FCS provides free Route Busing for School District of Philadelphia students in Pre-K through 12th grade within the following geographic areas below. Buses will pick up at an agreed upon corner near your home in the following designated areas. Families who live outside of these routes are welcome to come into the service area on their own and take advantage of the FCS Route Bus. We provide a parent app to share your student’s transportation schedule, tracking, announcements, and more.  

• West Philadelphia 
• Center City, bordered by 2nd St/Christian St/22nd St and Fairmount 
• East Falls: Midvale Avenue & Conrad Street Hub

FCS will be running a van for students who live in the Swarthmore Media area. Buses will pick up and drop off at a central location (TBD). There will be a $1,000 fee for this service. Drop offs will occur after Upper School athletics concludes, leaving campus at 5:45 pm.

Friends’ Central operates a shuttle from the Lower School campus to the City Avenue campus and from the City Avenue campus to the Lower School campus in both the morning and the afternoon. You may find it more convenient to drop off your students at one of our campus locations and take advantage of the shuttle service.

• Morning: the City Ave campus to Lower School campus shuttle departs at 7:50 am SHARP
• Morning: the Lower School campus to City Ave campus shuttle departs at 7:55 am
• Afternoon: the Lower School campus to City Ave campus shuttle departs when loaded (approximately 3 pm).  The commute takes 15 to 20 minutes of travel time depending on traffic.
• Afternoon: The City Ave campus to Lower School campus shuttle departs at 3:20 pm.  The commute takes 15 to 20 minutes of travel time depending on traffic.

Friends' Central's City Avenue campus is conveniently located within a short commuting distance of both the SEPTA Overbrook Train Station (with service from Paoli-Thorndale through Philadelphia), and SEPTA's 63rd and Malvern Bus Depot (one block from Overbrook Train Station). Friends’ Central sponsors a shuttle to the Overbrook Station and 63rd and Malvern Bus Depot. This shuttle runs a continuous loop in the morning, starting at 7:15 am until 8:15 am. In the afternoon, the bus does three single runs departing at 3:20 pm, 5:20 pm, and 5:40 pm. There is no fee for this service. 

Upper School students of legal age with a valid driver's license may choose to drive to Friends' Central. There is limited on-campus parking. Seniors (and Juniors after Spring Break) can apply for on-campus parking permit for a fee.

Many families use carpools to get to and from school. Using our school directory you can locate families in your neighborhood to see if there is a pre-existing carpool or to create a new one.