey with a travel distance of at least 5 kilometres. If, for example, you first travel at least 5 kilometres by bus to the train station, and then travel at least 5 kilometres by train, you qualify for subsidy for both parts of the journey.
If you use a different means of transport on the way to school than on the way home, or if the means of transport you use vary from week to week, you can be granted school transport subsidy for self-arranged transport.
Example
A student rides to school with her parents twice a week because of the lack of public transport options. She takes a Matkahuolto bus for the rest of her trips between home and school. She gets school transport subsidy according to the rules for self-arranged transport. Kela pays the school transport subsidy into her bank account after she has bought the tickets. This means that she cannot buy subsidised tickets from Matkahuolto.
How to apply for school transport subsidy
- Apply for school transport subsidy in the OmaKela e-service. If you cannot sign in to OmaKela, your guardian can apply for you. You can apply for school transport subsidy for trips between home and school that you make before 1 August 2025.
- If your application for school transport subsidy concerns public transport, you may have a right to buy subsidised tickets immediately after submitting your application. Check OmaKela to see if you have been granted the right to buy subsidised tickets. You do not have to wait for Kela’s decision.
Visit OmaKela to see if your application has been processed, how much you will get and when your benefits will be paid. The decision letter will also be sent to your home address unless you have opted out of paper mail.
If you cannot use OmaKela, send your application to Kela by post. Save the application form KM 1e (pdf) to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA. If you use a paper form to apply, you will not get a right to buy subsidised tickets until your application has been processed.
You can get school transport subsidy for trips between home and school that you make before 1 August 2025. From 1 August 2025 onwards, only students who have the right to a free education can get school transport subsidy.
The earliest that you can get school transport subsidy is the beginning of the month preceding your application. For example, if you wish to receive it from the beginning of June, your application must reach Kela by the end of July. Applications submitted in the OmaKela e-service arrive at Kela on the same day they are submitted.
When is school transport subsidy paid out?
If you take public transport and are granted the right to buy subsidised tickets, you will get your ticket at no charge directly from the vendor. In that case the school transport subsidy is paid to the vendor. The right to buy subsidised tickets is usually granted right after the application has been sent. You do not have to wait until we have processed your application, but can buy your ticket right after you have been granted the right to buy subsidised tickets. Check OmaKela to see if you have been granted the right to buy subsidised tickets.
If the school transport subsidy is paid to you personally, it will be deposited in your bank account on the 1st day of each month. If banks are closed on the scheduled payment date, it is paid on the next banking day. If you are paid the subsidy retrospectively, it will usually be paid into your account two banking days after the decision was issued.
The earliest that you can get school transport subsidy is the beginning of the month preceding your application.
Report changes
Changes in your trip to school or the number of travel days may affect the school transport subsidy. Paid on-the-job training or changes in your studies will also affect the subsidy.
If you tell Kela about changes in your circumstances, your benefit will be paid at the correct rate and you also will not lose out on any benefit due to you. Visit OmaKela to report changes or to have the subsidy discontinued or use the PDF form KM4e (Notification of changes concerning school transport subsidy). You can also call us.
If you do not tell us about the changes, you may be paid benefits you do not have the right to. In that case, the benefit will be recovered from you later. Read more about the recovery of overpayments.