Amount and payment of school transport subsidy

If you take public transport to school, your share of the fare will be a maximum of EUR 43 per month. The exceeding part is paid by Kela in the form of the school transport subsidy either to the transport operator or yourself.

Matkahuolto buses or Waltti bus services

If you take public transport or dedicated school transport to school then, as a rule, you do not need to pay anything for the ticket yourself. Kela will pay the price of the ticket to the ticket office, the transport operator or to yourself. In the Greater Helsinki area, for example, you buy the ticket yourself and Kela pays the school transport subsidy to you.

Do as follows if you use Matkahuolto buses or Waltti bus services

• Complete the application form for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf).  
• Submit your application to your school. They check the information in the application and you receive a voucher containing data on the number of purchases and times of purchase.

The voucher data is loaded onto your school transport subsidy card, and the certificate is retained by the ticket office.

If you are entitled to free education, you do not have to pay for the ticket. The ticket office charges Kela for the amount of the school transport subsidy.

You can buy the ticket 14 days before your studies start. The last ticket for the school year must be loaded onto your card at least 14 days before the last day of school. After graduating or discontinuing your studies, you cannot load new tickets, but you can use up the value loaded on your card.

If you are entitled to free education, there is no minimum limit to the ticket price.

If you bought a ticket without a voucher, you can get school transport subsidy afterwards. For tickets bought without a voucher, school transport subsidy is provided for the month of application and the preceding month. Compensation in the form of school transport subsidy can be paid for the cheapest possible ticket.

Waltti bus services is a bus system set up by a number of Finnish towns and ELY Centres. Information for your own region is available on the Waltti website or on the public transport websites of the towns and cities.

Other public transport

If you take other public transport than Matkahuolto buses or Waltti bus services, you cannot use the voucher. Do as follows:

• Complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and submit it to your school.
• Buy a ticket for your travels to school.

If you are entitled to free education, the subsidy equals the price of the ticket.

Kela pays the school transport subsidy into your bank account.

Other public transport includes for instance public transport in the Greater Helsinki area, chartered services and the VR train service. The regional transport systems Nysse in Tampere and Föli in Turku are, exceptionally, both accepted as school transport providers thus entitling students using their services to school transport subsidy.

Your school or municipal government can arrange transportation to and from school or buy tickets for you.

If you use dedicated school transport, complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and submit it to your school.

If you are entitled to free education, you do not have to pay for school transport. Kela pays the school transport subsidy directly to the operator.

Further information about dedicated school transport is provided by your school. The regional transport systems Nysse in Tampere and Föli in Turku are, exceptionally, both accepted as school transport providers thus entitling students using their services to school transport subsidy.

If public transport or dedicated school transport is not an option for you, you can travel to school for example in your own or a friend's car. You must, however, first check if it is possible for you to travel to and from school using public transport.

You can get school transport subsidy for the use of your own mode of transport also in the following situations:

• There is no public transport or dedicated school transport for a part of your trip exceeding 5 kilometres.
• Your two-way trip takes 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.
• The trip to school is difficult for you for example because of illness, injury or daily childcare arrangements.
• You can use public transport or dedicated school transport only for a maximum of 6 one-way trips to school per week. You have thus to arrange your own transport for at least 4 one-way trips to school per week.
• Your trip to school or your mode of transport changes several times per month or per school year.

If you use self-arranged transport

• complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and submit it to your school.
• Kela pays the school transport subsidy into your bank account monthly.
• If you are entitled to free education, no copayment is deducted from the subsidy.

The amount of the subsidy depends on the length of the trip (two way). You can get an estimate of the amount of the school transport subsidy using our calculator for school transport subsidy. Kela subsidises the cost of self-arranged transport to school up to a maximum distance of 100 kilometres per one-way trip. If your one-way trip is longer than 100 kilometres, you will have to cover the exceeding costs yourself.

You may have to use several means of transport if you for instance first have to take a bus or arrange your own transport to the train station.

If you have to use several means of transport for your daily travels 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 your means of transport going to school is different from your means of transport when going home, you can be granted school transport subsidy for self-arranged transport.

If you use several means of transport

• complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and indicate the whole journey to school in the application, including the parts of the trip that you walk on foot
• file the application with your school

Kela pays the school transport subsidy into your bank account monthly. The decision letter will tell you how much subsidy you will get.

If you take public transport to school, you will pay a maximum of EUR 21.40 per half a month for your ticket, and a maximum of EUR 43 per month for a one-month ticket. The exceeding part is paid by Kela in the form of school transport subsidy either to the transport operator or to yourself.

Matkahuolto buses or Waltti bus services

Do as follows if you use Matkahuolto buses or Waltti bus services

• Complete the application form for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf).
• Submit your application to your school. They check the information in the application and you receive a voucher containing data on the number of purchases and times of purchase.

With the voucher, you can buy tickets from the ticket offices of Matkahuolto and the Waltti bus services. When you buy your first bus ticket, the voucher data is loaded onto your school transport subsidy card, and the voucher is retained by the ticket office.

Your copayment for a half-month ticket is a maximum of EUR 21.40 per month and a maximum of EUR 43 per month for a one-month ticket. The ticket office charges Kela for the amount of the school transport subsidy.

You can buy the ticket 14 days before your studies start. The last ticket for the school year must be purchased at least 14 days before the last day of school. After graduating or discontinuing your studies, you cannot buy new tickets, but you can use up the value loaded on your card.

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 you use Waltti bus services and the distance you travel is less than 10 kilometres, 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 in order for you get a voucher from your school to purchase the ticket. If the ticket costs EUR 27/EUR 54 or less, you cannot get a voucher. However, you may be entitled to the school transport subsidy if, along with Waltti, you use some other means of transport (such as a moped), and you use it to travel at least 5 kilometres. If you qualify for school transport subsidy for a journey during which you use several means of transport, the subsidy will be paid into your bank account.    

If you use Waltti bus services and the distance you travel is at least 10 kilometres, there is no minimum limit to the ticket price. In that case, you can get a voucher to buy a Waltti ticket even if the monthly ticket costs EUR 54 or less. Waltti bus services is a bus system set up by a number of Finnish towns and ELY Centres. Information for your own region is available on the Waltti website or on the public transport websites of the towns and cities.

If you bought a ticket without a voucher, you can get school transport subsidy afterwards. For tickets bought without a voucher, school transport subsidy is provided for the month of application and the preceding month. The school transport subsidy is determined on the basis of the price for the cheapest possible ticket.

Other public transport

If you take other public transport than Matkahuolto buses or Waltti bus services, you cannot use a voucher. Do as follows:

• Complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and submit it to your school.
• Buy a ticket for your travels to school.

You qualify for the school transport subsidy if the half-month ticket costs over EUR 27 and the one-month ticket over EUR 54. If the ticket costs EUR 27/EUR 54 or less, you do not qualify.

Kela pays the school transport subsidy into your bank account monthly. 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.  

Other public transport includes for instance public transport in the Greater Helsinki area, chartered services and the VR train service. The regional transport systems Nysse in Tampere and Föli in Turku are, exceptionally, both accepted as school transport providers thus entitling students using their services to school transport subsidy.

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 use dedicated school transport, complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and submit it to your school. Kela pays the school transport subsidy directly to the operator.

If public transport or dedicated school transport is not an option for you, you can travel to school for example in your own or a friend's car. You must, however, first check if it is possible for you to travel to and from school using public transport.

You can get school transport subsidy for the use of your own means of transport also in the following situations:

• There is no public transport or dedicated school transport for a part of your trip exceeding 5 kilometres.
• Your two-way trip takes 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.
• The trip to school is difficult for you for example because of illness, injury or daily childcare arrangements.
• You can use public transport or dedicated school transport only for a maximum of 6 one-way trips to school per week. You have thus to arrange your own transport for at least 4 one-way trips to school per week.
• Your trip to school or your mode of transport changes several times per month or per school year.
• If you use self-arranged school transport, complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and submit it to your school. Kela pays the school transport subsidy into your bank account monthly.

The amount of the subsidy depends on the length of the trip (two way). You can get an estimate of the amount of the school transport subsidy using our calculator for school transport subsidy. Kela subsidises the cost of self-arranged transport to school up to a maximum distance of 100 kilometres per one-way trip. If your one-way trip is longer than 100 kilometres, you will have to cover the exceeding costs yourself.

You may have to use several means of transport if you for instance first have to take a bus or arrange your own transport to the train station. If you have to use several means of transport for your daily travels 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 your means of transport going to school is different from your means of transport when going home, you can be granted school transport subsidy for self-arranged transport.

If you use several means of transport, do as follows:

• Complete an application for school transport subsidy (form KM 1e) (pdf) and indicate the whole trip to school in the application, including the parts of the trip that you walk on foot.
• File the application with your school

Kela pays the school transport subsidy into your bank account monthly. The decision letter will tell you how much subsidy you will get.