School resources
TTC Field Trip Pilot Program for Grade 7-12 students
In partnership with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), and French public and Catholic school boards, the TTC is implementing a year-long pilot using a reimbursement model for free transit for Grades 7-12 student field trips during the 2024-2025 school year.
To participate in this pilot, the four public school boards must follow conditions outlined below, which include signing a Terms and Agreements Contract, providing monthly reports, and quarterly invoices for reimbursement.
Through this pilot, students in Grades 7-12 will be able to travel on the TTC for field trips on Mondays and Fridays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The pilot will be in place for the 2024/2025 school year, beginning September 2024 and ending June 2025. All schools within the four Toronto school boards are eligible to participate based on specific eligibility criteria and service parameters described below.
Eligibility criteria
For the purposes of this pilot, a field trip is defined as a trip or excursion for the purposes of education, gaining firsthand knowledge and participating in hands-on learning away from the classroom.
Exclusions
Fares used for the purposes of:
- home-to-school, school-to- home travel
- co-op placement travel
- extra-curricular activities, such as bands and teams
Teachers and supervisors are still required to pay their fare with any valid form of payment.
Service parameters
Fares must be used within the defined parameters, subject to group size, as outlined below.
Group Size |
Route Availability |
Time of Travel |
5 or less |
|
|
6-20 |
Exclusions:
|
|
21-50 |
|
|
51+ |
None | None |
Groups larger than 21 are expected to split into smaller groups and take the next available vehicle.
Below is a map and a list of approved bus routes.
Transit Service Map for Groups of 6-20 Students
Elementary schools not shown on map.
Bus routes operating every 10 minutes or better for groups of 6-20 students
Bus route | Operating between |
7 Bathurst | |
22 Coxwell | |
24 Victoria Park | Victoria Park Station and Steeles Avenue |
25 Don Mills | |
29 Dufferin | |
32 Eglinton West | Eglinton Station and Jane Street |
34 Eglinton East | Eglinton Station and Kennedy Station |
35 Jane | |
36 Finch West | Finch Station and Humberwood |
37 Islington | Islington Station and Bergamot Avenue |
38 Highland Creek | Kennedy Station and University of Toronto Scarborough Campus |
39 Finch East | Finch Station and Neilson Road |
40 Junction-Dundas West | Dundas West Station and Jane Street |
41 Keele | |
43 Kennedy | Kennedy Station and Steeles Avenue |
44 Kipling South | |
45 Kipling/945 Kipling Express | Kipling Station and Belfield Road |
47 Lansdowne | Queen Street and St. Clair Avenue West |
52 Lawrence West | Eglinton Station and Airport Road |
53 Steeles East | Finch Station and Morningside Avenue |
54 Lawrence East | Eglinton Station and Scarborough Golf Club Road |
63 Ossington | |
72 Pape | |
75 Sherbourne | |
76 Royal York South | Royal York Station and The Queensway |
81 Thornecliffe Park | |
84 Sheppard West | Sheppard-Yonge Station and Weston Road |
85 Sheppard East | Don Mills Station and Meadowvale Road |
86 Scarborough | Kennedy Station and Lawrence Avenue East |
89 Weston | |
90 Vaughan | |
94 Wellesley | Castle Frank Station and Wellesley Station |
95 York Mills/995 York Mills Express | York Mills Station and Port Union Road |
96 Wilson | York Mills Station and Humber College |
100 Flemingdon park | |
102 Markham Rd | Warden Station and Steeles Avenue |
108 Driftwood | |
116 Morningside | |
129 McCowan North | Kennedy Station and Steeles Avenue |
165 Weston Rd North | |
900 Airport Express | |
903 Kennedy Station-Scarborough Express | |
905 Eglinton East Express | Kennedy Station and Conlins via U of T Scarborough Campus |
927 Highway 27 Express | Kipling Station and Steeles Express |
929 Dufferin Express | |
939 Finch Express | Finch Station and Kennedy Station |
960 Steeles West Express | Finch Station and Hwy 27 via Pioneer Village Station Express |
PRESTO Ticket distribution and administration
The pilot is based on a reimbursement model. Schools will continue to order PRESTO Youth Tickets according to their school board’s established processes and procedures.
To be eligible for reimbursement, field trip and ticket data must be submitted to the TTC by each school board by the 10th business day of the following month (e.g. for field trips in October, data must be submitted by the 10th business day in November) in the template format provided by the TTC. Invoices must be submitted by each school board on a quarterly basis for the TTC’s review. The school board will be reimbursed within 10 business days.
NOTE: TTC reserves the right to refuse reimbursement for trips deemed outside of the pilot scope.
Reimbursement will be net of the related PRESTO commission expense.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is the TTC’s Field Trip Pilot Program?
The TTC’s Field Trip Pilot Program is a new program that the TTC is testing for Grade 7-12 students for the 2024-2025 school year. Through this program, the TTC will reimburse the TDSB, TCDSB and French public and Catholic school boards for the value of the youth PRESTO Tickets schools provide to their students for field trips.
Field trips eligible for reimbursement must be between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays according to the specified eligibility criteria and service parameters listed above.
Teachers will provide each student with a youth PRESTO Ticket before leaving for their field trip. Students will tap their PRESTO Ticket when they board a vehicle or enter a station. Their tapped ticket is their Proof-of-Payment. They will need to show it to a Fare Inspector if asked at any point in their journey.
-
What happens if teachers want to travel on the TTC to their field trips outside the pilot program’s parameters?
The TTC welcomes students and teachers on the TTC to field trips; however, youth PRESTO Tickets used outside the pilot program’s parameters will not be eligible for reimbursement through the pilot program to the school boards. Students and teachers may take the TTC anytime outside the pilot’s parameters, and applicable fares can be paid with any valid form of payment.
Alternatively, the TTC offers Charter services. More information, including costs can be found at https://www.ttc.ca/doing-business-with-the-ttc/chartering-ttc-vehicles/charter-rates.