Transportation

Westtown School will again offer transportation service for the 2020-2021 school year. Our plan for transportation during this pandemic is multifaceted. It includes: disinfection of the vans before each trip; requiring all passengers, including the driver, to wear masks during the entire ride; and limiting the number of passengers in the vehicle. Parents/guardians must complete health checks before students can board school vehicles. While we will limit the number of passengers, we cannot guarantee six feet of physical distancing. We encourage families to drive their child(ren) to school if at all possible.

We provide transportation for Westtown students who either reside in a school district that does not provide busing, or who reside within a district that does provide bus service but prefer Westtown’s offering.

In these challenging times, we will do our best to provide door-to-door service for as many families as possible, using our fleet of passenger vans which are air conditioned and seat belt/shoulder harness equipped. There may, however, be times when Westtown determines that we are not able to accommodate door-to-door service. In those cases, we will try to find a mutually acceptable meeting location. Note also, that if ridership is too small for a particular route, we need to eliminate it all together.

We provide booster seats for all children under the age of 8. All drivers are Westtown employees who have passed school and Pennsylvania mandated background checks, have had appropriate safety training, are subject to random drug testing, and are required to have an annual physical. Our drivers take the time to get to know your children, and they provide a welcoming, friendly experience from the time your children leave home in the morning until they return in the afternoon.

Van Routes

The average cost for one-way travel during the 2019-20 school year was $1,890. Those further from school pay slightly more, and those closer, slightly less. The cost for transportation if for a morning run OR an afternoon run. If you would like both morning and afternoon transportation, you must double the cost. The vans will run in the morning to arrive at school by 7:45a.m. and at 3:30p.m. A 5:45p.m. late run will be considered if ridership is great enough to justify the cost. The pick-up and drop-off times will be determined after we have scheduled the routes.

Features Include:

*You will pay full rate for the first child, 75% of the full rate for the second, 25% of the full rate for the third child, and the household maximum is capped at the cost of two full riderships.

*Families may sign up for daily rides or three times per week. Families must lock in a regular schedule at the beginning of the year.

Below are the routes we used for the 2019-2020 school year. They are informational only and are intended to serve as an overview of the service offering. Exact routes and boundaries will be determined after families have signed up for service. Route descriptions are for morning service. Afternoon routes are generally in the reverse order.

TO THE WEST: Beginning in the West Grove area and proceeding through Kennett Square, Pocopson and Birmingham Township

TO THE SOUTH: Beginning in the North Wilmington area and proceeding through Chadds Ford, Glen Mills and Thornton

TO THE NORTHWEST: Beginning in the Atglen area and proceeding through Marshallton, Downingtonw and Exton

TO THE SOUTHEAST: Beginning in the Chester area and proceeding through the Aston, Brookhaven and Media areas

TO THE EAST: Beginning in the Drexel Hill area and proceeding though the Ardmore, Haverford, Wayne and Newtown Square areas

TO THE NORTH AND EAST: Beginning in the Phoenixville area and proceeding through the Chester Springs and Malvern areas

Westtown School supports students and families by offering transportation services on weekends, at school breaks and at other times, too.

Travel to and from Westtown School

Weekends

• Westtown School provides a shuttle each Friday afternoon to the Paoli Station (train to 30th Street, Phila.) to connect to points North or South. The cost for the shuttle will be split among the riders of the shuttle. The shuttle leaves school at 3:45pm on Friday, and picks up at Paoli at 4:45pm on Sunday.

• Note: All shuttles will be scheduled based on demand. If there are no sign-ups for a particular bus, it will be subject to cancellation. Please plan accordingly.Signups are on Polaris (the weekend activity signup site), and must be in by noon on Friday.

Major School Vacations

• For Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring Breaks, the school will provide shuttles to 30th Street Station, Philadelphia (AMTRAK and BOLT bus) and the Philadelphia airport at vacation break for a fee. There is an online sign-up available one month prior to the scheduled break. Students traveling via JFK or Newark Airports should contact the Transportation Office for help arranging shuttle or Limo Service to those destinations. Please note the following vacation drop-off and pick up times for 2019-2020:

November 22 Shuttles depart for 30th Street and Philadelphia Airport at 11:30 a.m.
December 2 Pick up at 30th Street Station and Philadelphia Airport at 7:00 p.m.

December 20 Shuttles depart for 30th Street and Philadelphia Airport at 11:30 a.m.
January 6 Pick up at 30th Street Station and Philadelphia Airport at 7:00 p.m.

March 13 Shuttles depart for 30th Street and Phila Airport at 11:30 a.m.
March 30 Pick up at 30th Street Station and Philadelphia Airport at 7:00 p.m.

DEPARTING Westtown: Please book all train travel reservations after 1 pm; domestic flights after 2 pm; international flights after 3 pm.
RETURNING to Westtown: Please select trains and flights that arrive before 6:45pm.
Philadelphia Airport: the shuttle will stop at ZONE 8 or the area where public transportation and taxis pick up (in each terminal near Baggage Claim) at 7:00pm.

Unaccompanied Minors: Children under the age of 15 who are traveling alone on a plane or under 16 traveling alone on a train are unaccompanied minors and are required to be accompanied by a chaperone who must sign a waiver and wait with the child until it is time to board. While we will try to accommodate unaccompanied minors, Westtown School is unable to commit numerous chaperones for an indeterminate period of time. Listed below are local companies that will provide this service to you.
 

• King Limousine Service (610-265-3050, www.kinglimoinc.com) offers local service as well as service to JFK and Newark ***unaccompanied minors*** (offer discount for Westtown families)
• Kevin Smith Transportation Group (621-222-6225, www.kevinsmithgroup.com) offers service to JFK and Newark
• Main Line Taxi (610-272-1000, www.mainlinetaxi.com/) offers service to the Airport
• Diamond Cab (302-658-4321) offers service to Wilmington Train Station
• Super Trans (215-333-1441, www.supertranspa.com/) offers service to JFK and Newark ***unaccompanied minors***
• Mid-Atlantic Limousine (610-431-4800, www.midatlanticlimo.com/) offers service to Philadelphia, JFK, and Newark ***unaccompanied minors***

If a student requires Westtown transportation for off-campus medical or other services, a fee will be applied to the student’s account.

If you have general questions about transportation, please contact Kirstie Wills, Transportation Manager, at 610-399-7433 or transportation@westtown.edu.