Subsidised School Trip Ticket
Please note that you can already apply for school transport subsidy, and you can buy the ticket at the earliest two weeks before the start of the school year.
The Subsidised School Trip Ticket product is intended for upper secondary level students eligible for a school transport subsidy granted by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). With a subsidised school trip ticket, you can travel between your home and school or on-the-job learning site. New students can apply for the subsidy for the upcoming school year as soon as they have accepted their study place.
Buy a school transport subsidy ticket in the Trips and Tickets app
You can buy a school transport subsidised ticket in the Trips and Tickets app once you have applied for the school transport subsidy online via the OmaKela service and received the purchase authorisation. The authorisation is verified every time you buy a ticket.
If you have already applied for the school transport subsidy but didn’t receive the purchase authorisation immediately after submitting your application, you can still buy a regular-priced ticket and receive the subsidy retroactively to your account. In this case, buy a half-month or a full-month ticket. If you’ve purchased single tickets, you need to have tickets covering at least 10 days to qualify for retroactive reimbursement.
Instructions on how to buy a ticket in the app
Open the Trips and Tickets app. If you don’t already have the app on your phone, download it from the app store.
Register for the app with your email address and activate the app according to the instructions sent to your email.
Go to the ‘Omat tiedot’ page (Lisää → Asetukset) and click Tunnistaudu koulumatkatukilippuun.
Authenticate yourself by following the instructions in the app. After authentication, you will be able to view your purchase authorisations and buy subsidised school trip tickets.
After the first authentication, you can buy school transport subsidised tickets directly from the app’s home screen in the future.
Having trouble with authentication?
If you don’t have online banking credentials or Mobile ID and are unable to obtain them, please contact Matkahuolto’s customer service.
Before calling customer service, please check the following:
In OmaKela, make sure that your school trip subsidy has been granted specifically for a Matkahuolto ticket. If your school trip subsidy has been granted for Waltti or HSL transport, for example, you can buy your ticket from the online stores of those operators and get more information from their customer services.
Be prepared to provide the email address you used to sign up for the Trips and Tickets app.
Be prepared to provide the information needed for identification.
Customer service, tel. 020 331 222. The customer service number is available Mon-Fri 8-16 and calls are charged at local/mobile charge.
Ticket options
If you are eligible for the full school transport subsidy, i.e. you have at least 15 travel days per calendar month, you can get a 44-trip student ticket valid for 30 days. If you are eligible for half of the full school transport subsidy, i.e. you have 10-14 travel days per calendar month, you can get a 28-trip student ticket valid for 30 days.
You can buy a Subsidised School Trip Ticket no earlier than two weeks before the start of the semester. The ticket will appear in the app once the purchase authorisation has been granted and strong authentication has been completed.
A purchased ticket is valid for 30 days. The ticket is valid from the moment of purchase, unless a specific start date is selected. When buying your ticket for the first time, you should select the start date of the school year as the start date of the ticket.
Please note that you can only have one valid Subsidised School Trip Ticket at a time. As a student, you are responsible for ensuring that you have enough purchase authorisations, so please only buy one ticket for each trip.
You can also use the same ticket for journeys with transfers if you need to change buses on your school trip. The ticket is read every time you get on a bus on journeys with transfers.
Ticket validity
A Subsidised School Trip Ticket is good for school trips indicated in the purchase authorisation for the duration of the period subsidised by Kela. Subsidised School Trip Tickets may not be loaded twice in one month. It is the student’s responsibility to choose the right ticket product.
Refunds
Subsidised School Trip Tickets cannot be cancelled and are non-refundable. If the school trip changes during the subsidised period, the student is entitled to use up the remaining trips, after which a new purchase authorisation must be applied for from Kela.
Right of travel
Subsidised school trip tickets are personal and cannot be transferred to another person.
FAQ
You can buy a subsidised school trip ticket if you are eligible for school transport subsidy and have applied for it from Kela. See more information about school transport subsidy www.kela.fi/school-transport-subsidy.
Check your purchase right in OmaKela. If needed, please contact Kela.
When applying for school transport subsidy, students must indicate the number of days at school, based on which they are entitled to a half-month ticket (28 trips) or a full-month ticket (44 trips). It is the student’s responsibility to buy the correct ticket product from the app. Students can check their monthly purchase right in OmaKela.
A purchased ticket cannot be cancelled. You can contact Matkahuolto's customer service.
You can log in to another device with the same user ID. You must activate the subsidised school trip ticket on the other device before use.
Make sure that your device has the necessary protections, e.g. screen lock and face recognition. This ensures that your subsidised school ticket does not end up in the wrong hands.
If you do not see the correct subsidized school trip ticket in the ticket menu (on the “Buy ticket” page) when buying a new ticket.
This can be due to one of the following:
- You have a valid ticket AND
- The valid ticket has the same number of kilometers AND
- There are still 5 or more trips left on the valid ticket OR
- The ticket has 15 days or more of validity remaining
The subsidized school trip ticket will reappear and be available for purchase (on the “Buy ticket” page) when there are 4 or fewer trips left or when the ticket expires or is about to expire within 14 days.