Subsidised School Trip Ticket
The Subsidised School Trip Ticket is intended for upper secondary level students eligible for the school trip subsidy granted by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela.
With the Subsidised School Trip Ticket, you can travel between your home and school – or workplace in the case of on-the-job learning.
Ticket options
If you are eligible for the full school trip subsidy, i.e. you have at least 15 travel days per calendar month, you can choose between a 30-day student season ticket and a 44-trip annual student ticket. If you are eligible for half of the full school trip subsidy, i.e. you have 10 to 14 travel days per calendar month, you can obtain a 28-trip annual student ticket.
Price
The deductible for the ticket is €43 for both the 44-trip ticket and the season ticket, or €21.50 for the 28-trip ticket.Travel cards will be transferred to the Trips and Tickets app, and the sale of travel cards will be phased out by 30 June 2023. This is why no card fee will be charged for new travel cards purchased after 1 January 2023 (previously €6.50).
If you are subject to compulsory education under the new Compulsory Education Act and therefore entitled to free education, there is no deductible to pay. The price of a single ticket is based on Matkahuolto’s price list for 44-trip annual tickets.
Ticket validity
The Annual Student Ticket is good for school trips indicated on the purchase voucher for the duration of the period subsidised by Kela. The Student Season Ticket is valid for 30 days at a time for the duration of the period subsidised by Kela. The Subsidised School Trip Ticket may not be topped up twice in one month
Top-up
You can top up your Subsidised School Trip Ticket when there are four or fewer trips left on your travel card. If there are more trips left, you can top up the travel card when the validity period (35 days) of the trips on the card has expired.
You can top up your travel card at Matkahuolto service outlets that sell and load travel cards, on most buses, in all R-Kiosks and via the Bus Tickets app if your mobile phone has an NFC chip.
Refunds
Students who are eligible for a 44-trip ticket are also entitled to change their Subsidised School Trip Ticket for Students Season Ticket if the region allows that possibility. No refund is paid for any trips or valid travel days that may remain on the ticket when the ticket is changed. All refunds are subject to a service charge. Matkahuolto will only refund the cost of Subsidised School Trip Tickets that have not been used at all. If the school trip changes during the support period, the student is entitled to use up the remaining trips, after which a new purchase voucher must be applied for.
Limitations
The number of authorised purchases specified on the Subsidised School Trip Travel Card may only be used during the term for which the subsidy is granted.
Right of travel
The Subsidised School Trip Ticket is personal.
Further information
You can apply for school transport subsidy with the KM 1 form, which is available from Kela’s website (www.kela.fi/lomakkeet), your school or Kela offices. Submit the completed school transport subsidy application to the school. The school checks the information of the application and issues the student a purchase voucher indicating the number of purchases allowed and the last date of purchase in the term. You can buy a Subsidised School Trip Ticket on presentation of the purchase voucher. The purchase voucher will be retained by Matkahuolto. The student only pays the deductible specified on the purchase voucher (€0, €21.5 or €43). Kela’s school transport subsidy covers the difference between the amount paid by the student and the actual price of the ticket.
If your school trip changes, fill in the KM 4 form to notify the changes and take it to your school. If necessary, you will receive a new purchase voucher. The Subsidised School Trip Ticket is loaded onto a Matkahuolto School Trip Travel Card.
For more information on subsidised school transport, see Kela’s website (www.kela.fi/koulumatkatuki).