Transportation → WebTrips Field Trip Request System

WebTrips: Field Trip Request System

News

• Beginning January 1, 2025, field trip buses will no longer be available on system-wide school closure dates. If transportation services are needed on those dates, please make arrangements to reserve coach bus services.

• Additional Buses to Transport Musical Equipment or other Large Equipment

  Students may transport musical instruments as long as they can hold the instrument on their lap or place it at their feet, such as a flute or clarinet. Instruments may not protrude into the aisle or occupy the seat space of another passenger due to safety concerns. If instruments do not meet these requirements and are too large to transport on the bus with students (such as a drum), a second bus will be reserved to transport the equipment. This requirement also pertains to other large equipment items, such as sporting equipment, although it is not as prevalent. As schools schedule music trips, athletic trips or any other field trips that require equipment transport, it is imperative that they work with the Field Trip Office to determine whether or not an additional equipment bus is needed to transport equipment.

• Split Trips. When the bus MUST leave passengers at the trip destination and return later on to pick up the passengers to go back to their school.  See ‘Using WebTrips / Web Trips Manual / Dates and Times Section’, page 3. Note: Look at the box to the left of this paragraph.  Also, the mileage (round trip from school to destination and back) will be multiplied by 2; plus base mileage (10 miles) by 2.
• Needing a new field trip "Destination"? Please contact Mr. Elie Louis Jacques (Field Trip Coordinator).
• MCPS funded activities (MFA fund) must be requested using a spreadsheet provided by Elmer Martinez.  Therefore, schools shouldn't be entering requests for these type of activities thru the Web Trips application.
•  EBB activities must be requested using a spreadsheet provided by Elmer Martinez, so schools shouldn't be entering requests thru the Web Trips application.
• Throughout the school year, buses are available for field trips during the hours of 9:40 a.m. - 2:10 p.m., which do not interfere with regular transportation programs.  Buses are available after 4:35 p.m. on school days and are also available on weekends.  Due to bell time modifications, it is imperative that buses arrive back to school no later than 2:10 p.m.

• REMINDER TO SCHOOLS: For Field Trip requests, in particular trips to Baltimore, Washington D.C. or any out of area requests, please make sure that students are ready for pick-up by no later than 1:15 pm. We need to ensure that our bus operators have adequate time to return to their respective Transportation Depot to perform their p.m. bus route run.

• Does your school need help with Web Trips? The Transportation Field Trip Unit staff will be happy to answer your questions. Please call 240-740-0129 for assistance.

• New field trip rates for FY 2025 will be billed at $38.75 per hour and $1.90 per mile for any type of field trip. All trips will continue to have at least a mandatory 10-mile minimum deadhead mileage charge ($19.00) and a minimum charge of 1 hour for "Gas and Waiting" ($38.75). Total deadhead: $57.75.
• Please avoid billing errors by using the correct fund and trip category combination. Make sure that your trip category on the trip request matches the first capital letters of the fund name.
• Please help the Department of Transportation by entering and approving your school trip requests 10 weekdays in advance. You need to call the Field Trip Unit for all trip requests entered with less than 10 days notice to make sure that the trip request is "Accepted".